Steve Carell and Julianne Moore in "Crazy, Stupid, Love" (photo by Ben Glass). Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis in "Friends with Benefits" (photo by Glen Wilson).
In a summer movie season that has been filled with blockbusters (“Captain America,” “Transformers,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Harry Potter,” etc.), we’re finally getting not one, but two romantic comedies in the span of just a week: “Friends With Benefits” opened last Friday, and “Crazy, Stupid, Love” appears in movie theaters today. Rom-com fans seem eager to fill the void in this genre at the box office: Total sales for the search term “romantic comedy” in Movies and DVDs on eBay are up 26 percent in the last 30 days compared to the previous period.
"Friends With Benefits" trailer (via YouTube)
"Crazy, Stupid, Love" trailer (via YouTube)
In “Friends With Benefits,” Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis play platonic pals (Dylan and Jamie) who make a pact to enjoy the physical intimacy of a relationship without any added responsibilities or commitments. You won’t want to miss this movie if you (a) have ever been to an ‘N Sync concert, (b) have a girl crush on Mila Kunis or (c) have ever engaged in a friends-with-benefits arrangement—which, let’s be honest—means most of you.
But, of course, the sex buddies soon learn that Harry Burns spoke the truth in “When Harry Met Sally” all those years ago: “Men and women can’t be friends because the sex part always gets in the way.”
Mila Kunis as "Jamie" and Justin Timberlake as "Dylan" in "Friends with Benefits" (photos by Glen Wilson)
Dylan and Jamie first meet after they’re both dumped by their partners—Dylan for being emotionally unavailable, and Jamie for being emotionally damaged. So they come to the inevitable conclusion that they’re meant to be no more than sex buddies, although we as the audience know they have the potential for much, much more.
Likewise, movie fans seem to think that Timberlake and Kunis’ off-the-charts chemistry in the film is indicative of a more-than-friends relationship in real life. (The two singles have fiercely denied dating, although they did famously grope each other rather fondly at the MTV Movie Awards last month.) The twosome’s raunchy repartee does speak to an undeniable bond between them. “There’s nothing better than a pretty girl with a nasty mouth,” Timberlake admitted to Cosmopolitan magazine. “It’s every guy’s fantasy.” Indeed, Kunis certainly seems to fit that bill.
But even two of the sexiest stars in Hollywood found that filming so many sex scenes for one movie wasn’t all fun and games. Timberlake was able to deflect some of the awkwardness with his trademark humor. Of their half-naked scenes, he told MTV News, “I basically just jumped around a lot and made Mila laugh as much as I could.”
Mila Kunis, Justin Timberlake Patricia Clarkson as "Lorna" in "Friends with Benefits" (photo by: Glen Wilson)
Speaking of awkward, that brings us to Steve Carell’s character in his latest movie “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” Carell plays Cal, the sweet, bumbling dad whose high school-sweetheart wife (played by Julianne Moore) leaves him after sleeping with another man. When he befriends local lothario Jacob (Ryan Gosling), Cal is inspired to find a new sense of confidence and to jumpstart his quest for love (and lust). Jacob provides Cal with a makeover and the necessary tools to land the girl of his dreams, but Cal finds he’s still fully in love with his ex-wife.
Meanwhile, Jacob wants the only girl who isn’t charmed by his amorous advances: Hannah, played by up-and-coming actress Emma Stone (who also makes an appearance in “Friends With Benefits”). Calling Hannah the “game changer,” Jacob is forced to seek romantic advice from his very own protégé—Cal.
While both men chase the very women they can’t have, their idea of love evolves and puts them on a more similar path than either could have ever imagined.
Steve Carell as "Cal" in "Crazy, Stupid, Love" (photo by Warner Bros. Pictures)
Kevin Bacon as "David Lindhagen," John Carroll Lynch as "Bernie," Ryan Gosling as "Jacob" and Steve Carell as "Cal" (photo by Warner Bros. Pictures)
Even the actors themselves seem smitten with each other. “She’s everything, all the time,” Gosling gushed to MTV News of Stone. “The whole film depends on my character giving it all up for her … Show me someone that wouldn’t give it all up for Emma Stone, and I’ll show you a liar.”
For his part in this romantic comedy, Carell could not be more complimentary of younger costar Gosling: “We met, and I thought we’d have a little conversation and speak for a few minutes. Three and a half hours later we were still talking,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “I found him to be not only a smart, pleasant person but incredibly funny and intuitive in terms of comedy.”
Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Kevin Bacon and Julianne Moore in "Crazy, Stupid, Love" (photos by: Ben Glass)
As for Carell, the part of Cal was actually written with him in mind. “Steve can break your heart one minute and make you laugh out loud the next,” screenwriter Dan Fogelman told the WSJ. And that—that—is the truest definition of a romantic comedy we’ve ever heard.
Get rom-com ready with these hilariously romantic eBay finds that remind us of the crazy (sometimes stupid) things we do for love:
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