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==Cast==
==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}
* [[Natalie Portman]] as Dr. Emma K. Kurtzman. She grew up in [[Ann Arbor]] and attended [[MIT]].
* [[Natalie Portman]] as Dr. Emma K. Kurtzman. She grew up in [[Ann Arbor]] and attended [[MIT]].
** [[Stefanie Scott]] as young Emma
** [[Stefanie Scott]] as young Emma
Line 63: Line 62:
* [[Jake Johnson]] as Eli, Adam's friend. He has two gay dads.
* [[Jake Johnson]] as Eli, Adam's friend. He has two gay dads.
* [[Mindy Kaling]] as Dr. Shira, Emma's friend
* [[Mindy Kaling]] as Dr. Shira, Emma's friend
{{col-2}}
* [[Talia Balsam]] as Sandra Kurtzman, Emma and Katie's mother
* [[Talia Balsam]] as Sandra Kurtzman, Emma and Katie's mother
* [[Ophelia Lovibond]] as Vanessa, Alvin's girlfriend and Adam's ex-girlfriend
* [[Ophelia Lovibond]] as Vanessa, Alvin's girlfriend and Adam's ex-girlfriend
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* Mollee Gray as Sari
* Mollee Gray as Sari
* [[Matthew Moy]] as Chuck
* [[Matthew Moy]] as Chuck
}}
{{col-end}}


==Production==
==Production==
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==Release==
==Release==
''No Strings Attached'' had its world premiere on {{Nowrap|January 11}}, 2011, at the [[Fox Theater, Westwood Village|Fox Village Theater]] in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]].<ref>{{cite journal | last=McNary | first=Dave | url= http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118030137?categoryid=13&cs=1&nid=2564 | title='Strings' preem pulls in celebs | journal=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date=January 12, 2011 }}</ref> The film was released in {{nowrap|3,018 theaters}} in the United States and Canada on {{nowrap|January 21}}, 2011.<ref name="bom">{{cite web | url= http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=friendswithbenefits.htm | title=No Strings Attached (2011) | work = [[Box Office Mojo]] | publisher = [[Amazon.com]] | accessdate=April 11, 2011 }}</ref> Its target demographic was women between 17 and 24 years old, and its primary competition was ''[[The Dilemma]]''. Interest tracking reflected the target demographic's gaining interest in the film leading up to its release, and tracking also revealed "good early awareness" from Hispanic audiences. The studio predicted for the film to gross in the "mid-to-high teens" millions in its opening weekend,<ref>{{cite journal | last= Abrams | first= Rachel | url= http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118030606 | title= Will Par's 'Strings' resonate? | journal=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date=January 21, 2011 }}</ref> similar to past romantic comedies rated "R" (restricted to 17 years old and up) by the [[Motion Picture Association of America]]. With ''No Strings Attached'' as the only wide opener in the United States and Canada, it was uncertain if it would rank first at the box office above ''[[The Green Hornet (2011 film)|The Green Hornet]]'', which opened the previous weekend in first place with {{nowrap|$33.5 million}}.<ref name="against">{{cite journal | last=McClintock | first=Pamela | url= http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/natalie-portmans-no-strings-attached-74076 | title=Natalie Portman's 'No Strings Attached' Goes Up Against 'Green Hornet' at the Box Office | journal=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] | date=January 20, 2011 }}</ref>
''No Strings Attached'' had its world premiere on {{Nowrap|January 11}}, 2011, at the [[Fox Theater, Westwood Village|Fox Village Theater]] in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]].<ref>{{cite journal | last=McNary | first=Dave | url= http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118030137?categoryid=13&cs=1&nid=2564 | title='Strings' preem pulls in celebs | journal=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date=January 12, 2011 }}</ref>{{Dead link}} The film was released in {{nowrap|3,018 theaters}} in the United States and Canada on {{nowrap|January 21}}, 2011.<ref name="bom">{{cite web | url= http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=friendswithbenefits.htm | title=No Strings Attached (2011) | work = [[Box Office Mojo]] | publisher = [[Amazon.com]] | accessdate=April 11, 2011 }}</ref> Its target demographic was women between 17 and 24 years old, and its primary competition was ''[[The Dilemma]]''. Interest tracking reflected the target demographic's gaining interest in the film leading up to its release, and tracking also revealed "good early awareness" from Hispanic audiences. The studio predicted for the film to gross in the "mid-to-high teens" millions in its opening weekend,<ref>{{cite journal | last= Abrams | first= Rachel | url= http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118030606 | title= Will Par's 'Strings' resonate? | journal=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date=January 21, 2011 }}</ref> similar to past romantic comedies rated "R" (restricted to 17 years old and up) by the [[Motion Picture Association of America]]. With ''No Strings Attached'' as the only wide opener in the United States and Canada, it was uncertain if it would rank first at the box office above ''[[The Green Hornet (2011 film)|The Green Hornet]]'', which opened the previous weekend in first place with {{nowrap|$33.5 million}}.<ref name="against">{{cite journal | last=McClintock | first=Pamela | url= http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/natalie-portmans-no-strings-attached-74076 | title=Natalie Portman's 'No Strings Attached' Goes Up Against 'Green Hornet' at the Box Office | journal=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] | date=January 20, 2011 }}</ref>


