Movie Review of NO STRINGS ATTACHED

The ad for NO STRINGS ATTACHED asks the question can sex friends stay best friends?  Natalie Portman plays Emma Kurtzman, a pre med student with no time for relationships.  Ashton plays Adam Franklin, a TV sitcom assistant in Los Angeles.  The movie starts 15 years ago at a kids’ camp.  Then 5 years ago at a college party.  And finally it really begins 1 year ago when the now adult Emma and Adam bump into each other at a farmer’s market.  With Ivan Reitman’s direction, this rom-com movie shows us how the characters start as sex friends but then it becomes something more.  He did a great job balancing the funny with the sweet and a little bit of drama.

This is Emma’s story, which plays the untraditional role of bachelorette.  No strings, no ties.  This is usually reserved for a male lead.  We’ve seen it in the past few years with films like Juno, How Do You Know and the upcoming film Friends with Benefits (Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake).  The script was written by first time feature scribe Elizabeth Meriweather.  I found myself laughing out loud… a lot!  Hopefully you will too.  By the sound of the premiere screening, this movie is going to do well.

No Strings Attached also stars the always engaging Lake Bell as Lucy, Adam’s co-worker.  She’s beautiful, quirky and dorky all at the same time.  (Her eye glasses remind me of the librarian in Adam Ant’s video Goody Two Shoes.)  Clearly Lucy has a crush on Adam but he just doesn’t see it.  Other memorable cast members I should mention are Emma’s endearing and funny roommates Patrice (Greenberg alumni Greta Gerwig) and Shira (The Office’s Mindy Kaling).  Everyone in this movie had their moment and some great lines.  Credit Elizabeth on most of them along with some that seem ad- libbed.

If you are into the Farrelly Brothers and Judd Apatow films, you will LOL.  If you are a fan of Natalie and/or Ashton, this movie is for you.  If you are a teen, young adult, you will especially like this film.  I have a feeling it will do very well at the box office.  My recommendation is to see this film.  That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.