Friends With Benefits

After being recruited by NYC corporate headhunter Jamie (Mila Kunis), Dylan (Justin Timberlake) moves from Los Angeles to become art director of GQ magazine in Manhattan and a sassy relationship quickly develops between the like-minded pair, who have both been previously burned by love. Jamie and Dylan make a pact that promises casual sex with no commitment—a vow sealed on a cell phone Bible app, rather than a Bible. Predictably, as the pair snuggle on her sofa, Jamie relishes a mockingly romantic faux-movie-within-the-movie, but secretly she wants more. And Dylan isn't exactly adverse to Jamie's charms. As things progress, they bicker and banter, coping with Jamie's raunchy, hippie-ditsy mom (Patricia Clarkson), and Dylan's aging dad (Richard Jenkins), who has Alzheimer's. The script is unevenly written, and the set-up is familiar (recall No Strings Attached and Love & Other Drugs), yet director Will Gluck manages to create the kind of snappy, screwball romantic comedy once embodied by droll pros like Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Updated with contemporary pop culture riffs on iPads, Captain Sully, and John Mayer, the film also features Woody Harrelson as a coolly gay co-worker commuting into the city from New Jersey on his 1937 Chris-Craft, and a crazy cameo by Olympic snowboarder Shaun White. Sweet 'n' salty, this happy hookup is recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary with director Will Gluck and costars Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, deleted scenes (9 min.), outtakes (7 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a pop-up trivia track, a behind-the-scenes featurette (6 min.), an “In a Flash: Choreographing a Mob” featurette (6 min.), and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a solid rom-com.] (S. Granger)