User reviews

I had very low expectations for No Strings Attached. The couple would make the decision to use each, one would fall for the other, and in the end they would live happily ever after. I was correct about the overall story line, but, impressively, the writers found a way the mix in enough comedy to keep you entertained for the full 110 minutes. On top of that, there is enough cutsie romance to make for the perfect date night movie. Comedy to make you laugh and romance to cheer up any romantic girl.... sounds like a romantic comedy to me!

Natalie Portman shows her range of acting abilities by having two extremely different films in theaters at the same time. I was thoroughly impressed with her ability to drop the comedic one liners and portray a unaffectionate woman who's fallen in love realistically. Comparing this to her award-winning role in Black Swan made her abilities even more impressive. I cannot say the same for Ashton Kutcher. He has a great face and is great at comedic acting. However, each serious, romantic scene he was in became unrealistic and uncomfortable.

Overall, this is the perfect date night or girls night movie. It has some great comedic moments and brings in the romance that most ladies love to see. If you are looking for a light-hearted romantic comedy, this is a great choice.

See more reviews at http://burningreview.blogspot.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.

Can you really ever be just "friends with benefits"? After a drunken adventure ends with Adam (Kutcher) naked on Emma's (Portman) couch they decide to strike a deal. When Adam wants something more the problems begin. This is a chick flick that many guys will also enjoy. A little more girlie then I was expecting, but still a really, really funny movie. The movie is pretty raunchy in some parts and you will find it difficult not to laugh. If you are looking for a chick flick that your boyfriend/husband will watch with you this is a great choice. If you are looking for a movie for your girlfriend/wife that will not be two hours of torture for you this is a great choice. Very, very funny for both sexes, enough romance for the ladies, and enough comedy for the men. A perfect movie for date night. A little predictable, but most romantic comedies are. I give it a B+.

Would I watch again? - I actually would.

*Also try - Going The Distance & Love And Other Drugs

OK... i was NOT expecting much from this movie but i was really WOW at the end!!!

Yes, the movie was alright for some but I LOVED IT!!! As a Natalie Portman FAN, i was really worried about her doing a full-on Comedy role... from her past films like Leon and the Star Wars movies (Her role: Padme Amidala has a SAD ending...) Closer, V for Vendetta, Brothers... her roles from these movies were sad and sweet and her recent film Black Swan - she was super-powerful and gave an Oscar Winning role as Nina!!! I was so happy after watching No Strings Attached - Natalie Portman was super, super FUNNY - she did an amazing job!!! There are scenes where Natalie Portman is over-the-top - but i think she was great... the amount of ''BAD WORDS'' in the movie is WOW... loads of it!!!

The movie overall was good - Ashton Kutcher was alright & funny..... did an OK/ good job! The side-actors were average and the soundtracks were good...

Anyways, No Strings Attached is a must-watch movie!

My review: 7/10

I gave this movie an 8/10 simply because it will keep you laughing the majority of the time. Sure the ending is predictable and a few of the background actors deliver lackluster performances but Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher fit very nicely together as the main characters, you could really tell they had fun working together.

I see a lot of other reviews criticizing Portman for "stooping to this level" and I'm not too sure why, maybe they didn't go see it in the right frame of mind...this movie is what it is, a romantic comedy about two friends who decide to take their relationship to the next level without having any of the commitments and "duties" of being an actual couple, that's what the trailers showed it as, that's what the actors described it as, nothing was a surprise...she did a cute, funny romantic comedy, it's not like she dove head first into the adult film industry.

Will this movie be nominated for awards, probably, will it win, probably not, but overall it was cute, it was funny, and I left the theater feeling like the $10 I paid for a ticket was well worth it.

Fifteen years ago, Adam Franklin (Ashton Kutcher) and Emma Kurtzman (Natalie Portman) meet each other in a colony and every now and then they stumble on each other.

In the present days, Emma is an MIT graduated doctor and Adam is the stage assistant of a TV musical show and aspirant screenplay writer. When Adam visits his father Alvin (Kevin Kline), who is a successful TV producer, and finds that his ex-girlfriend Vanessa (Ophelia Lovibond) has moved to Alvin's house and is dating him, he gets totally drunk and calls every girl in his cell phone's contact list. On the next morning, he wakes up at Emma's apartment and they have quick sex. Emma does not want to have any emotional involvement and proposes a relationship driven by sex only without romance or commitment. But love is not possible to be rationalized and the couple is affected by their behavior.

"No Strings Attached" is a romantic comedy with a silly and incoherent plot since the motives for the behavior of Emma are not well developed and she becomes an inconsistent lead character. The story is visibly inspired on the adorable "When Harry Met Sally…", with elements of Glee and spiced with sex.

However, the film is cute and the chemistry between the lovely Natalie Portman and the pleasant Ashton Kutcher make the film worth. I believe that a high percentage of viewers love Natalie Portman and it is a pleasure to see this talented actress in any movie.

