There is something quite special about getting ready to watch a movie

There is something quite special about getting ready to watch a movie

You get your drink and your snacks, make yourself comfortable, and prepare to be entertained for the next couple of hours. So isn’t it a crushing disappointment when you realise, after the first scene of the film, that you’re not going to like the movie at all?

This is exactly the reaction I had less than five minutes into No Strings Attached. As the title suggests, the plot of the movie revolves around two friends who decide to embark on a purely sexual relationship without any ramifications.

Adam (Ashton Kutcher) is on the rebound after discovering his ex-girlfriend is now dating his father, ageing TV star Alvin (Kevin Kline)

After a drunken night out, he decides to call up all the girls in his phonebook, and eventually wakes up naked on a coach belonging to Emma (Natalie Portman).

As a busy doctor, she has no time for a relationship, so the two fall into a �friends with benefits’ arrangement, which soon turns into something more serious, much to Adam’s delight and Emma’s disgust

But this is a Hollywood rom-com after all, so it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what happens next. The formulaic setup of the movie, though, isn’t its biggest flaw. After all, if you pick a rom-com to watch, unless its makers really pull the rug from under your feet, you know what to expect, and the expected is exactly what you’re seeking out.

However, what really undoes this film is that the characters all range from dislikeable to couldn’t-care-less-about-them, and the central romance is flatter than a pancake. Kutcher in the lead role of Adam basically takes over the female side of the proceedings, mainly by wanting their relationship to become more than about just sex, but ends up being just eye candy for the screen, as his character has little to no development throughout the movie, even though it spans years rather than months. Read more