It's Just Movies

— by ADAM POYNTER —

Alright, I’m just going to come out and say it. Yes, “Friends with Benefits” has basically the same premise as “No Strings Attached,” which was released earlier this year. Both films were shot during the same time last year and the female leads of each — Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman — co-starred in last year’s great film “Black Swan.” One just had the luck of being released first, and the other is going to seem like a copy of the previous film. So now that were done talking about the obvious, let us get on with talking about this new trailer.

In “Friends with Benefits,” we meet Jamie (Mila Kunis) and Dylan (Justin Timberlake) as they both get rejected by their significant others. Fate brings them together as Jamie recruits Dylan for a web design job in New York. Being born and raised in L.A., he is reluctant at first but then agrees to take the job. As both are recovering from bad break-ups, they bond over their disdain for conventional relationships and decide to have purely physical and non-emotional sexual encounters. As you can guess, they start to have feeling for one another.

This movie seems appealing to me because of the all-star cast of secondary and supporting characters, including Woody Harrelson, Patricia Clarkson, Emma Stone, Richard Jenkins, Jenna Elfman and many more. This movie also makes use of Justin Timberlake’s singing talent and turns it into a running joke throughout the film. As he sings Kris Kross, I was cracking up because it was such a popular but cheesy song.

Seeming a bit more risqué, showing them in bed together a lot in this trailer it seems like they are taking the subject of casual sex and really running with it. I also love how they acknowledge other popular movies of this genre when Jamie mentions Katherine Heigl after seeing the poster for “The Ugly Truth.” The jokes stemming from the supporting characters seem witty and hilarious as well.

With a great supporting cast of characters, I’m sure “Friends with Benefits” — which hits theaters July 22 — will be quite funny.

. . .

Follow Adam Poynter on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CCWGGuy.

And don’t forget to “Like” It’s Just Movies on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/itsjustmovies.