No Strings Attached (2011)

Emotionally unencumbered and sexually satisfied, friends with benefits Emma (Natalie Portman) and Adam (Ashton Kutcher) have an open relationship that suits them just fine. That is, until those pesky little things called feelings enter the picture.

I really did want to enjoy No Strings Attached. It had a good cast, a funny looking trailer, a nice role reversal going on, and it was R rated, the best rating a comedy can achieve. All it ended up turning itself into was a boring, generic film directed by the guy who made Ghostbusters.

The role reversal could have thrown a curve ball into the plot, but it still was something we have seen before. The difference obviously was it was the woman making all the wrong choices this time. That disguise does not hide the lazy writing and linear path the film took on. It has its moments where it makes you laugh or tugs at your heart a bit, but sitting through 120 minutes of footage just to see five of them just is not worth the time. I still cannot believe I expected something different to happen here; it sucks because the rare ones that end up good are great. This one rubbed off on me the wrong way.

These expectations came from its two leads. Portman, coming off her brilliant performance in Black Swan, gets to relax and turn in a casual performance. This film made me realize that she can be a funny gal, but only in small doses. Watching her try and pull a laugh out of you was dreadful to watch. She should keep to the dramatic roles and if she wants to be funny, stick to the skits and cameos. On the other hand, Ashton Kutcher has made his living off of these roles. I am not afraid to admit I have enjoyed a handful of his films, but this is not one of them. These two alone did not have enough chemistry to hold the film together from its terrible supporting cast. This is one of the rare occurrences when not even a single supporting character even came close to impacting the film. It was cringe-worthy watching them try and say one-liners.

All that needs to be said about No Strings Attached is that it's a romantic comedy that is neither romantic, nor funny. It is nothingness.

Overall Score: 3.5/10