"You did a good job, so... I thought you deserved a balloon"- No Strings Attached

I actually saw this movie a few weeks ago, and have gone back and forth so many times about dedicating a blog post to it. It isn't that I don't think the movie merits one. As far as romantic comedies go, this is definitely a better one. However, I can't seem to decide whether I think it is genuinely edgy and funny, or whether it tries too hard to push the boundaries. The film stars Ashton Kutcher playing Adam, the same lovable goofball he is known for playing, and Natalie Portman trying her hand in a genre that she is not so accustomed in the role of Emma.

Don't get me wrong, the movie is funny. Sometimes so much so that catching your breath is a difficult feat. I am just perplexed on how a movie can have so many funny one liners and instances, and other times have jokes fall so flat you wonder how they even made it into the film at all. One particular scene featuring a young Adam and Emma at camp is less funny than horrendously awkward, and gives the audience an incorrect first impression on what to expect from the film. Later a scene featuring Emma, Adam and a "period mix" is so funny and clever you are reminded that the writers are decent after all. The humor is generally pretty raunchy. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

There isn't too much to say about the performances of the two main castmembers. It seems all Ashton Kutcher does is play romantic leads. The bigger surprise is Natalie Portman. After her incredible performance in Black Swan, it is stranger to see her excel in a fluffier role such as this, but she does. She has most of the funniest lines and easily carries this movie.

I would definitely recommend this movie, especially to romantic comedy lovers. Although entirely predictable, it is well worth the laughs. A recent Australian survey showed that 500 out of 1000 people polled blamed romantic comedies on destroying their own relationship. So...don't bring a date.