You have all thought about it; that one friend you might want to sleep with, but you know it would ruin your friendship. Friends with Benefits explores the idea of no-strings-attached sex with a good friend. Justin Timberlake (Dylan) and Mila Kunis (Jamie) play relationship train wrecks who live on opposite coasts. The movie opens hilariously with both of their break ups with lines that I wish I could have thought of at times.
The one-liners keep coming when Dylan moves to New York after Jamie headhunts him for a job at GQ magazine. They strike up a friendship and soon come to the realization that neither of them are meeting that special someone. They spend quite a bit of time together and after watching a movie one evening they have a conversation about how sex could really be like a tennis match between friends. Once an agreement of non-attachment is reached they begin having sex a lot.
Don’t get me wrong its not like the scenes are gratuitous or anywhere approaching lewd in nature, but there are a lot of them in a short period of time. There is plenty of humor during these scenes that flows naturally. When their clothes are on Dylan seems more uncomfortable, and very aware of Jamie. He always seems to worry about her turning into a “girl” on him.
I laughed many times during the first quarter of the film, but it does even out; Patricia Clarkson as Jamie’s mother, and Wood Harrelson help round out the hilarity. The humor is irreverent and based on easily relatable situations we have all been through. I really enjoyed this movie, but was a bit disappointed by Timberlake’s comedic ability. I remember him in other roles that the humor seemed to come more naturally. While it does explore the whole “friends with benefits” concept and shows some of the pitfalls; it really only shows the best possible result of that situation.