Kevin Kline has a small part but is also hilarious. This is the first time that I pay attention in Lake Bell and she is really a beautiful woman performing the role of a clumsy and nerd character. However several support characters are neither funny nor interesting. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Sexo Sem Compromisso" ("Sex Without Commitment")

Don't let the"7"fool you, its still a good rating coming from me.

OK so this movie is a very well...its about friendship taken to a whole new level, and if you saw the trailers it asks you"can best friends be sex-friends?" The movie itself does answer that question with one of those"You have to watch it to understand movie" the story does have a few silly remarks but its moving for me, i never really understood people who do, do the things that Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher do in this movie but it doesn't matter it shows us the true meaning of friends and love!

yes this movie has some eh moments of funny,sex, and dialogue. does that matter? not really! its a well made movie, it touched my heart!

Its a great date movie, and might settle to be a good buddy comedy.

No Strings Attached (2011)

You expect more than you're going to get here. There are two strong leads, Natalie Portman at her finest relaxed self (seeming) and Ashton Kutcher in a slightly amusing, self-deprecating mode that is a little dulling but fits his part. But there isn't the necessary conflict here to make their attraction take on fire. They drift together, they push apart, they find each other again, and so on, all mildly engaging and a bit sleepy.

And don't expect much from Kevin Kline, either, mostly because his part is small and a bit canned, a caricature dad with too much to prove. The rest of the cast is frankly just functional, and you start to look harder at why the movie fizzles with so much apparent talent, especially Portman. And the only real answer is the director, who is more a producer at heart, Ivan Reitman. You can't fault the success of some of his movies, but it's an uneven bunch, from "Ghostbusters" to "Kindergarden Cop." Something lacks energy and imagination here, and the writing stretched a bit.

Enjoyable? Somewhat. Be warned, it's not funny, romantic, or energized enough to quite make it on any score.

This film is about two sex friends who, slowly but surely, develop feelings for each other.

Considering the cast and the big budget, "No Strings Attached" is very disappointing. The two leads are very attractive, but they have little chemistry with each other. Maybe it's to do with the nature of their initial relationship, they do not have any sparks with each other, and hence their subsequent feelings seem so forced and unrealistic. There is little comedy either, the whole plot is plainly delivered. With nothing much to laugh about, no romance to savour, "No Strings Attached" becomes a lacklustre bore.

This movie is far more better than you might think! It's not just sex, sex, sex! It's actually fairly good! The is mostly about two friends; two sex friends. Ashton Kutcher's character is a down to earth guy, and Nataile Portman's character is basically a crazy chick. He wants to start a relationship with her, but she put's out that she is two busy to have one and she's not good at having relationships. So they basically become sex friends.

It's not a typical Hollywood romantic/comedy! It goes a little off "Formula", if you know what I mean. Some of the plot is a little awkward and dumb, but overall a "Ok" movie.

I saw this film in a theater while on vacation. I think we saw another movie after this one, so there was a choice. Now, I love Natalie Portman but I don't love every movie she ever made. I hate Ashton Kutcher, but I don't hate every movie he ever made. That said, I thought this movie was watchable and somewhat amusing. I saw it later on TV and nothing changed my mind. There are some really good comedy moments, some really goofy moments, and some really cringe-worthy dialog. No spoilers there. The cast is terrific, even Kutcher did a decent job; Lake Bell can be hilarious. I believe any short-comings (and there are a few) are the result of the script and not the cast. So if you're not someone who absolutely hates rom-coms (and if you are you have no business watching this move or reviewing it - you've been warned) than there is a good chance you will find some things to like. That's about the best you or the movie can hope for.

The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences should give their awards conditionally. If you receive an Academy Award for best actor/actress, and then demean it by acting poorly in a subsequent film, you should forfeit the award. This is akin to behaving in a manner unbecoming a professional. Now, I wasn't a big fan of Black Swan, but I did think Natalie Portman deserved the Best Actress award. After watching No Strings Attached, I wonder if I, and others, had been fooled. Admittedly, she didn't have much of a script to work with here in No Strings. At best, her character was two dimensional. But then, she was one of the producers. You'd think she would have been able to tell a flawed script when she saw one.

Like most romantic comedies, you know the ending from the first scene in the movie. This, however, does not mean the film or script is necessarily bad. After all, you know the salesman will die before you even watch Death of a Salesman. It's how you get to that ending that has to be interesting. And in No Strings Attached, that journey is tedious.

Ashton Kutcher, rapidly evolving into the Hugh Grant of American romcoms, plays his usual sensitive, cute but naughty puppy dog role. He basically serves as the eye candy for the female viewers. This is too bad because, as we saw in The Butterfly Effect, he does have talent. Both he and Portman's character lack depth and we can't help but wonder what he sees in her that's so special. No chemistry exists between them or any of the other actors in this film. So there is no romance in this romantic comedy and, what comedy there is, is sophomoric. I am sure that a few 13-year-olds were rolling in the aisles, but that might just be from eating a bad hot dog, which would certainly have been more enjoyable.

I heard that Portman wanted this movie to be the female answer to The Hangover. Personally, I'd prefer a five alarm hangover to watching this movie again.

