Romantic Comedy is a genre that Hollywood is constantly pumping out with the most recent release being “No Strings Attached”. It is seems to be your typical Hollywood romcom as the male star begins falling in love with a female star with elements of so-called “comedy” integrated into the script. However, the love story in this film is far from simple.
The film begins 15 years ago with friends, Adam (Ashton Kutcher) and Emma (Natalie Portman), sitting on a bench outside their prom night, discussing their lack of dates. The scene provides the first laugh of the film when Adam asks: “Can I finger you?”
In the current day, after showing the two meeting purely by chance throughout life, Adam is an aspiring writer stuck in a PA job for a Glee-style television programme.
In a drunken state and desperate for sex after finding his father is dating his ex-girlfriend Adam goes down his phone book and comes across Emma’s number. This led to the two sleeping together and agreeing to become “friends with benefits”.
Both Adam and Emma attempt to keep their relationship strictly physical but it’s not long before they make their true feelings for each other known.
Having such a strong plot, something that is quite rare for a film in the genre, makes up for the lack of funny moments in the film. One scene which particularly stood out was Adam creating a “Period Mix” consisting of songs relating to periods, such as Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love” and, the cringe worthy, Frank Sinatra’s “I’ve Got the World on a String”.
Other than that, Emma’s homosexual flatmate, Adam’s drugged-up father and Adam giving Emma a balloon after they had sex, provide nothing more than mere amusement.
With “No Strings Attached” being predominantly about two people having sex at all hours of the day, there are quite a number of sex scenes within the film. Natalie Portman doesn’t reveal a lot of her body (much to the disappointment of male viewers). But there is a scene consisting of Aston Kutcher holding only a tea towel against his private parts, walking out of the room displaying a close-up of his rear, is the eye candy for female viewers.
Despite taking a little bit longer to get to the predictable fairytale ending, “No Strings Attached” is still your generic Hollywood film. The well-written plot outweighs the film’s poor comedy, only providing a few laughs throughout. If you like the look of it, check it out.