===Box office===
===Box office===
Line 104: Line 102:
===Critical reception===
===Critical reception===
{{anchor|Critics|Critical response}}
{{anchor|Critics|Critical response}}
''No Strings Attached'' received mixed reviews. Review aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]] gives the film a rating of 49%, based on 171 reviews, with an average rating of 5.28/10. The site's consensus reads: "It benefits from the presence of Natalie Portman and director Ivan Reitman's steady hand, but ''No Strings Attached'' doesn't have the courage or conviction to follow through on its ribald premise."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/no_strings_attached_2011/ | title=No Strings Attached (2011) | work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | publisher=[[Fandango (company)|Fandango]] | accessdate=July 24, 2019}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film received a score of 50 out of 100, based on 36 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/no-strings-attached | title=No Strings Attached | publisher= [[CBS]] | work = [[Metacritic]] | accessdate=February 8, 2011 }}</ref>
''No Strings Attached'' received mixed reviews. Review aggregator [[Rotten Tomatoes]] gives the film a rating of 49%, based on 171 reviews, with an average rating of 5.28/10. The site's consensus reads: "It benefits from the presence of Natalie Portman and director Ivan Reitman's steady hand, but ''No Strings Attached'' doesn't have the courage or conviction to follow through on its ribald premise."<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/no_strings_attached_2011/ | title=No Strings Attached (2011) | work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | publisher=[[Fandango (company)|Fandango]] | accessdate=July 24, 2019}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film received a score of 50 out of 100, based on 36 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/no-strings-attached | title=No Strings Attached | publisher= [[CBS]] | work = [[Metacritic]] | accessdate=February 8, 2011 }}</ref>


