Just Friends

Just Friends (Director: Roger Kumble)















Kumble did Cruel Intentions, and surprisingly, the straight-to-video sequel. He also did The Sweetest Thing. Written by Adam "Tex" Davis.

I don't know what to think of Ryan Reynolds yet. In every comedy I've seen him in, he has been going the Jim Carrey route, not so much physically, but in mannerisms and delivery. And thus, that's why I think his comedies have been treated as "Jim Carrey Lite" and he's not yet a blockbuster draw in theatres. I find him very watchable and funny, but I think he's still trying to find a successful niche. We saw a different side of him earlier in the year with The Amityville Horror but I don't think that's what is going to be defined as his typical role. He's likely going to be in these type of comedies until there's a breakthrough, where he's clearly the featured player and the reason people come to watch.

Chris (Reynolds) is a fat dweeb in high school and is best friends with Jamie (Amy Smart, playing her usual sweetheart role), the hottest girl of the class (class of '95 rules!) who always dates terrible asshole guys as the longing Chris can't seem to put the right words together to express his feelings. After a humiliation at a party, Chris leaves town, and ten years later we find out he's a thin, a successful L.A. record executive who can land any hot chick he wants. His boss (Stephen Root, who's sorely underused) wants him to woo Britney-esque recording artist Samantha James (Anna Faris, in her 2nd Reynolds pic this year, and steals this movie) to his label. So he goes out to the East Coast, and they have trouble with the flight back and have to land in New Jersey, his old home, where he runs into Jamie again. Like kryptonite, Jamie reverts him back to his un-suave self and he once again finds himself unable to emote. Even worse, he has another former dweeb, Dusty (Chris Klein) looking to win her affection.

I found this enjoyable, but Anna Faris, in her fairly limited role, is clearly the funniest in this movie. A true comedienne, she's not afraid to do anything for a laugh, as we've seen with the Scary Movie franchise and her brilliant turn in Lost in Translation. Yes, she plays dumb, but not in that offensive stereotypical way. Reynolds is sort of dictated by the demands of his character, which changes a lot in the course of an hour and a half, and he's not really free to roam, and I think he suffers from that even though he's good. And wow, is there ever some unbelievable stuff in here--not for laughs, that would be forgiveable--I'm talking moments in the film that I just couldn't believe how characters acted in certain situations.

It's a fairly enjoyable Thanksgiving date movie, alternative to the other stuff that's out there this week. I will get to The Ice Harvest tomorrow and then the others later in the week.