Just Friends Review
—1. Overview (multimedia)
—2. Overview Basic (dial up speed)
—3. Reviews and Blogs
—4. Cast and Crew
—5. Photo Pages
—6. Trailers, Clips, DVDs, Books, Soundtrack
—7. Posters (comedy films)
—8. Production Notes (pdf)
—9. Spiritual Connections
—10. Presentation Downloads
First let me say that I find sexual humor more stupid than funny. But this film has enough genuinely hilarious moments in it that I'd actually watch it again. Though some of the stunts were predictable, the film as a whole resisted the canned feel of most romantic comedies. I don't think it's going to be a boxoffice smasher, but word of mouth will keep it in the theaters longer than it might otherwise stay. Three things will help this film do better after the opening weekend: Samantha James (Anna Farris), the way the brothers beat each other up, and the realistic portrayal of plot events.
Let's talk first about Samantha James, the wacky rock star that Ryan Reynolds described in his interview as "Brittany Simpson Jessica Lohan." The director, screenwriter and Anna Farris have successfully birthed an archetype. Like Napoleon Dynamite, we simply haven't seen this person on screen before. Her behavior, dialogue, and facial expressions encapsulate everything we hate about MTV divas. But at the same time, we want to invite her out on Friday night knowing there will be great stories to tell the next day. She's so fascinating and multi-layered that you can't take your eyes off of her - all the while wishing she would just go away. What a wonderful character!
The relationship between the brothers will have every man in the theaters nodding their heads and smiling. When Chris (Ryan Reynolds) pins his brother Mike (Christopher Marquette) to the floor and dangles a loogie (is there actually a proper spelling for that word?) over his face, virtually everyone who has a sibling will relate. Add to that, the brothers perpetually beat each other up, though not in the silly slapstick way. They waylay each other like real brothers would, beating each other mercilessly until one can't move anymore. After all, when do real life brothers ever quit after the first punch or two? This is the nature of brothers. And yet, we know that these two brothers will be there for each other forever.
The third thing that draws me to this film is the authenticity of the action. In one scene, Chris sees his high school love, Jamie Palomino (Amy Smart) across the room working as a bartender. She ducks quickly to hide, but doesn't do it fast enough. A cheesy comedy would let that slide. Instead, Chris makes a beeline for Jamie and leans over the bar to talk to her as she cowers on the floor. He doesn't let her get away with it. That's real life. Although many of the scenes are a bit over-the-top, every major character is portrayed as intelligent, particularly the males. This is a rare treat in comedies today. I tire of men being portrayed as witless, mindless victims of their female counterparts. Men are not dolts. In this film, they are treated as real people going down wrong pathways instead of idiotic fools who will never learn.
As for theme, I can't honestly say that this film tries for any spiritual message or moral lesson. It just doesn't try. But it does have some elements that can mirror our spiritual struggles.
The struggle to find balance:
Chris strugles to find a balance between being the old emotionally vulnerable high school kid and the new overly guarded player. His plight mirrors the Christian's struggle to find a balance between the old and the new. How do we get rid of the sin that so easily entangles and yet not cross over into the artificially pious, unapproachable, elitist camp? How can we make faith real and integrate our new beliefs into our priceless wealth of worldly experience and knowledge?
The struggle of the temporal:
(Spoiler Warning)
Chris crumbles when he has the opportunity to sleep with Jamie. He doesn't change his mind for any blind moralistic reason, but for the reason the moral was established in the first place. He tells his friend the next day that instead of jumping on the opportunity, he started thinking about how they would feel the next morning. What would be next? What do I want out of this relationship and what will this action do to our relationship? I hope every teenager in America watches this film just to hear those lines. As a culture, we need to start thining beyond the immediate gratification of whatever indulgence we prefer, and begin to contemplate the long term implications of those actions.
(End Spoiler)
The struggle to decide what we want in life:
Chris comes to a crossroad when Jamie re-enters his life. Will he carry on as the career-driven player in Los Angeles, or will he move back to Jersey and start a family? Although decisions like these are rarely so black and white in real life, we face small decisions every day that define who we are and where our futures are headed. Sometimes we make a decision, sometimes we decide by not deciding, and sometimes we stay put because we're right where we want to be. The band Switchfoot asks the right question, "This is your life. Are you who you want to be?" We need to awaken periodically and ask that question. It's a spiritual one as much as a physical one.
I think this movie is a great one, but not for the reasons it was marketed. It's fresh, funny, raw, and it pushes the limits of the PG-13 rating. But it is also well-written, well-performed and has a little meat to chew on - if you're hungry.