Critic [[David Edelstein]] described ''No Strings Attached'' as a film with "a supposedly feminist veneer...(that) never makes the case for Emma's point of view. It's almost a feminist backlash movie, and it didn't have to be. There are plenty of reasons for brilliant young women, especially with the stress of a medical career, to approach time- and emotion-consuming relationships warily." He expressed disappointment on overuse of stock characters, as well as Reitman's "heavy-handed" direction and a story that is ultimately "corny and contrived and conservative."<ref>{{cite news | last=Edelstein | first=David | authorlink=David Edelstein | url=https://www.npr.org/2011/01/21/133091157/no-strings-attached-corny-contrived-conservative | title='No Strings Attached': Corny, Contrived, Conservative | publisher=[[NPR]] | date=January 21, 2011 }}</ref> [[A. O. Scott]] called the film "not entirely terrible...high praise indeed, given that this is a film aspiring to match the achievement of ''[[27 Dresses]]'', ''[[When in Rome (2010 film)|When in Rome]]'', and ''[[Leap Year (2010 film)|Leap Year]]''"; according to Scott, the film is "''[[Love & Other Drugs]]'' without the disease", a film whose pleasures "are to be found in the brisk, easy humor of some of [[Elizabeth Meriwether|Ms. Meriwether's]] dialogue and in the talented people scattered around Ms. Portman and Mr. Kutcher like fresh herbs strewn on a serving of overcooked fish."<ref name="nytaoscott">{{cite news| last=Scott | first=A.O.| authorlink= A. O. Scott | url= https://movies.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/movies/21nostringsattached.html| title=A Firm Commitment to Casual | publisher= The New York Times | date=January 20, 2011| accessdate=2011-08-24}}</ref> Scott considered "the film's great squandered opportunity&mdash;and also the source of some of its best comic moments&mdash;is that [[Greta Gerwig|Ms. Gerwig]] and [[Mindy Kaling]] in effect share the role of Emma’s zany sidekick. How can this be? Why are these two entirely original and of-the-moment performers marginal players in this agreeable, lackluster picture and not stars of the year’s greatest girl-[[bromance]]?... To imagine Ms. Kaling and Ms. Gerwig in a remake of ''[[Thelma and Louise]]'' or the ''[[Wedding Crashers]]'' is to experience an equal measure of frustration and hope. Why can’t we have a few movies like that and not quite so many like this?"<ref name="nytaoscott"/>
Critic [[David Edelstein]] described ''No Strings Attached'' as a film with "a supposedly feminist veneer...(that) never makes the case for Emma's point of view. It's almost a feminist backlash movie, and it didn't have to be. There are plenty of reasons for brilliant young women, especially with the stress of a medical career, to approach time- and emotion-consuming relationships warily." He expressed disappointment on overuse of stock characters, as well as Reitman's "heavy-handed" direction and a story that is ultimately "corny and contrived and conservative."<ref>{{cite news | last=Edelstein | first=David | authorlink=David Edelstein | url=https://www.npr.org/2011/01/21/133091157/no-strings-attached-corny-contrived-conservative | title='No Strings Attached': Corny, Contrived, Conservative | publisher=[[NPR]] | date=January 21, 2011 }}</ref> [[A. O. Scott]] called the film "not entirely terrible...high praise indeed, given that this is a film aspiring to match the achievement of ''[[27 Dresses]]'', ''[[When in Rome (2010 film)|When in Rome]]'', and ''[[Leap Year (2010 film)|Leap Year]]''"; according to Scott, the film is "''[[Love & Other Drugs]]'' without the disease", a film whose pleasures "are to be found in the brisk, easy humor of some of [[Elizabeth Meriwether|Ms. Meriwether's]] dialogue and in the talented people scattered around Ms. Portman and Mr. Kutcher like fresh herbs strewn on a serving of overcooked fish."<ref name="nytaoscott">{{cite news| last=Scott | first=A.O.| authorlink= A. O. Scott | url= https://movies.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/movies/21nostringsattached.html| title=A Firm Commitment to Casual | publisher= The New York Times | date=January 20, 2011| accessdate=2011-08-24}}</ref> Scott considered "the film's great squandered opportunity&mdash;and also the source of some of its best comic moments&mdash;is that [[Greta Gerwig|Ms. Gerwig]] and [[Mindy Kaling]] in effect share the role of Emma’s zany sidekick. How can this be? Why are these two entirely original and of-the-moment performers marginal players in this agreeable, lackluster picture and not stars of the year’s greatest girl-[[bromance]]?... To imagine Ms. Kaling and Ms. Gerwig in a remake of ''[[Thelma and Louise]]'' or the ''[[Wedding Crashers]]'' is to experience an equal measure of frustration and hope. Why can’t we have a few movies like that and not quite so many like this?"<ref name="nytaoscott"/>
Line 119: Line 117:


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==

Revision as of 15:25, 31 August 2019

No Strings Attached
Theatrical release poster
Directed byIvan Reitman
Screenplay byElizabeth Meriwether
Story by
  • Mike Samonek
Produced by
  • Jeffrey Clifford
  • Joe Medjuck
  • Ivan Reitman
Starring
CinematographyRogier Stoffers
Edited byDana E. Glauberman
Music byJohn Debney
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release dates
  • January 11, 2011 (2011-01-11) (Westwood, California)
  • January 21, 2011 (2011-01-21) (United States)
Running time
108 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25 million[2]
Box office$149.2 million[3]

No Strings Attached is a 2011 American romantic comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Elizabeth Meriwether. Starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher, the film is about two friends who decide to make a pact to have "no strings attached" aka a casual sex relationship, without falling in love with each other. The film was released in the United States on January 21, 2011.

