No Strings Attached (2011)

A guy and girl try to keep their relationship strictly physical, but it's not long before they learn that they want something more.

Director:

Ivan Reitman

Writers:

Elizabeth Meriwether (screenplay), Michael Samonek (story) (as Mike Samonek)

Stars:

Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Kline

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Natalie Portman	...	Emma
Ashton Kutcher	...	Adam
Kevin Kline	...	Alvin
Cary Elwes	...	Dr. Metzner
Greta Gerwig	...	Patrice
Lake Bell	...	Lucy
Olivia Thirlby	...	Katie Kurtzman
Ludacris	...	Wallace (as Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges)
Jake Johnson	...	Eli
Mindy Kaling	...	Shira
Talia Balsam	...	Sandra Kurtzman
Ophelia Lovibond	...	Vanessa
Guy Branum	...	Guy
Ben Lawson	...	Sam
Jennifer Irwin	...	Megan

Storyline

Occasionally in the 15 years since summer camp, Adam and Emma cross paths. When he discovers that an ex-girlfriend is living with his dad, he gets drunk, calls every woman in his cell phone contact list, and ends up passed out naked in her living room. By this time, she's a medical resident in L.A. and he's a gopher on a "Glee"-like TV series, hoping to be a writer. She guards her emotions (calling her father's funeral "a thing"), so after a quick shag in the moments she has before leaving for the hospital, she asks if he wants a no-strings-attached, sex-only relationship, without romance or complications. A prescription for fun or for disaster?

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Plot Keywords:

male objectification | older man younger woman relationship | female doctor | sex in shower | st. valentine's day | 

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Taglines:

Friendship has its benefits

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content, language and some drug material

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount [France] Paramount [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Ukrainian

Release Date:

21 January 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fuckbuddies

Filming Locations:

2218 S Harvard Blvd, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,652,921, 23 January 2011

Gross USA:

$70,662,220

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$149,228,077

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Cold Spring Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original title for the script was 'Fuck Buddies' but this wouldn't make it past the MPAA. It was changed to Friends with Benefits (2011) but then that title was changed because there was another movie with the same title starring Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake. By the time pre-screening invitations were made, it had still not been decided whether the title would be No Strings Attached (2011) or Hooking Up.

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Goofs

When Adam is talking to Lucy in his downstairs bedroom, there is a guitar at Adam's back. You can see a reflection of the mic boom in the head of the guitar and it moves down as Adam sits down.

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Quotes

Emma: That hole is my bitch!

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Connections

Referenced in 2011 MTV Movie Awards (2011)

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Soundtracks

Untitled (How Does It Feel)
Written by D'Angelo (as Michael D'Angelo Archer) & Raphael Saadiq
Performed by D'Angelo
Courtesy of Virgin Records America
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music

User Reviews

Cute!

I gave this movie an 8/10 simply because it will keep you laughing the majority of the time. Sure the ending is predictable and a few of the background actors deliver lackluster performances but Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher fit very nicely together as the main characters, you could really tell they had fun working together.

I see a lot of other reviews criticizing Portman for "stooping to this level" and I'm not too sure why, maybe they didn't go see it in the right frame of mind...this movie is what it is, a romantic comedy about two friends who decide to take their relationship to the next level without having any of the commitments and "duties" of being an actual couple, that's what the trailers showed it as, that's what the actors described it as, nothing was a surprise...she did a cute, funny romantic comedy, it's not like she dove head first into the adult film industry.

Will this movie be nominated for awards, probably, will it win, probably not, but overall it was cute, it was funny, and I left the theater feeling like the $10 I paid for a ticket was well worth it.