Friends With Benefits DVD

Friends With Benefits is a romantic comedy set mainly in New York with additional scenes in LA. The film follows online art director Dylan (Justin Timberlake) as he gets recruited to GQ magazine by headhunter Jamie (Mila Kunis). The two get together soon enough but not on the usual terms - this time it's purely friendship plus sex. And be warned - or get excited - there is a lot of it. The bedroom scenes manage to be both graphic and funny but of course we know that such a relationship is doomed to failure because sex alone is never enough and after all this is a romantic comedy, right? As such, the plot is predictable enough; the casual nature of the relationship is tested when Jamie decides to date other men. When that (invariably) fails, Dylan lets Jamie get too close by inviting her to LA to meet his dysfunctional but endearing family. There follows a falling out based on a misunderstanding followed by the final reconciliation at which point the relationship is appropriately upgraded and everyone is happy.

I deliberately omitted a spoiler warning there given the highly predictable nature of the genre and the fact that this exact same theme and plotline has been covered quite recently. In No Strings Attached, Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman make a pact to have er...no strings attached casual sex without falling in love. Even the tagline sounds suspiciously familiar, "Friendship has its benefits".

This is not to say that Friends With Benefits is a samey film; there is sufficient originality in the details and minor roles to keep things interesting. Woody Harrelson's unique take on alpha-homosexuality is superb while Richard Jenkins as Dylan's father even manages to infuse humour into the sensitive subject of Alzheimer's disease. The city of New York itself deserves special mention, looking great in mid-summer. While the amazing apartments Jamie and Dylan live in are somewhat unlikely for two people in their late 20s living in the Big Apple, the use of flash mobs and cutting edge cellular and internet technology remind us that the romantic comedy has come a long way since the now rather quaint-looking You've Got Mail with its dial-up connections and chunky laptops.

As for the main actors, there is no doubt that Justin Timberlake can hold his own in this company. A convincing portrayal of enthusiasm and sheer energy seem to be his edge, whether of the malevolent kind in The Social Network or the more engaging kind seen here. A great example of this is when he rips the door off his new office at GQ to emphasise the open nature of his management style. It may sound corny and Office USA-like but Timberlake somehow manages to bring a youthful freshness and style to this and just about everything else he does in the film. Mila Kunis for her part looks sultry throughout and her exploration of the female emotional spectrum in all its glory is more than credible. Most importantly, these two actors create a palpable sense of chemistry in a way which most other romantic comedies manage to fail dismally. In an increasingly crowded genre, this alone is enough to raise Friends With Benefits firmly above its peers.