Plot

After first meeting at a summer camp as teenagers, Emma (Natalie Portman) and Adam (Ashton Kutcher) run into each other a few times as young adults but never keep in touch. Emma becomes a doctor in Los Angeles, and Adam is a production assistant for a musical television show. Soon, Adam finds out that his father Alvin, the well-known star of a former hit television comedy series, has begun a romance with his ex-girlfriend, Vanessa. Devastated, he gets drunk and calls all his female contacts to hook up. The next morning, he wakes up on Emma's couch, where he ended up crying and passed out naked. She leads him to her room to find his pants, and they end up having sex.

The two have sex again at Adam’s house. Before she leaves, they agree to engage in a "no strings attached" relationship, where they just have sex. Soon, Adam finds himself getting jealous of Emma's co-worker Sam, and being an emotional person, he doubles his romantic attempts towards Emma. She feels awkward and thus ends their arrangement, only to end up missing him. She drunkenly crashes at his place, and they sleep together again.

On Adam's birthday, his father tells him he wishes to have children with Vanessa. Disgusted, Adam walks out, and Emma defends him. He asks her for one single date on Valentine's Day, and it seems perfect till she awkwardly tells him she will not engage in an emotional relationship.

At her sister's wedding, Emma realises she wants to be with Adam, and drives over to his place, only to see his colleague Lucy inside his house, and mistake her for his girlfriend. She drives away. The same night, Adam and Lucy try to have sex, when Vanessa informs him his father has had a heart attack. Adam rushes to the hospital as Vanessa leaves for a party, only to find out Emma has also come there as her colleague Shira informed her. As Emma confesses her feelings to Adam, he asks her to pursue their relationship again, and she agrees. They are then shown to have breakfast, a sign of a "strings attached" relationship, as the movie ends showing all relationships ending happily.

Cast

Production

No Strings Attached is directed by Ivan Reitman based on a screenplay by Elizabeth Meriwether titled Friends with Benefits. The title was changed to avoid confusion with a different film with a similar premise that opened on July 22, 2011. The Paramount Pictures film was first announced in March 2010 as an untitled project. Actors Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman were cast in the lead roles, and Paramount anticipated a release date of January 7, 2011.[5] Reitman said of casual sex, "I noticed from my own kids that with this generation in particular, young people find it easier to have a sexual relationship than an emotional one. That is how the sexes deal with each other today."[6] Principal photography began in May 2010.[7] By November 2010, the film was titled No Strings Attached with a new release date of January 21, 2011.[6]

Though the timing was coincidental, Portman welcomed the chance to portray a dissimilar character to her role in Black Swan.[8]

Music

Main article: No Strings Attached: Music from the Motion Picture

The soundtrack includes songs such as " Bossa Nova Baby" " I Wanna Sex You Up"

Release

No Strings Attached had its world premiere on January 11, 2011, at the Fox Village Theater in Los Angeles, California.[9][dead link] The film was released in 3,018 theaters in the United States and Canada on January 21, 2011.[3] Its target demographic was women between 17 and 24 years old, and its primary competition was The Dilemma. Interest tracking reflected the target demographic's gaining interest in the film leading up to its release, and tracking also revealed "good early awareness" from Hispanic audiences. The studio predicted for the film to gross in the "mid-to-high teens" millions in its opening weekend,[10] similar to past romantic comedies rated "R" (restricted to 17 years old and up) by the Motion Picture Association of America. With No Strings Attached as the only wide opener in the United States and Canada, it was uncertain if it would rank first at the box office above The Green Hornet, which opened the previous weekend in first place with $33.5 million.[2]

Box office

Ultimately, No Strings Attached beat The Green Hornet with an opening weekend gross of $20.3 million. 70% of the audience were women.[11] According to CinemaScore, audiences under the age of 25 gave the film an "A-" grade while audiences over the age of 25 gave it a "B" grade. Future grosses were expected to be dependent on the younger demographic.[12]

The film grossed $70.7 million in the United States and Canada and $78.5 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $149.2 million.[3]

