• Listen to this segment

• Listen to the entire program

Taking a deeper look at current and past films and how they relate to the world today.

Jonathan Kim is an independent film critic who writes and produces film reviews for Uprising and other outlets. He is a former co-producer at Brave New Films.

Read his reviews online at ReThinkReviews.net. Watch his videos at www.youtube.com/user/jsjkim, and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ReThinkReviews. ReThink Reviews’ theme song is by Restavrant.

No Strings Attached

Lately, many like me have been wondering if the big-budget romantic comedy, as a genre, is dead. Maybe because we’ve just become more pessimistic/realistic in a country with a divorce rate near 50%. Maybe its that studio romcoms are so maddeningly predictable and cheesy, where you’re never in doubt that initial hostilities will be soothed, obstacles overcome, misunderstandings explained, and unfit suitors vanquished until the inevitable couple are in each others arms.

So in No Strings Attached, director Ivan Reitman tries something a bit different. Emma, played by Natalie Portman, and Adam, played by Ashton Kutcher, are the fated couple, but in this case, the two start out liking each other.
Their obstacle, that they should keep themselves from liking each other too much, is self-imposed. And in a reversal of stereotypes, it’s Emma, a busy doctor, who just wants meaningless sex while Adam, an assistant on a TV show, is looking for cuddling and commitment.

But are these slight variations enough to keep the corn off the menu? A little, and considering what recent romantic comedies have been like, we should be grateful for even that. Kutcher is too smarmy and handsome for his own good, but he mostly pulls off acting like he’s barely, half-heartedly hiding how much he likes a cool, attractive girl. Portman shows that she’s still the thinking guy’s crush with plenty of adorableness left in the tank from her performance in Garden State, though I never really believed why she is so committed to pushing away a guy she clearly likes. The film eventually devolves into the familiar romcom conceit of a destined couple trying to pretend they aren’t destined, but with enough regrets and hurt feelings to make things more authentic than the usual.

In fact, the biggest problem with No Strings Attached isn’t that it’s bad, but that it’s so close to being a lot better. The script’s dialogue is current, but conversations about texting, Facebook and Burning Man eventually feel like they’re trying too hard. The supporting cast, which includes Mindy Kaling from the Office, Lake Bell, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Guy Branam is uncommonly talented, but either isn’t given enough to do or does a bit too much, going from pleasantly frank and pretty intelligent to needlessly blunt and overly clever.
And in the case of Kevin Kline as Adam’s youth-obsessed actor father, an unrealistic caricature.

Does No Strings Attached say anything interesting about sex? A little, or at least that a woman can be intelligent and accomplished and still want sex solely for the fun of it without being Samantha from Sex and the City. Does it have any insight into modern relationships or gender roles? Not really, unless you think a girl who’s a reluctant fan of romance and a guy who supplies it in a self-aware way is something special.

But does No Strings Attached manage to rise above the blighted crop of recent romantic comedies? That would be a definite: pretty much, sure, yeah. While No Strings Attached doesn’t exactly breathe new life into the studio romcom, it does show that the genre still has a pulse.

No Strings Attached is rated R and is in theaters now.