Friends With Benefits and No Strings Attached

The Rom Com Rewrite

This month, Lisa and Charles Adrian look into the novel and surprising concept of ‘sex friends’ as it is explored in two films from ten years ago.

Friends With Benefits

Year: 2011

Screenplay by: Keith Merryman, David A. Newman and Will Gluck

Based on a story by: Harley Peyton, Keith Merryman and David A. Newman

Director: Will Gluck

Stars: Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis

No Strings Attached

Year: 2011

Screenplay by: Elizabeth Meriwether

Based on a story by: Michael Samonek and Elizabeth Meriwether

Director: Ivan Reitman

Stars: Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher

Show notes:

In this episode we take two films about ‘sex friends’ that came out in 2011 – Friends With Benefits and No Strings Attached – and we compare and we contrast and we generally fix.

Incidentally, another very important link between these two films, at least at time of recording this episode, and which we forgot to mention, is that Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher are married to each other.

Charles Adrian mentions another two Mila Kunis vehicles, Bad Moms (2016) (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4651520/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) and Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800039/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1), and he also references an episode of the comedy series Kim’s Convenience (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim%27s_Convenience). Lisa talks about the film Up In The Air (2009) (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1193138/).

For anybody who is interested, the Defence Of Marriage Act (known as DOMA) was not struck down by the United States Supreme Court until 2013 (https://www.britannica.com/topic/Defense-of-Marriage-Act) and so cannot be the reason people were only just discovering the concept of ‘sex friends’ in 2011.

Music in this episode is by Martin Zaltz Austwick (martinzaltzaustwick.com). Artwork is by Lisa Findley.

Thank you for listening!