Just Friends
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While visiting his hometown during Christmas, a man comes face-to-face with his old high school crush whom he was best friends with – a woman whose rejection of him turned him into a ferocious womanizer.
What critics thought
Mixed reviews greeted this holiday comedy, with critics split fairly evenly between those who found it cheerfully raunchy fun and those who considered it too broad and not nearly funny enough. Anna Faris's committed physical performance was the one point of near-universal agreement, while debate centered on whether Ryan Reynolds's arrested-development shtick and Roger Kumble's direction had enough comic invention to sustain the premise.
“hangs its crude, clobbering sense of humor on a dubious theory. Once a boy and a girl have entered the "friend zone" in a relationship, there's no turning it into sweet romance. Translated into the movie's loutish high school mentality, that means no you-know-what.”
Stephen Holden·The New York Times
“Kumble doesn't have great material, but that's okay, because he's not greatly talented. The director lacks the crazed gift for physical comedy that, say, the Farrelly brothers have, and only a few sequences of shtick really work. I like, however, his lack of sentimentality: Instead of idealizing Chris's relationship with an adoring little brother and a vacant mom, Kumble demonizes them, pushing each deep into violent black humor.”
Stephen Hunter·The Washington Post
“reminds this '80s survivor of the rambunctious teen comedies directed by Savage Steve Holland and starring the young John Cusack— films such as Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer. Those weren't art, and neither is this. But they were cheerful and inventive and sloppily assured—and so is this.”
Ty Burr·The Boston Globe
“It's not subtle—in fact, at times it's plain unwieldy—but Just Friends is still big on laughs.”
Stella Papamichael·BBC
Parents guide
- Violence
- mild
- Sex
- mild
- Profanity
- moderate
- Substances
- mild
- Intensity
- none
Genres
Comedy, Romance
Cast & Crew
Roger KumbleDirector
Ryan ReynoldsChris Brander
Amy SmartJamie Palamino
Anna FarisSamantha James
Chris KleinDusty Dinkleman
Christopher Rodriguez MarquetteMike Brander
Julie HagertyCarol Brander
Amy MatysioDarla
Fred EwanuickClark
Wendy AndersonMrs. Palamino
Barry FlatmanMr. Palamino
Mike O'BrienHockey Dad
Jeff CardoniComposer
Anthony B. RichmondCinematographyJust Friends
While visiting his hometown during Christmas, a man comes face-to-face with his old high school crush whom he was best friends with – a woman whose rejection of him turned him into a ferocious womanizer.
What critics thought
Mixed reviews greeted this holiday comedy, with critics split fairly evenly between those who found it cheerfully raunchy fun and those who considered it too broad and not nearly funny enough. Anna Faris's committed physical performance was the one point of near-universal agreement, while debate centered on whether Ryan Reynolds's arrested-development shtick and Roger Kumble's direction had enough comic invention to sustain the premise.
“hangs its crude, clobbering sense of humor on a dubious theory. Once a boy and a girl have entered the "friend zone" in a relationship, there's no turning it into sweet romance. Translated into the movie's loutish high school mentality, that means no you-know-what.”
Stephen Holden·The New York Times
“Kumble doesn't have great material, but that's okay, because he's not greatly talented. The director lacks the crazed gift for physical comedy that, say, the Farrelly brothers have, and only a few sequences of shtick really work. I like, however, his lack of sentimentality: Instead of idealizing Chris's relationship with an adoring little brother and a vacant mom, Kumble demonizes them, pushing each deep into violent black humor.”
Stephen Hunter·The Washington Post
“reminds this '80s survivor of the rambunctious teen comedies directed by Savage Steve Holland and starring the young John Cusack— films such as Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer. Those weren't art, and neither is this. But they were cheerful and inventive and sloppily assured—and so is this.”
Ty Burr·The Boston Globe
“It's not subtle—in fact, at times it's plain unwieldy—but Just Friends is still big on laughs.”
Stella Papamichael·BBC
Parents guide
- Violence
- mild
- Sex
- mild
- Profanity
- moderate
- Substances
- mild
- Intensity
- none
Genres
Comedy, Romance
Cast & Crew
Roger KumbleDirectorRyan ReynoldsChris BranderAmy SmartJamie PalaminoAnna FarisSamantha JamesChris KleinDusty DinklemanChristopher Rodriguez MarquetteMike BranderJulie HagertyCarol BranderAmy MatysioDarlaFred EwanuickClarkWendy AndersonMrs. PalaminoBarry FlatmanMr. PalaminoMike O'BrienHockey DadJeff CardoniComposerAnthony B. RichmondCinematographyStream
Rent & Buy