Movie · 2011 · Comedy, Romance · 1h 47m · R · English
Curator score: 1.2/10 (501.7K ratings)
Friendship has its benefits.
Overview
Emma is a busy doctor who sets up a seemingly perfect arrangement when she offers her best friend Adam a relationship with one rule: No strings attached. But when a fling becomes a thing, can sex friends stay best friends?
Ratings
Curator score: 1.2/10
IMDb: 6.2/10
Letterboxd: 2.79/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 47%
Metacritic: 50
TMDB: 6.3/10
Director
Ivan Reitman
Production
Katalyst Films, The Montecito Picture Company, Handsomecharlie Films
Cast
Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Kline, Cary Elwes, Greta Gerwig, Lake Bell, Olivia Thirlby, Ludacris, Jake Johnson, Mindy Kaling, Talia Balsam, Ophelia Lovibond, Guy Branum, Ben Lawson, Jennifer Irwin, Adhir Kalyan, Brian H. Dierker, Abby Elliott, Vedette Lim, Gary David Goldberg
Curator Review
Verdict
A glossy early-2010s romcom with a strong cast, a few sharp supporting turns, and enough chemistry to keep the premise afloat, but it leans on familiar beats and uneven jokes. It’s more enjoyable as a comfort-watch than as a standout entry in the genre.
Best for
viewers who like breezy friends-to-lovers romcoms
fans of early-2010s studio comedy aesthetics
people in the mood for an easy, low-stakes watch
audiences who enjoy a polished cast carrying a familiar premise
Skip if
you want a truly fresh or subversive romantic comedy
you’re tired of hookup-to-feelings storylines
you prefer romcoms with stronger dialogue and emotional depth
you dislike broad studio-comedy tone
Overview
No Strings Attached is very much a product of its era: glossy, fast, and built around a high-concept romantic arrangement that the movie knows is ridiculous but wants you to enjoy anyway. The best reason to watch is the cast, especially the supporting players who bring more personality than the central premise sometimes deserves. There’s a lightness to it that makes the film easy to sit through even when the script is running on familiar romcom machinery.
Worth noting
What keeps it from being more than pleasant is that it rarely surprises. The emotional turns are predictable, the comedy is hit-or-miss, and the movie often feels like it’s checking boxes rather than discovering anything new about modern relationships. Still, it has enough charm, timing, and early-2010s romcom polish to work as a casual watch.
Bottom line
If you’re nostalgic for the era when studio romantic comedies were still trying to be sexy, breezy, and a little self-aware, this lands in the middle of the pack. It’s not the genre’s sharpest example, but it’s competent, watchable, and occasionally more fun than its reputation suggests.
Top Letterboxd reviews
trin (4★) · 2520 likes
“if you come any closer..... i’m never letting you go” THATS IT THATS THE LINE SHUT UP
˗ˏˋ suspirliam ˊˎ˗ (3★) · 2513 likes
not enough greta gerwig
aliyah · 2399 likes
i think that we should normalise making late 2000s and early 2010s style romcoms again
hailey 🌼 (3★) · 1549 likes
natalie portman listening to bleeding love while stuffing donut balls in her face is poetic cinema
chloe 💓 (3★) · 1349 likes
she’s cute but she’s no Friends With Benefits (2011), starring justin timberlake and mila kunis