No Strings Attached
Rating: 7/10
Cast: Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Kline
Director: Ivan Reitman
Following on from the drama of Black Swan, Natalie Portman heads into lighter territory with this sex buddy romcom.
She stars as Emma, a girl who's known Kutcher's Adam for several years. Adam has always liked her but the pair never quite got together.
But years later, the pair meet up again and decide to embark on a "friends with benefits" relationship.
However, the inevitable rears its head and Adam wants more but Emma is happier in her no strings attached lifestyle....are they destined to never be a couple?
No Strings Attached isn't half bad - given you already know the ending - and most of it is due to the humour and performance of Portman.
With occasionally crude moments, but plenty of laughs and a script which sparkles with one liners throughout, there's certainly enough to get you engaged - and keep you there.
Portman is great dealing with what was that inevitable twist at end but she shows a great light touch for laughs (no doubt after all her work on us comedy Saturday Night Live) and really brings life to the emotionally repressed medic who puts everything ahead of her own lifestyle and heart.
For once, Kutcher isn't bad either giving a bit of depth to Adam and a vulnerability which sees him finally playing someone you can sympathise with.
The rest of the supporting cast - including Kevin Kline as a monstrous showbiz father, give the film a well rounded feel.
Perfectly titled, No Strings Attached is a light romcom which, you too can have a friends with benefits relationship with too - just perfect in time for Valentine's Day.