No Strings Attached

No Strings Attached
2011
Directed by: Ivan Reitman
Starring: Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher

The mere genre of romantic comedy has hit this level. The reality factor has always been pretty bland in the films. And to be honest, this movie was not very different. But there was some sort of truism to the fact that two friends could be lovers and whether it works or not is up to them. Now, going in, I thought the two people in the movie (Portman and Kutcher) would have been friends for a very long time. This, to me, would seem to be a little better hook. Every person has at least one very good friend of the opposite sex and wonders what it would be like if they were to ever hook up.

The answer is, it's weird to think about. How could two people that are such great friends ever be in a purely sexual relationship? Well, they can't. The humor and realism of the movie brought forth these feelings of authentic emotion and affinity. With steady laughs throughout the movie, I found myself smiling throughout.

Kutcher and Portman bring a somewhat realistic nature to their relationship, also being 2 of the most beautiful people in the business. Portman's style and glamour bring about a quirky way of beauty she pulls off with almost no effort. And, I don't really care what people say, Ashton Kutcher is cool. I forgive him for Dude, Where's My Car? but I like his way. He has a realistic way and a nice-guy type feature made for the big screen. That's all I have to say about that.

Kevin Kline plays a sinisterly funny character in Adam's (Kutcher) dad. He's an old man who used to star in a hit television show. He is a pot head asshole who doesn't seem to care about anyone else but himself. His character breaks through the wall when he tells Adam that he (Kline) is now sleeping with Vanessa, one of Adam's exes. The father-son bond is pulled tightly by the strings (no pun) in an effort to create a tension filled bucket of lies and terrible parenthood. Fortunately, the humor does not allow the awkward to take over and completely monopolize the movie. Kline is brilliantly hilarious in this portrayal.


Other than small quirks and cracks, the storyline stayed true and was pretty new and inviting. It brought the technology factor through without the obnoxiousness of dumb characters. The movie was straight to the point and I appreciated that.

Stars (out of 5): * * *