No Strings Attached
Melbourne Central Hoyts, 17/02/2011
Movie #12 for 2011
Here’s how I justify spending money on a movie like No Strings Attached: it’s directed by Ivan Ghostbusters Reitman (insert appropriate D-Generation Arnie impression here); the poster promised lots and lots of Natalie Portman’s legs; and I want to see what happens to an indie idea when it’s appropriated by the mainstream rom-com formula.
A few years ago a couple of great indie films - (500) Days of Summer and Up in the Air - subverted gender role norms by having (gasp!) the girl who just wants casual sex and no romantic entanglements, not the guy. This idea moved a little more towards the middle with the interesting if flawed Love and Other Drugs but now, it appears to have well and truly landed in the mainstream.
Emma (NATALIE PORTMAN) and Adam (ASHTON KUTCHER) are friends with benefits. Their relationship gets complicated when Adam falls for Emma, but she is a commitmentaphobe. Uh oh, problem! While heavily referencing the films mentioned, No Strings Attached falls back to the original rom-com formula, dialing anything subversive right down and turning the frat-boy vibe up to 11.
It’s lucky that Portman and Kutcher are so good looking and work well on screen together, because the film has little else going for it. I should have spent my money on a film with proper indie ideas instead.
