Friends with Benefits is one of the most hypocritically hilarious movies I've seen in awhile. I mean that in the most positive way that I can. Somehow our film outlook has been somewhat reduced films that critically lambaste the genre it inhabits rather than actually presenting intriguing narrative. Such is our postmodern condition. I'm going to rip off a podcast (filmspotting.net) that I love and describe it the way they did. Martin Scorsese made personal films. Today, people make films in homage to his films. FWB fits into this condition as it it seems less interested in buffing the stereotypes of romantic comedies, preferring just to snigger in the corner and throw Cheetos at its head.
I don't really need to get into the plot because it's pretty self-explanatory. Justin Timberlake, plays Dylan, an artistic director who is being charmed by a headhunter named Jamie played by Mila Kunis. Jamie's persuasive nature is undeniable and gets Dylan to relocate to become the art director at GQ. Both coming out of a bad relationship, they decide that their relationship can sustain a little little sex, provided they do not catch feelings in the process.
Forthrightly concerned with seperating itself from the typical drivel at the local movie-plex, the film begins its onslaught on protoypical romantic comedies with the quickly edited opening, crosscutting between what appears to be a conversation between Dylan and Jamie. However, they aren't actually talking; they haven't even met yet. They're both having a similarly banal disagreement with their significant other, moments before being dumped by Andy Samberg and Emma Stone, irrespectively. The scene plays upon the inevitable heartbreak that rom-coms portray and the ever popular statement of the rom-com genre, "It's so tough to find someone sane in LA/NY." I actually liked the opening. I found this sequence and other little digs to the prototypical rom-coms to be entertaining. In fact, there is one scene where Jamie walks past a wall of movie posters promoting Katherine Heigl. She drunkenly screams, "Shut up, Katherine Heigl! You stupid liar!" It is perhaps ironic though that the film tends to fall into these trappings. But it's worth it!
One notable strength of the film is the relationship built between Mila and Justin. The film actually spends a lot of time selling the friendship between these two. The sex scenes are pretty hilarious, completely unsexy, and have a purposefully light tone because it actually portrays two buddies having sex together. They square off intellectually and emotionally which is great because most films don't really sell that relationship (cough*No Strings Attached, I'm looking at you) too well. Mila is amazing who seems perfect as the foul-mouthed guy's girls, but does not lose all her feminine qualities. She also made me laugh which most girls onscreen do not. Justin Timberlake is great, once again transporting his charisma from the stage to the screen in an effortlessly cool way (Will Smith anyone?). These two work well together and present an interesting conception of male and female relationships.
Friends with Benefits flips the gender roles of its genre. Mila Kunis' character, the fast-talking, non-bullshitter, plays the masculine role by courting JT's character. She whisks him around the city, taking him out to dinner and drinks, showing him the beauty of NY in the way you'd expect a man to do on a first date. She's a lot more domineering and forceful as well. Of course, it could be a component of her being from NY, but nonetheless she does take on those conventional character traits. JT's character is kind feminized in this way as well; he is a lot more mild-mannered, laid-back, and all too swept away by Kunis' aggressive charm. Continuing with this theory, naturally JT would be the one to bring up the FWB arrangement. Usually it's the the girl who brings up the sex only relationship because a man would come off too sleazy if he brings it up. It works here because, by and large, Justin Timberlake is feminized by virtue of the subverted conventional gender politics (that's worth a blog entry in of itself).
It is a fun ride, filled with funny, believable character, especially Woody Harrelson who kills every scene he is in and presents what I think to be a fairly noteworthy conception of a gay man. The film presents enough intriguing elements to atone for its conventionally structured plot line while also more effectively portraying the main relationship than your typical romantic comedy. It's certainly a DVD purchase for me.
Peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment