As was the case with this year’s identically themed (but seriously sub-par) No Strings Attached, the plot of Friends With Benefits is contained neatly in the title. Gluck, director of last year’s funny but flawed Easy A, again proves his talent for bringing clever comedy to the screen and allowing his witty scripts and charming stars to outshine the pedestrian premise.
And they don’t get much more charming than Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake, who are incredibly easy to watch, and not just because of their damn fine genes. Their affability and chemistry, allied to a razor-sharp script, succeed where No Strings Attached failed, namely in creating two lovable characters whose feelings and relationship you genuinely care about. The supporting cast too are top-notch, with the hilarious Woody Harrelson and a wonderfully sweet turn by Richard Jenkins stealing the show.

But given the serious talent involved and the great writing, I can’t help but feel that this film could have been something much more had Gluck not decided to play it so safe. Benefits aside, Kunis and Timberlake’s friendship is so endearing it would have been interesting to explore how sex affected their friendship, instead of just predictably transforming it into romance. Given that it’s been officially proven (I exaggerate) that a friends-with-benefits arrangements has never, in the history of mankind (again, slight hyperbole) worked properly, it may have been more honest and spoken to a wider audience.
Instead, Friends With Benefits pokes fun at the formulaic nature of romantic comedies while rigidly sticking to it. A couple of references to Katherine Heigl and Nora Ephron does not an original film make, and self-awareness doesn’t automatically lead to self-improvement.