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No Strings Attached – Review
January 22nd, 2011 by winna | Featured Blogger
image from onlinemovieshut.com
Natalie, this is beneath you. It baffles me. You’re an actress that is in contention and probably the most likely to receive the Best Actress Academy Award this year for your spectacular performance in Black Swan yet you choose to star in a romantic comedy (why?!?!?!)! I honestly expected this film to be somewhat decent just because Natalie Portman was in it. Mind you I am completely aware of the formulaic, cheesiness and predictable narrative of all romantic comedies but No Strings Attached is by far one of the worst I have ever seen.
In attempt to bolster the star power and popularity of the film, several guest appearances were made by celebrities such as Ludacris, Kevin Kline, and even the director of the film himself, Ivan Reitman. Despite their appearances and the starring roles of Portman and Kutcher, the film just failed to deliver. Portman and Kutcher had no chemistry because it lacked that sort of ease and authenticity that let’s say Barrymore and Long had in their film Going the Distance (albeit they were actually a couple at the time).
The film was raunchy – expected, predictable and uber cheesy – also expected, but it was also incredibly uncomfortable to watch at times. For instance, the very first sex scene took way too long and just the timing of it felt so awkward – not to say the audience should have been forewarned but it was definitely bizarre. In fact the whole film was a bit bizarre at times where in certain scenes, the banter would be too forced or unnecessarily dragged on for too long.
I’d say the only redeeming part of the film was the character Lucy, a small role played by Lake Bell. She was hilarious! Her character was so awkward and eager to please Kutcher’s character Adam that it was impossible not to instantly fall in love with her.
Overall I’d give the film a 2.5/5 stars.
January 22nd, 2011 at 3:44 pm
Please don’t put all romantic comedies in the same category, especially since many of them are way out of the league of anything Ashton Kutcher has ever produced. I’m extremely offended as a fan of quality romantic comedies.
If you want to talk Oscars, Annie Hall and When Harry Met Sally are both genre-defining films and there’s pretty much nothing cliched about either of them. Annie Hall won 4 oscars including best picture (and rightly so). When Harry Met Sally was nominated for an oscar for best writing, and deservingly so. Even more recent films which have these two as strong influences like Kissing Jessica Stein (an incredibly original piece of work that borrows from When Harry Met Sally) and even the very popular 500 Days of Summer (which borrows heavily from Annie Hall) are both very good films.
There are indeed many terrible romantic comedies: Bride Wars, He’s Just Not That Into You, etc. But there are also many excellent ones.
Of course, if you’re complaining that anything with Ashton Kutcher is bad, well, no argument here ^_-.
January 23rd, 2011 at 3:43 pm
I saw the movie as well, and although I agree that it is certainly not Oscar-worthy, I don’t agree that it deserved such harsh judgment. This movie never set out to be ground-breaking or award-winning; it’s a fun, kitschy romantic comedy. It was entertaining overall: I laughed a lot more than I expected to, and I thought Kutcher and Portman had great chemistry and solid performances considering the quality of the script. I also loved the music (the track played in the final scene was perfect – Love Lost by the Temper Trap), and I thought the supporting actors and actresses were a great addition (especially Lake Bell, as you mentioned, who was hysterical).
I also disagree with your judgment of Portman for taking on this role. Why do a romantic comedy? Why not? Black Swan was an excellent film for Portman and she really showed that she had acting chops, but I was honestly relieved to see a livelier, funny side of the actress in No Strings Attached. A little versatility can’t hurt in this case.
As far as (recent) romantic comedies go, I think No Strings Attached is a perfectly fine film. If you’re expecting the acting to be equivalent in caliber to Black Swan, prepare to be disappointed. If you want to see a funny movie with a genuinely likable cast and a cute romance, this is your movie.