No Strings Attached (2011)

2/5

No Strings Attached is a "romantic comedy" about two friends attempting to be friends with benefits (or actually friends with only one benefit, namely sexual intercourse). I put romantic comedy in quotes because you would be hard-pressed to find any romance in this film and the comedic elements fall flat about as frequently as they succeed. Natalie Portman plays a weird girl who is uncomfortable with intimacy; throughout the entire film we never get a sense of why she is the way she is. Ashton Kutcher plays the same character he has played for the past 10 years in romantic comedies, and there was nothing new or unique about it the first time we saw it. As for the plot, it progresses predictably into disaster when one party wants more than just sex. Whatever will they do.

Movies like No Strings Attached really frustrate me. It's not the quality of the movie that I find irritating, but the fact that it has so much potential that it chooses to throw away on cheap jokes and superficial meaning. Natalie Portman is incredible in this movie; she gives her character as much depth and warmth as possible, but the character is just written so shallowly that her talent is wasted. Half of the jokes are hilarious, but the other half you could practically hear crickets chirp in the theater. It was painful how bad they were and I actually felt embarrassed for the movie. The relationship between the two main characters is absent until the ending (maybe I'm just being naive, but I thought you had to be friends before you could be friends with benefits). The movie itself is okay, and there are plenty of laughs (more than any Will Ferrell or Ben Stiller comedy that I've seen), but it just feels like a half a movie. I can't recommend it in good conscience.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1411238/

The Ice Storm (1997)

4/5

I didn't know much about Ang Lee's The Ice Storm when I saw it, so it took me a while to internalize the time and place. But understanding the setting--70's suburbia in the midst of their own version of a sexual revolution--is integral to fully appreciating the film. The story looks at both the parents and children of a dysfunctional family, and each generation's exploration of freedom in sexuality and inebriation, both different and identical. It is a world so very far from ours, and at the same time so near, that we are able to laugh at the forgotten customs and traditions while simultaneously picking up on the tragic nature of their current expressions.

The Ice Storm examines the paradox of family: how we can distance those we grow closest to, how we can hate those we love most, and how we require security but want excitement. There is a sense of impending doom, a foreboding heaviness, that keeps you breathless in anticipation for the full running time. It is a testament to Lee's abilities that he can insert moments of laughter without cutting the tension. We always know that something will happen to these people, these people so desperate for release and escape. It is the inevitable outcome of human nature.

Technically, the movie worked well. The editing especially was stellar, as it interwove multiple stories with such immaculate precision that we not only remember every complex character, but we also understand their motivations, their wants and fears. The acting brought to life already strong writing. Still, a lot of the movie was just flat-out weird and unconvincing. As in other films by Lee, the movie was peppered with unnatural angles, discontinuous blocking, and bizarre compositions. Much of the cinematography seemed drab and underwhelming, but maybe that is the point? Regardless of any minor flaws, this film goes highly recommended by me.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0119349/