Critical reception

No Strings Attached received mixed reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 49%, based on 171 reviews, with an average rating of 5.28/10. The site's consensus reads: "It benefits from the presence of Natalie Portman and director Ivan Reitman's steady hand, but No Strings Attached doesn't have the courage or conviction to follow through on its ribald premise."[13] On Metacritic, the film received a score of 50 out of 100, based on 36 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[14]

Critic David Edelstein described No Strings Attached as a film with "a supposedly feminist veneer...(that) never makes the case for Emma's point of view. It's almost a feminist backlash movie, and it didn't have to be. There are plenty of reasons for brilliant young women, especially with the stress of a medical career, to approach time- and emotion-consuming relationships warily." He expressed disappointment on overuse of stock characters, as well as Reitman's "heavy-handed" direction and a story that is ultimately "corny and contrived and conservative."[15] A. O. Scott called the film "not entirely terrible...high praise indeed, given that this is a film aspiring to match the achievement of 27 Dresses, When in Rome, and Leap Year"; according to Scott, the film is "Love & Other Drugs without the disease", a film whose pleasures "are to be found in the brisk, easy humor of some of Ms. Meriwether's dialogue and in the talented people scattered around Ms. Portman and Mr. Kutcher like fresh herbs strewn on a serving of overcooked fish."[16] Scott considered "the film's great squandered opportunity—and also the source of some of its best comic moments—is that Ms. Gerwig and Mindy Kaling in effect share the role of Emma’s zany sidekick. How can this be? Why are these two entirely original and of-the-moment performers marginal players in this agreeable, lackluster picture and not stars of the year’s greatest girl-bromance?... To imagine Ms. Kaling and Ms. Gerwig in a remake of Thelma and Louise or the Wedding Crashers is to experience an equal measure of frustration and hope. Why can’t we have a few movies like that and not quite so many like this?"[16]

British newspaper The Telegraph named No Strings Attached one of the ten worst films of 2011, saying "No Strings Attached is nominally a raunchy romantic comedy, but Natalie Portman betrays so little indication of enjoying herself you’d be forgiven for thinking we were watching deleted scenes from Black Swan."[17]

Home media

No Strings Attached was released on DVD and Blu-ray on May 10, 2011.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ "NO STRINGS ATTACHED (15)". British Board of Film Classification. January 12, 2011. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  2. ^ a b McClintock, Pamela (January 20, 2011). "Natalie Portman's 'No Strings Attached' Goes Up Against 'Green Hornet' at the Box Office". The Hollywood Reporter.
  3. ^ a b c "No Strings Attached (2011)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
  4. ^ "Executive Suite: Tom Pollock and Ivan Reitman". The Hollywood Reporter. October 3, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  5. ^ McClintock, Pamela (March 17, 2010). "Reitman to direct Kutcher, Portman". Variety.
  6. ^ a b Wloszczyna, Susan (November 4, 2010). "First look: Kutcher, Portman star in 'No Strings Attached'". USA Today.
  7. ^ Rooney, David (May 5, 2010). "Making a Success of Her Messiness on Two Coasts". The New York Times.
  8. ^ "Natalie Portman 'Really Proud' Of 'No Strings Attached'". Huffington Post. January 19, 2011.
  9. ^ McNary, Dave (January 12, 2011). "'Strings' preem pulls in celebs". Variety.
  10. ^ Abrams, Rachel (January 21, 2011). "Will Par's 'Strings' resonate?". Variety.
  11. ^ Stewart, Andrew (January 23, 2011). "'No Strings' tops weekend B.O." Variety.
  12. ^ Fritz, Ben (January 24, 2011). "Company Town: Women help make 'No Strings Attached' a winner". Los Angeles Times.
  13. ^ "No Strings Attached (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  14. ^ "No Strings Attached". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  15. ^ Edelstein, David (January 21, 2011). "'No Strings Attached': Corny, Contrived, Conservative". NPR.
  16. ^ a b Scott, A.O. (January 20, 2011). "A Firm Commitment to Casual". The New York Times. Retrieved August 24, 2011.
  17. ^ "Ten worst films of 2011". The Telegraph. London. December 15, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  18. ^ "No Strings Attached (2011)" Archived November 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. VideoETA.com. Retrieved 2011-08-02.

External links

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