It’s one of those films I hate to review because I don’t want my review to be as generic as the genre I’m reviewing. Fortunately No Strings Attached has enough that stands out where I have something to discuss, but this film offers little in the way of surprises, at least none that will have audiences hailing it as anything more than just another mild crowd pleaser.
Gerwig is a performer that arrives like a breath of fresh air
As such, I can’t help but wonder what it was that had him thinking this should be his next project. What would motivate the director of such classic comedies as Stripes and Ghost Busters to direct a rather benign rom-com dusted with the same potty humor that infects most R-rated comedies since Judd Apatow made such jokes part of the mainstream?
No Strings Attached plays out exactly as you would think. Kutcher and Portman play Adam and Emma, two people that have been bumping into one another for the past 15 years but until now have never done anything more than talk. Suddenly, after one night together turns into a second night together, Emma suggests they make an attempt at becoming friends with benefits. Being a male of prurient mind and body, Adam agrees. But, as life tells us, such arrangements don’t often work and in order for this to be a movie it’s not going to work this time either. Continue reading Ivan Reitman’s No Strings Attached is harmless