Just Friends (2005)

While visiting his hometown during Christmas, a man comes face-to-face with his old high school crush whom he was best friends with -- a woman whose rejection of him turned him into a ferocious womanizer.

Director:

Roger Kumble

Writer:

Adam 'Tex' Davis

Stars:

Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart, Anna Faris

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ryan Reynolds	...	Chris Brander
Amy Smart	...	Jamie Palamino
Anna Faris	...	Samantha James
Chris Klein	...	Dusty Dinkleman
Chris Marquette	...	Mike Brander (as Christopher Marquette)
Giacomo Beltrami	...	Young Mike Brander
Fred Ewanuick	...	Clark
Amy Matysio	...	Darla
Julie Hagerty	...	Carol Brander
Wendy Anderson	...	Mrs. Palamino
Barry Flatman	...	Mr. Palamino
Devyn Burant	...	Brett
Jaden Ryan	...	Joey
Annie Brebner	...	Sarah
Mike O'Brien	...	Hockey Dad

Storyline

Chris Brander has always been friends with Jamie Palamino, but now decides it is time to take his relationship to the next step. The problem is, is that Jamie still wants to be 'Just Friends'. When he runs away and moves to L.A., he becomes a attractive music manager, who everyone wants. When his jet catches fire and is forced to land, when flying to Paris with his newest singing sensation, Samantha James, he ends up back home. To his surprise, he encounters Jamie again, and sets out to be more than 'Just Friends' this time.

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Plot Keywords:

school | best friend | high school | love | christmas | 

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Taglines:

Some friends are just friends. Others you get to see naked.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content including some dialogue

Details

Official Sites:

New Line Cinema [us]

Country:

Germany USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 November 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Apenas Amigos

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$67,658 (Brazil) (9 June 2006)

Gross:

$160,836 (Brazil) (16 June 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Inferno Distribution, Cinerenta Medienbeteiligungs KG, BenderSpink

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The little girl hockey player that wanted to fight Chris was actually played by a boy.

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Goofs

When Chris is in the dentist chair, they pop a retainer in his mouth. Retainers have to be made according to a mold of the patient's mouth, you can't just take any old retainer and expect it to fit - it won't.

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Quotes

Chris' Mom: Dusty, what kind of car is this?
Dusty: Carol, this little Japanese princess here is called the Prius.
Chris' Mom: I think it's so neat that you kids care about the environment.
Chris: I love the environment.
Chris' Mom: But honey, don't you drive a Range Rover? Aren't those bad?
Chris: [pause] Well, I had a really nice time tonight, and I hope we can do it again soon. Hey, Dusty, thanks for comin'.
Dusty: Oh, listen, man, it was my pleasure, really. Thank you all for having me. It was so nice.
[Chris takes out his retainer]
Dusty: And hey, before I ...

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Crazy Credits

Chris (Ryan Reynolds) lip-syncs "I Swear" during the end credits.

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Connections

References Punk'd (2003)

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Soundtracks

"Forgiveness"
Written by Adam 'Tex' Davis, Roger Kumble, Jeff Cardoni, Patrick Houlihan and Machine Head (Adam Schiff)
Performed by Anna Faris

User Reviews

A Good Holiday Romantic Comedy with likable characters and a decent amount of laughs.

"Just Friends" is about a guy named Chris (Ryan Reynolds) who in high school was an overweight but caring, sweet, and likable guy. Chris wanted to date his best friend Jamie (Amy Smart) but they never did because she wanted to just be friends and date the cool guys. Ten years later, Chris sheds all his weight and is now a big time record producer touring with the hottest pop star Samantha James (Anna Faris). While on their plane to Paris, Chris and Samantha's plane has to make an emergency landing and the plane lands near Chris's old home town. To make matters worst, Chris winds up going into the bar where he runs into his old crush Jamie. So does Chris have what it takes for Jamie and him to be more than just friends?

"Just Friends" is not a great movie by any means but a likable romantic comedy. Sure the movie is predictable but it's a fun and ultimately sweet movie. I actually like the fact that the movie had a nice message in the end which basically said "be yourself and it will pay off in the end." The jokes for the most part worked for me because they were all pretty innocent and didn't really rely on sex gags to sell the movie.

I did however get annoyed by the amount of gay jokes in the film which like I always say are never really that funny and get old very fast. I understand as much as I rant about gay jokes there not going to stop but let's hope that they can be limited. There is only one gay joke in the entire film that works, while there are about 10 in the entire film.

As far as acting goes, I must say it's about time that Ryan Reynolds stars in a decent movie!!! I have been waiting for years to actually go into a theater and see something of his that doesn't totally suck! You see I always wanted to like him but most of the material he has done just didn't appeal to me and every time I saw a movie he was in, I hated it with a passion. I think this role worked for him because he had to play a likable character and while many will say he always plays a likable character I say that he always plays the same sarcastic cool guy character. This role allowed him to still be his normal character for some part but also a likable character as well. Mr. Reynolds has finally gotten out of his box and played a role that wasn't tailor made for him.

As for the rest of the cast, Amy Smart was also very likable as the best friend Jamie. She was honestly a very sweet and caring person and you really wanted her to date Chris at least in the beginning. Anna Faris who again plays the same character in every movie did play her "typical" airhead role. But she played a stereotypical brainless pop star and played it perfectly. And while I must admit I do like pop music, I found her whole performance hilarious. She basically played Jessica Simpson in the movie and there are a few jokes that really imply that's who they were mocking.

The reason I think I actually enjoyed this film was that I could relate to the characters. The main character Chris was like a few people in high school including myself, a really nice guy who was friends with a lot of very pretty girls but never moved past that point because of their image or how they were perceived in school wouldn't allow them to be more than just friends. And while the movie doesn't really seem realistic it is made by Hollywood, which at times gives people a chance to believe that the underdog will come out on top. "Just Friends" isn't going for a Best Picture nomination or even trying to be original but it does a decent job of what its suppose to do and that is provide jokes and some romance which the film does and does it very well.

All in all, "Just Friends" is a guilty pleasure film. It's not one that will do well at box office or be liked by everyone (most critics gave it rather poor reviews) but I don't think it was a film created for critics but a specific limited audience. And while the film's marketing makes this film look like a typical teen movie, I feel it's a bit more mature than that even though some of the characters in the film are almost childlike. Overall "Just Friends" shows how important it is to be yourself and act mature. It is also proof that Ryan Reynolds can play a different character and is actually good at it. As long as you don't go into the theater expecting a film that is original and thought-provoking you should be fine because this movie is a decent holiday romantic comedy that both guys and girls alike can enjoy.

MovieManMenzel's final rating for "Just Friends" is a 7/10 and it will be added to my guilty pleasure section of my DVD collection when it is released on DVD in a few months.