Friends with Benefits

The non-violent banter between Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis is unusually charming and authentic, and it exudes an unbelievably positive energy that the main characters cleverly spice up with an unprecedented pack of spicy dialogues and clever linguistic tricks. And as long as it successfully suppresses all those generic romcoms of the past decade, everything is fine. Unfortunately, inevitably, there has to be a resolution and in the last act and suddenly we find ourselves a step lower, that is, in the category of a quality romantic comedy that fails to offer anything extra and does not embellish the constantly evolving genre in any way. (21/07/2015)

There is a little bit of life in there, and it's fluffed up by the skillful screenwriter into a very effective dialogue whirlwind. Unfortunately, at the end, the film is hurt by exactly what it had been making fun of for more than two-thirds of its runtime, i.e., the tired clichés of all romantic films far and wide. However, thanks to the great actors, it reminded me that even men have a delicate sensitive soul that can be touched sometimes. :) [The bad thing is that the only significant impression I have the day after watching it is Mila Kunis’ absolutely luxurious character.] (18/01/2012)

The combination of the beautiful Mila and the likeable Justin is incredibly great. At times (often, actually) they looked really charming together. And Justin Timberlake finally showed that he can act. The whole plot is engaging and full of fresh jokes and situations. It didn't lack naturalness and flair. Unexpectedly, it also beats Kutcher and Portman for me. I'm tempted to overrate it for the sake of cuteness alone; 4.5 stars. (08/01/2012)

Much better than No Strings Attached, but it's also no prize. The whole thing follows a typical template from beginning to end. Far more sympathetic and believable than the main protagonists were almost all of the supporting characters, undoubtedly the best of which was the perfect Woody Harrelson. The guy is just divine. I also expected it to be even funnier, even though the gag with the mobile app to identify "women's days" is perfect. (23/09/2011)

I was secretly hoping for someone to finally bring a new angle to the romantic comedy genre, but I was disappointed yet again. The filmmakers slavishly copied the established format. Apart from a decent cast, there was practically nothing to be excited about. Actually, there was something. I was glad that there wasn’t too much pathos to wade through at the end. I was also surprised that there weren’t that many funny moments; I would expect some given that it was a comedy. (03/03/2018)