When you see a romantic comedy, you go because you like the genre. But ever present is the hope the script will be clever enough to give you a few laughs and a few plot twists and that the actors will have chemistry. Of course you know how it’s going to end, so it’s hard to criticize “No Strings Attached for being predictable. Fortunately, the script by Elizabeth Meriwether is strong on humor – Adam (Ashton Kutcher) tells Emma (Natalie Portman) she eats like a baby dinosaur; Adam’s rival, a self-satisfied doctor, says he’ll win Emma by ‘using big words and saving lives’ and Emma tells Adam, ‘You give me premature ventricular contractions – my heart skips a beat.’ Meriwether has also included delightful supporting characters to surround Adam and Emma – there’s Adam’s insufferable dad (Kevin Kline); Adam’s ex-girlfriend (Ophelia Lovibond) who becomes his father’s girlfriend; a chatty colleague (Lake Bell) who pines for Adam; Emma’s friend and roommate (Greta Gerwig) who marvels when her date opens her car door. And Kutcher and Portman have terrific on-screen chemistry, using their height difference to comedic effect.
Emma is an overworked medical resident who keeps bumping into Adam, a boy she once met at camp, now an aspiring screenwriter overshadowed by his TV-star father. When they eventually hook up, they agree (at her insistence) that it will only be physical. You know from the start (and from Kutcher’s puppy-dog eyes) that he’s not going to be the romantic holdout in this relationship. Kutcher’s Adam is an intelligent, good-hearted hunk who’s genuinely lovable and Portman makes us believe that Emma does really fear that love will cause grief and abandonment. Directed by Ivan Reitman, “No Strings Attached” is an enjoyable rom-com. 1/21/11
1 comment:
in the past 100 years just about every plot and character has been used in this kind of "romcom". Movie makers try to emulate the morays and realism of the times we are in and try to make it "work". It has become harder and harder to find new humor and plot twists that will satisfy the public these days. Right now Natalie Portman has the hot hand in Hollywood this potential Oscar winner has scored a minof hit with this Genre. This is worth seeing.
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