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/

Juno (2007)

5/5

Jason Reitman's Juno is the story of a precocious sixteen year old girl who accidentally gets pregnant and decides to give her baby up for adoption. This bittersweet comedy-drama glosses over some harsher realities of the scenario, but what movie doesn't omit aspects it feels are irrelevant to its purpose? This movie leaves out the more obvious, more serious tangents of unplanned pregnancies so it can transcend the specific situation and focus on more universal themes. It deals with love in an uncertain world, growing up and staying young, wanting what we don't have, and having what we don't want. There are no bad guys, only mistakes and regret. And second chances. And that's life.

Ellen Page's Juno is a marvel to behold. Even so, Reitman understands that this story is about more than just one girl, and so he allows all of the characters to breathe and fully develop. Every single one is perfectly offbeat. The complexity and depth and pathos the actors infuse their characters with is absolutely spellbinding. They are given a tender script and truly make the most of it. The editing is impeccably precise, both in terms of comedic timing as well as plot progression and pacing. No joke or scene is lingered on too long. The music is essential to the feel of the movie, and exists almost as another character in the story. Think of it as an omniscient narrator of emotions.

I was a bit disappointed by the cinematography. There was nothing wrong with it, but it just seemed like a step down compared with Thank You for Smoking. Also, I could've done with less voice-over narration and more Rainn Wilson. But honestly, these are not legitimate complaints because they only exist when people look for them so they can put something in the "cons" paragraph of their review.

This movie is a whirlwind experience of emotions; you have to sit and wait a couple minutes after the credits start rolling to fully appreciate what you've just seen. Even now, a day after seeing it, I can't get it out of my mind. Next to It's A Wonderful Life, this is the closest I can remember coming to crying out of pure happiness. For celluloid to lift your spirits to the rafters, what more could you ask for in a movie?

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0467406/