Friends with Benefits

Theatrical Release Date: 2011 07 22 (USA)

UPC: 043396388086

Studio: Sony Pictures

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Profanity, Sexual Situations]

Summary: A New York headhunter (Mila Kunis) enters into a no-strings-attached relationship with her latest client (Justin Timberlake), but finds things getting unexpectedly complicated when emotions enter the picture. Patricia Clarkson and Woody Harrelson co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Comedy

Features: Deleted scenes
Outtakes
Commentary with Will Gluck, Justin Timberlake and Mila kunis
On set with FWB featurette
In a flash: Choreographing a move featurette
Bonus benefits: a pop-up trivia track

Friends with Benefits

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 12/02/2011

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 2.40:1

Audio: DHMA null, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 109 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French,Spanish

Subtitles: French,Spanish

Alaina O'Connor

Friends with Benefits is what No Strings Attached should have been -- snappy, clever, and refreshingly contemporary. Co-writer/director Will Gluck uses the same biting wit found in his film Easy A and easily breathes new life into a soggy genre that benefits greatly from the natural charm and smooth chemistry of its likeable leads, Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake. The pair inject the film with a winning vitality, which should help audiences brush aside the initial sensation of d?j? vu. Kunis and Timberlake are perfectly at ease with anything the script requires, from naughty-funny sex scenes to lightweight dramatic conflicts. Not only do they handle the tart banter with an assured, playful back-and-forth, but there's also chemistry between them that is quite palpable. Kunis plays Jamie, a corporate recruiter who's "emotionally damaged," and Timberlake plays Dylan, the new GQ art director, who's "emotionally unavailable." Being young, good-looking, married to their jobs, and frequently burned by other relationships, naturally they tempt fate by trying the sex-without-complications thing ("two people should be able to have sex the way they play tennis"), but the whole thing starts to feel a bit "college-y," and despite Jamie and Dylan's mutual declaration that they'll maintain a strictly physical relationship, emotions start to creep into their best-laid plans. Working from the sharply observed script by himself, Keith Merryman, and David Newman, Gluck mines healthy laughs by making fun of the current state of studio romantic comedies; however, much like the title implies, the film wants to have it both ways -- it decries the "lies" of Katherine Heigl movies yet follows a similar script; it shuns the cheesy rock stylings of John Mayer yet fills the soundtrack with acoustic versions of sappy pop love songs -- and, eventually, this postmodern vehicle proves guilty of adhering too closely to the tired conventions that it satirically pokes fun at. Hypocritical elements aside, Gluck not only draws terrific performances from Kunis and Timberlake, but also from the veteran supporting cast. Scene stealer Woody Harrelson plays an over-the-top gay sports editor and Patricia Clarkson shines as Jamie's aging '70s free-spirited mom. There's also an amusing, if not misplaced, cameo by pro-snowboarder Shaun White. While it's true that we all know the formula, when it works and the chemistry is just right we love seeing exactly what we expect and hope for, and Friends with Benefits delivers just that. ~ Alaina O'Connor, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Liz Glotzer  Producer 
Martin Shafer  Producer 
Jerry Zucker  Producer 
Glenn S. Gainor  Executive Producer 
Janet Zucker  Producer 
Will Gluck  Director 
Will Gluck  Producer 
Will Gluck  Screenwriter 
Keith Merryman  Screenwriter 
David A. Newman  Screenwriter 
Justin Timberlake  Actor 
Mila Kunis  Actor 
Patricia Clarkson  Actor 
Jenna Elfman  Actor 
Bryan Greenberg  Actor 
Richard Jenkins  Actor 
Woody Harrelson  Actor 
Nolan Gould  Actor 
Andy Samberg  Actor 
Shaun White  Actor 
Andrew Fleming  Actor 
Catherine Reitman  Actor 
Courtney Henggeler  Actor 
Masi Oka  Actor 
Tiya Sircar  Actor 
Christopher T. Wood  Actor 
Emma Stone  Actor 
Lili Mirojnick  Actor 
Rupak Ginn  Actor 
Duane Shepard, Sr.  Actor 
Chike Johnson  Actor 
Angelique Cabral  Actor 
Lance Kerfuffle  Actor 
Jerry Ying  Actor 
Jerry Hyman  Actor 
Nick Lee  Actor 
Jason Sung Lee  Actor 
Michael Morris  Actor 
Brooklyn McLinn  Actor 
Timothy Bish  Actor 
Angel Feliciano  Actor 
Nicole Guidetti  Actor 
Mayumi Miguel  Actor 
Joanna Numata  Actor 
Wes Pope  Actor 
Seth Stewart  Actor 
LaJon Dantzler  Actor 
Laura Fremont  Actor 
Alicia Mazepa  Actor 
Jermaine Montell  Actor 
Danielle Polanco  Actor 
Steven Rosa  Actor 
Adam Zotovich  Actor 
Deanna Walters  Actor 

Country: USA