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 |
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? Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
What is most fascinating about this movie is that it's a raunchy rom-com from the female perspective. Knowing that the film was written by a woman prior to my viewing it made the nuances jump out to me. It's those nuances and that perspective that make the film enjoyable. No one scene or moment merits more then a minor chuckle but the characters themselves expand and grow as the story unfolds. It's hard to care about the leads at first because there's no set up or real establishment of character. Then, they kind of grow on you even though neither really rang true for me in any real world sense. Natalie Portman is great as many would expect but Ashton Kutcher did a fine job as well. I've seen others criticizing his performance but I think that's based on a pre-determined hatred of him rather than on his work. The supporting characters were VERY weak and useless save for the father character played by the wonderful Kevin Kline. Overall, better than I was expecting it to be.