Movie with Benefits

By: Emma Malm

We all know the story line: they meet, they fall, they lose, they realize, they get. We make fun of it, but we all love it. I’m talking about the romantic comedy.

In Friends with Benefits, skillfully directed, produced, and co-written by Will Gluck, we see this exact story line unfold, marking it as a classic and by-the-books romantic comedy. Though what’s different about this rom-com is its sharp self-awareness and ability to mark the clichés, not only within its own genre, but within our own world. Friends with Benefits looks at itself in the mirror, nods, and says, “Yup, that’s me.”

Although some may say it’s embarrassing and uncool to enjoy a movie with Justin Timberlake in it, don’t judge a movie by its former boy band member. Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis deliver outstanding performances of two peas in a pod in denial.

Sparks fly as soon as “emotionally-damaged” headhunter, Jamie (Kunis), meets “emotionally unavailable” magazine art director, Dylan (Timberlake). Between fast paced and sharp tongued banter, reminiscent of the dialogue in When Harry Met Sally, Jamie and Dylan soon find themselves in a supposedly complication-free agreement to be friends with benefits (hence the super sly title). “No emotion. Just sex,” they swear over an iPhone Bible app.

What ensues, however (and of course), is not what they signed up for. Though they both try dating outside their beneficial friendship, they find that maybe “emotionally damaged” and “emotionally unavailable” aren’t so bad after all, especially when they Jerry Maguire complete each other so well: Woman – man; New Yorker– LA native; yin – yang.

What especially delights is what it stands for concerning gender relations of tomorrow – or quite possibly today. Gluck and his co-writers Keith Merryman and David Newman create a strong female romantic lead that comes with emotional complications, just like any other human. A believable, complex female lead in a romantic comedy? Mila Kunis makes it so!

Kunis presents Jamie as the quintessential modern single woman who, despite her great strength, is emotionally trapped by her own, unrealistic romantic ideals. Gluck uses Jamie not to tell us that fairy tales are impossible, but that they’re in dire need of an update: “Shut up Katherine Heigl, you stupid liar!” screams Jamie (quite rightfully) at a poster of The Ugly Truth.

What really stood out for me was the myriad of raunchy sex scenes which I found bizarrely relatable. “What are you trying to do – dig your way to China?” asks Jamie of Dylan as he performs oral activity on her privates.

The next few minutes of sexual encounters between the two peas are hilarious, honest, and absolutely perfect – likely the most well done, hilarious, and relateable sex scenes this author has ever seen in a film.

All in all, Friends With Benefits is a rom com that should actually be seen. It has believable chemistry, conflict, and characters. It’s easy to swallow, absolutely delicious, and totallysatisfying when it comes to both redefining romantic comedies and re-emphasizing why they were loved in the first place.

Maybe you’ll even start to like Justin Timberlake.

Pull Quotes:

“don’t judge a movie by its former boy band member” *IF SPACE FOR TWO WITH TWO THEATRE AND CAFE COLUMNS THEN ALSO *** “the most well done, hilarious, and relatable sex scenes… ever”