No Strings Attached Review: Surprisingly Filling, Tastes Great

This is the third month in a row that I’ve covered a romantic comedy for the site, and I have to say, I wasn’t feeling all that pumped about No Strings Attached. That’s not to say the previews didn’t make me laugh, the stars didn’t do it for me (HUGE girl crush on Natalie Portman), or anything specific, really. Just that I’ve been seeing films lately like The King’s Speech (my best picture of 2010), The Fighter, True Grit, etc and seeing great, innovative, beautiful filmmaking can make it harder to get excited about what appears to be your run of the mill script.

No Strings Attached turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

I laughed, and not just at the parts revealed in the previews. I honestly identified with both characters, pulled for them to work things out, and most importantly – believed their relationship as it began and developed.

The periphery characters of the one hit wonder, semi-famous father (Kevin Kline), the silly ex-girlfriend (Ophelia Lovibond), the boss (Jennifer Irwin), the boss’ assistant (Lake Bell), the best friends (Greta Gerwig, Ludacris, Mindy Kaling, and Jake M. Johnson), the wide-eyed younger sister (Olivia Thirlby), and even the random Other Guy (Ben Lawson) were well rounded, easily defined, and deep enough to be both amusing and realistic. The only character that had absolutely no point was played by Cary Elwes, who I honest to goodness didn’t recognize until going over the cast on IMDB. So. Strange.

There isn’t that much to tell, plot wise. If you’ve seen the previews, you know that boy meets girl, girl has commitment issues (that remain relatively undefined), boy and girl sleep together and agree to keep it casual, which of course doesn’t work out.

Except somehow Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman manage to make Adam and Emma endearing and the opposite of boring, even as we watch their “normal” issues unfurl. Every inch of them, every decision they make, it all feels authentic. We all know people like Adam, and people like Emma.

Okay, perhaps we don’t know people whose fathers are sleeping with their ex-girlfriends, but that’s beside the point.

Adam is a struggling writer, working as an assistant on a teen dance show (think a mashup of Glee and High School Musical). His boss, the insane Meg, won’t give him a shot as a writer until her assistant Lucy (who has a huge, obvious, awkward) crush on Adam agrees to take a look. Emma is a surgical resident, and uses the crazy hours at work as an excuse to keep the men in her life from getting too close. She doesn’t cuddle, or sleep over, or go on dates. Just sex, nothing else.

We all know this doesn’t work (probably because we’ve all tried it at one time or another). The characters should know it doesn’t work either, but they’re having fun and willing to give it a shot. Things go well for some time, until they wake up spooning and fully clothed. Emma demands Adam go hook up with some other chicks, then gets jealous and shows up (drunk and calling the girls he’s with pumpkins) to run them off. The scene is chock full of comedy gold, which is a much underestimated and underutilized facet of Natalie Portman, if you ask me.

Emma finds herself falling, and when Adam confesses he’s in love with her, she breaks it off. No spoilers (honestly, do you need me to tell you they end up together?), but the end is as perfectly believable as the rest of the script. I’m keeping my eye on screenwriter Elizabeth Meriwether, because she’s done something nearly impossible with what should be a typical romantic comedy.

She’s made it charming and honest.

I have no interest in spoiling any of the fantastic comedic scenes she hits out of the park – every character listed in this article elicits multiple laughs during the hour and fifty minute runtime. I have two words for you, though, because I loved it.

Period. Mix.

This scene contained the best line of the film, in my opinion, uttered by Greta Gerwig.

If you’re looking for some outstanding acting, a fresh screenplay, and a genuine good time at the movies, No Strings Attached could provide a much needed breather from the heavy, Oscar worthy flicks.

It satisfied this cynical old girl.