Ashton Kutcher in yet another romcom? Don’t worry Natalie Portman is in this one too…
Romantic comedies, Romcoms, Chick Flicks, call them what you will, there’s no escaping them. As a genre it’s much maligned but then how many classic romcoms can you name? Pretty Woman? Sleepless in Seattle? When Harry Met Sally? There probably aren’t more than a handful that merit re-watching, or that are considered more than just trashy cinema. The sheer number of romcoms released annually suggests there’s obviously money to be made but they’re all a little forgettable. The romcom came from what was once known as the ‘women’s weepie’ a sub genre of cinema created almost exclusively for a female audience, coming out of the tail end of the old studio system. Melodramatic and bittersweet these films were all classics. The girl didn’t always get her guy and love didn’t always triumph, which is a bit more like real life isn’t it?
Ashton Kutcher, who seems to have become the new Meg Ryan, in terms of just how many romcoms he’s been in, is our hero here. I quite like Ashton, so I may be biased when I say he’s rather good in the film, but you can make your own mind up about that. Quite inexplicably he’s joined by the gorgeous Natalie Portman. One assumes, she signed the contract for this film before her Oscar winning Black Swan performance. Having said that she’s great in No Strings Attached and is actually a pretty good comedy actress. From her timing to the physical comedy she’s superb throughout. There’s a good supporting cast too, Kevin Kline plays Adam’s father, the dashing Cary Elwes plays a doctor and of course there’s also everyone’s favourite romcom star…Ludacris. I’m actually serious about that last one. But even he’s quite good in it.
The film opens with two teenagers Emma (Natalie Portman) and Adam (Ashton Kutcher) consoling each other about their personal foibles at summer camp. Adam, troubled by his parents divorce seeks comfort from Emma, who has no friends because she’s ‘weird’. It doesn’t start off terribly well – “Can I finger you?” “…no”. Through a series of flashbacks we see the pair bumping into each other again and again over the years but never quite at the right time to get it together. Adam grows up to be an aspiring writer and while reeling from the horror of his girlfriend leaving him for his own father he tries hard to romance Emma, now a doctor. When they finally do hook up, Portman’s character isn’t looking for commitment so suggests they become ‘friends with benefits’. How terribly modern. Of course as it’s a romcom, they can’t quite manage to keep their hearts out of it. It’s not quite as sentimental as some romcoms, and to be honest it’s better for it. There are plenty of laughs though, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t smiling from ear to ear by the end.
No Strings Attached is released on dvd on June 27th