Friends With Benefits

Sometimes when movies hit theaters, it’s in pairs. Friends With Benefits was released right about the same time as No Strings Attached. Granted, Friends With Benefits had the benefit of not counting Ashton Kutcher as one of its cast members, and everyone who saw Mila Kunis in Black Swan wanted to know where she’d been hiding. Best of all, the only thing the movie asks of its stars is to be young, attractive, and a little silly. The romantic comedy is a formula that works, which is why we look to it as often as we do. What Friends With Benefits does well is to be self-aware; it manages to be both romantic and to skewer the romantic comedy for the fantasy it is.

Justin Timberlake has earned a fair amount of respect, between his appearances on Saturday Night Live and his performance in The Social Network. Who else could hold his own opposite Mila Kunis? While a far cry from Black Swan, Kunis is still a force to be reckoned with, fiery and self-assured. She’s tougher than most romantic leads, which is refreshing. And while there’s plenty that doesn’t make sense in this movie, at least the friendly chemistry between the leads is believable. The supporting cast is adequate - Woody Harrelson stoops to an uncomfortable role as a gay sports writer working for Timberlake, but why doesn’t Jenna Elfman appear in more films? She’s so good, and wasted in unworthy television projects.

All the same, Friends With Benefits fills the same role as the relationship in the title. It’s a little more complicated than it sounds, but what’s familiar makes us feel good. And there’s something to be said for that. It’s not often that it works, but sometimes, Friends With Benefits does.