Let me start by saying that I wanted to watch this movie again immediately after it ended.

Not only is there a plethora of one-liners that we will relive with our friends for years to come (think of the timeless quips from Super Troopers, Anchorman, and The Hangover), but also a deep story line. Normally, that would turn me off, I like my comedies to be funny and I don't wanna think about too much. But the characters are so entrancing and relatable that you want to know the back stories, you care about these people and their relationship, you live their feelings and don't mind. The story was different than I had expected from seeing previews and at first I was apprehensive. Apart from a couple intimate scenes, I did not revisit this feeling after getting pulled in.

The Soundtrack completely rocked, including an awesome rendition of "99 Problems" by Hugo, and old school favorites, like "Bleeding Love" which get's a great scene with Natalie Portman that will have you crying through your laughter and feeling right along with her. On that note, ALL of the characters are really engaging, you want to be friends with all of these people, and the parts are played SO well! Even the bits.

Overall, this was just an amazing experience. I love this movie, will own it, and buy it again of I lose it.

It is what it is. No Strings Attached is another formulaic romantic comedy. OK, there's a bit of a twist in this one in that the couple doesn't actually want any romance. They skip the love and go straight to the sex, no strings attached indeed. There will be no feelings involved. Wham bam thank you ma'am. Same time tomorrow? But golly gee, these two just might start developing feelings for one another after all. Who ever could have foreseen that? There's a sense of inevitability about this movie from the very first minute. You know where it's headed. The movie may be on a journey to an obvious destination but at least it does a reasonably decent job of entertaining you along the way.

Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman play the couple in question, Adam and Emma. Kutcher is never likely to win any major acting awards but he is serviceable in fare such as this. He's just a big lug, endearing enough. And it's important here that he be endearing because in this movie it's obvious from the start that it's his Adam, not Portman's Emma, who is more open to the idea of love. You need to feel for Adam as he goes through the movie's tried and true romantic comedy formula ups and downs. Kutcher pulls off what is required of him. Portman meanwhile shows off a different side. After the dark, ultra-serious Black Swan it's nice to see her able to just cut loose and have some fun. This movie is certainly not uproariously hilarious but it has its funny moments and Portman plays her part, showing some comic chops. And of course she shows her vulnerability too because the rom-com formula demands it.

The arc of their respective careers has shown Portman to be clearly the more talented of the two leads in this movie. But Kutcher holds his own, he and Portman make a good match. The chemistry isn't perfect, the sparks never really fly. The movie tries to be raunchy at times but never really commits to it, ultimately the whole thing is a bit tame. No cinematic masterpiece to be sure but there are enough good moments to carry the film to respectability. All in all it's pretty good fun. The very simple story is spiced up a bit by some interesting supporting characters. Kevin Kline is a hoot as Adam's dad, a total cad. Lake Bell draws some laughs as an incredibly socially awkward woman who pines for Adam. Greta Gerwig, Mindy Kaling and Chris Bridges (yes, 'Ludacris') are among the others who wander in and out of the movie to provide a laugh or two. There's also a largely unrecognizable Cary Elwes who sadly gets absolutely nothing to do, a bit of a waste his casting was. Of course, as with all movies of this genre, the whole thing really rests on the shoulders of the lead couple. It's their movie. And Kutcher and Portman do enough to both entertain you and actually make you care about their characters. No Strings Attached is not a movie that rises above its genre, it doesn't stand out in any meaningful way. But for what it is it's not half bad.

I gave it a 2.

This simply sucks for a movie.

It drags on far too long and the dialogue and characters are dull as beans.

Ashton sucks as a lead and the story doesn't help.

Totally unrealistic.

Totally uninteresting and a waste of my download on netflix.

I'm glad that this came as a monthly package in my bill and that I didn't have to actually pay for this.

How I long for real plots and stories that actually entertain.

This movie has a typical romantic comedy plot but honestly, the only variables in all romantic comedies are characters and script dialogue.

Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher do a great job of exhibiting chemistry and getting the audience to hope the two of them into a happily ever after denouement.

They're both beautiful and appealing to a lot of people. Their performances are a great combination of crack up laughter and heart felt longing.

The dialogue is witty and somewhat vulgar in certain instances that makes for a fun time whether you're out with your friends or on a date.

You all know the plot and all know what is going to happen in the end - its the same movie with different wrapping paper as countless others. There's nothing particularly bad (or good) about it, Portman and Kutcher did a decent job but its just another "seen it all before" movie. Don't expect too much and you probably won't be that disappointed.

Decent acting, sure. But the core, dialog and development offers very little to anyone older than 16.

The movie has one or two memorable moments. The rest was just bubble gum.

Given the outset, adding any delightful, surprising, thought provoking or interesting situations would be hard, but very possible. Though I obviously didn't watch this movie for depth, but when the brain is missing I do expect the heart to be compensated. This movie just simply failed to deliver.

If asked I wouldn't be able to pinpoint any particular reason to recommend this movie.