No Strings Attached Reviews

'No Strings Attached' is a romantic comedy that is at times entertaining but not for the plot. Just watching most of it is fun, following the plot is not so much fun! And eventually just watching it gets boring!

The film seems to go off plot as well and focus too much on sex. Ashton Kutcher gives a decent performance but it's sadly not really enough for this film to be decent! Even though, it's just fun to watch at the start, even that gets kind of boring! And the plot just doesn't make much sense, nor is it well written!

In 2010 was a terrific year for Natalie Portman. Indeed, she showed up in ‘Black Swan’ giving her best performance so far and won the Academy Award for the Best Actress. The year after, she was in 3 big Hollywood productions. I still have to have to watch ‘Your Highness’ which looked promising but seemed ultimately rather underwhelming. ‘Thor’ was a decent super-hero flick but nothing really amazing in my opinion. And then you had this romantic-comedy which, pretty much like ‘Your Highness’, sounded pretty good on paper but was eventually pretty disappointing. Indeed, even though the whole thing was supposed to be a bold and irreverent attempt at the genre, I thought it was in fact terribly tame with a really pedestrian plot. First of all, I thought they took forever to set up the whole thing. Indeed, there was not one meet-cute but 4 of them… Of course, it was copied from ‘When Harry met Sally…’ but it felt really redundant here. After that, the whole plot was just really underwhelming and predictable, going from A to B to C and ending on D. Ashton Kutcher was not too bad but he gave once again his typical goofy guy act and it is getting rather boring at this point. I mean, if he ever want us to take him seriously as an actor, he seriously has to show some range in the future. Concerning Natalie Portman, I felt rather bad for her while watching this. Indeed, in spite of the poor material, she actually gave a very good performance and she definitely deserved a better story. The main issue, in my opinion, is that romantic relationships are in real life usually more complicated and always more interesting than these old tired stereotypes. Why they keep on going with this old formula is seriously beyond me. Anyway, even though the whole thing actually had some potential, it still remains a rather weak romantic-comedy and it is not really worth a look, even if you like the genre.

The first time I saw this movie I thought it was funny and raunchy. It was a date movie for my now fiance and myself. It was a memory that I will have. The acting was funny and it was a sexy look at today world of dating.

I bought the Blue Ray and it made me rethink the idea of dating. It is very similar to the world of dating and relationship today. I came from another generation but I think it is funny to see that this generation is really that way.

The acting was well done and the comedy was great. The funny thing about the movie is that you pull for the characters at the same time you laugh at what they do. I can see that this happens in life.

The thing the movie shows me is that when you find that person that fits you completely it does not have to start as an ideal situation. The movie is better than many people give it credit for.

"Ten years from now you're gonna be having sex with your wife. And it's gonna be in the missionary position. And one of you is going to be asleep."

Ivan Reitman's first filmmaking endeavour since 2006, No Strings Attached is an attempt to explore "fuck buddy" relationships within the context of a mainstream romantic comedy. In other words, it delves into the same territory as 2010's Love and Other Drugs with a heavier smattering of cliché. In terms of positive assets, the central pair of lovers (and the actors portraying them, for that matter) have genuine chemistry, while the rest of the acting ensemble sparkle with wit and charm. On the downside, No Strings Attached is far from perfect, even if it's just taken as a fluffy comedy. It may be just passable enough that you'll endure the flick for its entirety, but afterwards you will likely be left with a resoundingly bland taste in your mouth. Not to mention, you won't come away from No Strings Attached thinking that it's one of 2011's funniest or most romantic cinematic offerings.

Since their early teenage years, Emma (Portman) and Adam (Kutcher) have found their lives to be intertwined; running into one another every few years, but avoiding a relationship in spite of an obvious mutual physical attraction. In present day, Emma is a hard-working medical intern with no interest in a serious relationship, while Adam is stuck as a lowly production assistant on a Glee-esque television show. After crossing each other's paths yet again, the two impulsively have sex, and in coming days Emma proposes that the two begin a "fuck buddy" relationship free of commitment. Adam gleefully embraces the idea. However, while Adam still retains hope that something more serious will eventually develop, Emma is far too hesitant to take things to the next step.

