'No Strings Attached' — 4 out of 5 stars
Over the last few years, romantic comedies have become more and more diluted with dry, raunchy humor, poor writing and ultimately, a predictable plot carried out with no-name actors and actresses.
"No Strings Attached," instead, brought a fresh, new type of romantic comedy. Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman have amazing chemistry, and paired with the exceptional writing by newcomer Elizabeth Meriwether, “No Strings Attached” will make you feel good about going to the movies.
The plot essentially involves two friends who, from preteen years until post-collegiate years, continue to bump into each other until they finally decide to become involved. The twist is that one of them wants their relationship to be strictly physical. What’s more interesting is that Portman is the person who wants the sexual relationship and while this concept is definitely a part of modern society — it had yet to be justly represented in modern cinema. Throughout the movie Portman and Kutcher compliment each other on the screen all while tackling relationship issues young professionals face. Along the way, we meet family, friends and coworkers whose relationships are also given attention. The film does a nice job of incorporating these stories while not taking away form the main plot line.
“No Strings Attached” is not “When In Rome” nor “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” — it’s a real romantic comedy that offers laughs, love and some of the best writing since “Something’s Gotta Give."