"No Strings Attached" Review: No Chemistry Either
NEW YORK (CBS) In a role reversal, Ivan Reitman's new romantic comedy "No Strings Attached". has the girl running from commitment and the guy seeking it out
Natalie Portman, hot off a Golden Globe win for her dark portrayal of an obsessive ballerina in the "Black Swan," goes in a completely different direction in this, at-times raunchy comedy.
She plays a smart, attractive medical resident - who has the urge, but not the time to be in a full-time committed relationship. She just wants the fringe benefits, with no emotional ties.
In walks Adam (Ashton Kutcher), an old summer-camp acquaintance she first met 15 years ago, when he tried to put the moves on her. Though she brushes him off, the two remain friends, though don't really keep in touch, bumping into one another through mutual friends over the years.
Fast forward and the two end up in the same town and run into one another at a farmer's market. Kutcher is a low-level assistant on a "High School Musical"-like television show. His greatest accomplishment seems to be having a narcissist for a father, brilliantly played by Kevin Kline, whose character has enjoyed some success as a former sitcom star.
Kutcher also has a bombshell for a girlfriend - Vanessa. That is, until his father, a serial trophy-wife collector, steals her away from him.
Totally heartbroken, Adam goes through his entire phone book determined to have a one-night stand. Instead, he ends up completely drunk and naked, waking up in Emma and her roommate's apartment.
The two decide to form a completely physical, non-emotional friends-with-benefits relationship. Sounds like a dream situation, except Adam wants more from the relationship and Emma starts to fall for her "convenient" partner.
The cheesy, sleazy one liners that abound in this type-A, yuppie-infused film detract from what otherwise is an interesting plot that serves up characters with some substance.
Portman delivers on her role as a nonchalant career girl, not interested in getting bogged down. What is interesting is her childhood experiences with her parents that have led to her fears of commitment.
Kutcher is less strong, coming off as a sidekick going along for the ride. His strongest moments come not from his interaction with Portman (with whom, incidentally, the chemistry seems rather forced), but from the screen time he shares with his ego-maniacal father. He correctly keys in on the frustration of having to parent his wayward, immature celebrity dad.
Reitman ("Ghostbusters", "Stripes") says he was inspired to return to directing with this film after the success of son Jason's smart, critically acclaimed relationship comedy "Up in the Air," It seems as if the son may have surpassed his father.
Reitman, Sr. could use a few pointers from his son on ratcheting things up a notch, though he has enough of a pedigree to keep things keep moving along, albeit, sometimes at a pace not fast enough for viewers who already see what's coming around the corner.