No Strings Attached melds romantic comedy with edgy subject matter, promising to provide an incisive exploration of the consequences of sex without emotional attachment. However, the film plays it far too safe, so you know precisely how the proceedings will play out. After all, there's no way in hell that studio executives were going to let a star-studded rom-com end audaciously and unconventionally (à la 2009's brilliant indie (500) Days of Summer), because an average couple (and, thus, the target audience) want to leave a cinema with a warm, fuzzy feeling. Bolder equals less profit, after all, and nobody knows that better than Hollywood executives. No Strings Attached was produced for a measly $25 million which should have allowed leeway for the film to be daring, but making as much money as possible was more important, especially since it would've taken a Herculean struggle in itself just to have the film be R-rated. Rom-com consumers who love the formula in all its forms may appreciate the comfort associated with No Strings Attached, but the unabashed conventionality of Elizabeth Meriwether's screenplay will most likely come across as pure laziness to more casual film-goers.

To be fair, No Strings Attached is not excruciating. Ivan Reitman has helmed a number of worthwhile comedies during his career (including Stripes and Kindergarten Cop), so the film is often entertaining enough. From a technical perspective this is a solid effort as well, with handsome production values and a constantly enjoyable soundtrack made up of charming, delightful tunes. In terms of laughs, the film delivers from time to time, though the laugh quotient is not as high as one might expect from a production like this. The film also plods during certain sections, unfortunately - there are a few laugh-free stretches of pure rom-com formula (for instance the "break up to make up" section) which are meant to be mistaken as evidence of cinematic maturity, but Reitman was unable to enliven them.

Movie sex scenes with Natalie Portman are like eclipses or sightings of Hayley's Comet - they're very rare, and you just hope that you'll witness at least one in your lifetime. In terms of her actual performance, Portman acquits herself quite well; nailing the various facets of her role. Alongside her, Ashton Kutcher was traversing more familiar terrain as Adam. He's well-known for playing a good-hearted puppy dog of a romantic lead, and thus No Strings Attached at no point challenges his acting abilities. Nonetheless, Kutcher is strong in his role, and he shares great chemistry and camaraderie with Portman. In this type of romantic comedy, supporting roles are usually just thankless throwaways, but in No Strings Attached, the typically thankless roles were energised by excellent writing and an ideal bunch of actors. Kevin Kline in particular is a scene-stealer, delivering a bunch of amusing lines and generally emanating hilarity. The extensive roster of memorable supporting characters was further filled out by the unbelievably adorable Greta Gerwig as one of Emma's roommates, the always-reliable Cary Elwes as a doctor, and the hilarious Ludacris as one of Adam's witty best friends, just to name a few.

With its mainstream-pandering vibe, No Strings Attached sacrifices thematic integrity in order to widen its appeal as much as possible. Unfortunately, the film attempts to have it both ways; trying to generate a veneer of maturity while dishing up laughs and the clichés that casual movie fans will be comfortable with. Suffice it to say, the merger of these two distinct styles is rather squiffy, resulting in a fun enough surface-level ride that would have been easily superior if the screenwriter simply chose one specific style and stuck with it.

5.5/10

Ashton Kutcher getting better ;)

My final review for the year 2010 was of the much-better-than-anticipated LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS, a romantic comedy that rejects a lot of the conventions of that genre and that has a very interesting take on what can happen when two people decide to be "fuck buddies." As luck would have it, I'm starting the new year off with a supposedly similarly-themed film. Unfortunately, I can't share the same amount of excitement for NO STRINGS ATTACHED that I did for LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS. Then again, let's be honest - despite what the title and trailer are trying to tell you, NO STRINGS ATTACHED is not really a film about what it's like to be involved in a "friends with benefits" situation. During the film's first 20 minutes, Adam (Ashton Kutcher) and Emma (Natalie Portman) make an agreement to only be sex friends... immediately after that, we get a quick montage featuring snippets of them having sex in lots of locations (each others' houses, workplaces, etc)... and guess what comes after that. No, not more sex (you wish). What comes after that is everything you've seen a dozen times in other romantic comedies. The only difference here is that the guy who's trying to get the girl has already had sex with her. Does that make a big difference to you? It doesn't to me.