—Overview
—2. Overview Basic (dial up speed)
—3. Reviews and Blogs
—4. Cast and Crew
—5. Photo Pages
—6. Trailers, Clips, DVDs, Books, Soundtrack
—7. Posters (comedy films)
—8. Production Notes (pdf)
—9. Spiritual Connections
—10. Presentation Downloads
First let me say that I find sexual humor more stupid than funny. But this film has enough genuinely hilarious moments in it that I'd actually watch it again. Though some of the stunts were predictable, the film as a whole resisted the canned feel of most romantic comedies. I don't think it's going to be a boxoffice smasher, but word of mouth will keep it in the theaters longer than it might otherwise stay. Three things will help this film do better after the opening weekend: Samantha James (Anna Farris), the way the brothers beat each other up, and the realistic portrayal of plot events. Let's talk first about Samantha James, the wacky rock star that Ryan Reynolds described in his interview as "Brittany Simpson Jessica Lohan." The director, screenwriter and Anna Farris have successfully birthed an archetype. Like Napoleon Dynamite, we simply haven't seen this person on screen before. Her behavior, dialogue, and facial expressions encapsulate everything we hate about MTV divas. But at the same time, we want to invite her out on Friday night knowing there will be great stories to tell the next day. She's so fascinating and multi-layered that you can't take your eyes off of her - all the while wishing she would just go away. What a wonderful character!
The relationship between the brothers will have every man in the theaters nodding their heads and smiling. When Chris (Ryan Reynolds) pins his brother Mike (Christopher Marquette) to the floor and dangles a loogie (is there actually a proper spelling for that word?) over his face, virtually everyone who has a sibling will relate. Add to that, the brothers perpetually beat each other up, though not in the silly slapstick way. They waylay each other like real brothers would, beating each other mercilessly until one can't move anymore. After all, when do real life brothers ever quit after the first punch or two? This is the nature of brothers. And yet, we know that these two brothers will be there for each other forever.
The third thing that draws me to this film is the authenticity of the action. In one scene, Chris sees his high school love, Jamie Palomino (Amy Smart) across the room working as a bartender. She ducks quickly to hide, but doesn't do it fast enough. A cheesy comedy would let that slide. Instead, Chris makes a beeline for Jamie and leans over the bar to talk to her as she cowers on the floor. He doesn't let her get away with it. That's real life. Although many of the scenes are a bit over-the-top, every major character is portrayed as intelligent, particularly the males. This is a rare treat in comedies today. I tire of men being portrayed as witless, mindless victims of their female counterparts. Men are not dolts. In this film, they are treated as real people going down wrong pathways instead of idiotic fools who will never learn.
As for theme, I can't honestly say that this film tries for any spiritual message or moral lesson. It just doesn't try. But it does have some elements that can mirror our spiritual struggles.
The struggle to find balance:
Chris strugles to find a balance between being the old emotionally vulnerable high school kid and the new overly guarded player. His plight mirrors the Christian's struggle to find a balance between the old and the new. How do we get rid of the sin that so easily entangles and yet not cross over into the artificially pious, unapproachable, elitist camp? How can we make faith real and integrate our new beliefs into our priceless wealth of worldly experience and knowledge?
The struggle of the temporal:
(Spoiler Warning)
Chris crumbles when he has the opportunity to sleep with Jamie. He doesn't change his mind for any blind moralistic reason, but for the reason the moral was established in the first place. He tells his friend the next day that instead of jumping on the opportunity, he started thinking about how they would feel the next morning. What would be next? What do I want out of this relationship and what will this action do to our relationship? I hope every teenager in America watches this film just to hear those lines. As a culture, we need to start thining beyond the immediate gratification of whatever indulgence we prefer, and begin to contemplate the long term implications of those actions.
(End Spoiler)
The struggle to decide what we want in life:
Chris comes to a crossroad when Jamie re-enters his life. Will he carry on as the career-driven player in Los Angeles, or will he move back to Jersey and start a family? Although decisions like these are rarely so black and white in real life, we face small decisions every day that define who we are and where our futures are headed. Sometimes we make a decision, sometimes we decide by not deciding, and sometimes we stay put because we're right where we want to be. The band Switchfoot asks the right question, "This is your life. Are you who you want to be?" We need to awaken periodically and ask that question. It's a spiritual one as much as a physical one.
I think this movie is a great one, but not for the reasons it was marketed. It's fresh, funny, raw, and it pushes the limits of the PG-13 rating. But it is also well-written, well-performed and has a little meat to chew on - if you're hungry.
—Overview
1 Comments:
SWEET! It's so great to read an honest open review. We have movie night on Saturday's at our house for our local teens and it's nice to know a lil about the movie. We use "clean films" so the movie is generally cleaned up so it's awesome to know someone else's opinion of the meat of a movie!
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