Film Review: Friends With Benefits

Normally when it comes to movies, I wouldn’t go and watch something that stars a singer masquerading as an actor, that was always my opinion. Low and behold I happened to catch a trailer of the new Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis movie which made me chuckle enough that I decided to watch it. 


Not one for romantic comedies, I thought I would take a chance that this one would be at least a little different. Taking that on board, and attempting to keep an open mind, here was my take on a film well out of my comfort zone.

Without giving too much away; Friend with Benefits is a comedy that starts off when Dylan (Timberlake) gets headhunted for a job as an Art Director at GQ magazine. Making friends with his recruiter, Jamie (Kunis) and some quality time later, they decide to forget all about the relationship, and have one that doesn’t involve the romancing, the dating and all the things you would usually expect. Both characters emotionally detached, they stick to the nitty-gritty and keep it purely about the most basic of human desires; screwing each others brains out with good old fashioned guilt free, no strings sex!

The one thing I liked about this comedy is that it tries not to stick to the conventional theme of a romantic comedy. It doesn’t have many of the usual cliches, it’s aimed more towards adults than some adolescent teenagers, its got all the laughs in all the right places, and not trying to oversell itself or be over the top and trying to shock you.

The acting by both Timberlake and Kunis is pretty relaxed and natural and not forced in the slightest and the comedic moments from both can be pretty hilarious but not over the top. I wouldn’t say that the soundtrack is anything to write home about, but I wasn’t watching it for the music. The awkward moments feel awkward and as realistic as you can get without the leads actually having meaningless sex.

The storyline flows with ease and you can actually imagine the awkwardness when they take their friendship to another level. The progression of the characters is well versed and they evolve gradually through the movie. With a supporting cast with the likes of Woody Harrelson and a very arrogant but equally funny Shaun White as himself, it doesn’t take a lot to enjoy the flick.

So it may not get the best ratings from all the critics out there but for me I found it quite an easy watch that left me wishing it had been a bit longer with more scenes of awkwardness. Its one you can happily watch on your own or take the Mrs to see, just make sure you aren’t attempting to drink through some of the scenes or you may end up covering the person infront of you.