The interesting thing is, though, that despite the movie's descent into romcom cliches after the first 20 minutes, I should've easily been able to recommend NO STRINGS ATTACHED, because the two leads actually do have a decent amount of chemistry throughout the film's second act. The bigger problem with NO STRINGS ATTACHED is that it's half an hour too long. The final act is too drawn out, and the fact that most of it consists of the two main characters not sharing the screen together makes it worse. What makes the film lose even more credit here is the fact that there's a haphazard attempt to provide the male lead with another female love interest, which would be fine, except that the character that is selected to fulfill that role is one of those "annoyingly funny" characters who are usually amusing enough if they stay in the background and don't show up in that many scenes, but not if all of a sudden the film wants the character to acquire substantial importance (think Alison Pill's character in SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD). This sudden attempt at giving Adam a new love interest feels rushed, and because of the character's personality, the scenes feel horribly awkward and misplaced. The final act of NO STRINGS ATTACHED becomes ruined to the point that it won't really matter how satisfying the "getting back together" scene between the two lovebirds is, because it won't make up for it.

Oh, and just to give you an idea of the "great" female supporting characters that are given to us in the film, let me tell you about Emma's friends. One of them wears a pair of panties with the word "WHORE" on the back side. Another one tells Emma "Hey, let's go out tonight. Remember, we're sluts!" (oh, and she's supposed to be a med school student). The even sadder thing about this is that a woman wrote the film's screenplay. It's kind of dispiriting to think that we're in the year 2011 and lines like these are still being spoken in movies. Will it only get worse?

Still, the film is far from being terrible. There's a particularly funny scene in which a character does a perfect rendition of Drew Barrymore (it's one of those moments in which you wish rewind buttons were available in movie theaters so you can rewatch a scene). But more importantly, the fact that Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman are able to exhibit a decent amount of chemistry during the film's middle section keeps the film at least above the level of mediocrity. Kutcher acts a little bit better than he has in his other films (if that means much to you), and as for Portman, I can't imagine this film will threaten her upcoming Oscar win. It's rumored that, back in 2007, Eddie Murphy lost his all-but-assured Oscar win for DREAMGIRLS because of the fact that NORBIT was released shortly before the Oscars. Rest assured, since NO STRINGS ATTACHED is far from being a terrible film and Portman's performance in BLACK SWAN is eminently Oscar-worthy, she won't suffer the same fate here. There's nothing special about her performance in NO STRINGS ATTACHED because she's not really asked to do much other than act initially hesitant and stoic and eventually lovestruck and desperate, but it's not a performance that'll taint her career either.

I imagine that "fuck buddies" have existed for a while now, so I'm not sure why there's a sudden string of movies about the subject. We got LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS, now NO STRINGS ATTACHED, and later this year, we'll get another similarly-themed film starring Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake, which is very un-originally titled FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS (and yes, apparently, all films that are about that subject need to feature insanely attractive leads). As much as some romantic comedies can be good, what I think I'd really be interested in seeing is a more serious film that really explored how troubling it can be to walk the fine line between having "sex-only" interaction with someone while trying to avoid deeper feelings to surface. The main problem with NO STRINGS ATTACHED isn't just that it fails as a serious exploration of that dilemma, but that it fails as a comedic one as well, because it tosses the "friends with benefits" issue aside in its first 20 minutes, then moves straight into Romcom 101 material, and then finishes it off with an ill-conceived final act. Therefore, the situations that are meant to be funny turn out to be flimsy and overly familiar rather than fresh or insightful. But hey, if it's worth something, it's one of Ashton Kutcher's best films.