One of the most common genres in the film industry is a romantic comedy. Romantic stories always contain two characters that fall in love. In the romantic films, the two individuals face trial and error when they try to make their relationship work, which lead to comedic and funny situations. The films depict weak moments where the two people believe the relation cannot work, but it leads to a successful and a happy relationship. The essay compares two romantic comedies ‘Friends with Benefits’ and ‘No Strings Attached’. Therefore, the essay compares the meeting point, their first time, and the breaking point.
First, in the film, Friends with Benefits, Mila from New York meets Justin from California at the airport at the luggage conveyor belt. Mila is determined to accompany Justin to the interview to become the new art manager for GQ. Justin is web designer while Mila is a recruiter. However, Mila has to sell Justin before midnight in New York before the job offer expires. Justin and Mila become friends though Justin is emotionally unavailable owing to fear of getting hurt and due to his ambition. On the other hand, Mila struggles with her emotions trying to balance commitment and desire for the relationship to resemble the romantic films.
However, the film ‘No Strings Attached’ is more complicated. The two individuals meet at a young age at a summer camp and later meet while at college. Natalie invites Ashton to an event that then she realizes her father’s funeral. Consequently, Natalie meets Ashton a few years later. Ashton is a production assistant in high school while Natalie is a resident at a hospital. However, at this stage, there is still no friendship between Natalie and Ashton.
Regarding their first time meeting, Mila and Justin meet while watching a fake romantic movie and drinking at her place. The two individuals begin a conversation about sex and discuss how sex should be like two people playing tennis. The two individuals point out that most people do not want to spend weekends with their loved ones after engaging. Mila and Justin also note that their friendship has no emotions, no expectations, and therefore they should be open to each other and share everything in bed. Justin and Mila engage in sex but later think it was a bad idea. However, the two lovers continue with the act, and the relationship works for a while. On the other hand, in the film ‘No Strings Attached’, Ashton discovers that his father is having sex with his ex-girlfriend. He gets angry and dials every woman cell phones number in his phone only to wake up naked and find himself in Natalie’s apartment. Natalie’s friends pretend they had sex with Justin. Consequently, Natalie finds out whether the claims were valid. However, Justin and Natalie end up having sex together. Later Natalie leaves for hospital and chases Justin away. Natalie does not have time to spend with friends due to the nature of her job. Besides, she does not believe in love. However, she asks Justin to be her boyfriend, Justin later accepts, and the relationship commences.
In the film ‘Friend with Benefit’, Justin gets a ticket for Mila to come home and join him in Los Angeles. The two individuals engage in sex, and Justin gets angry. Justin’s sister begs him to admit he truly cares for Mila. However, Mila hears the conversation and realizes that Justin does not care about her. Mila too gets annoyed and leaves that night. Conversely, in the film ‘No Strings Attached’, Natalie begins dating another doctor. Later, Ashton convinces Natalie to have a date together. The two discuss various issues and in the middle of the conversation, Ashton tells her that he loves her. Natalie stops seeing Ashton on realizing that their love is not true. From the movies friend with benefits is on the rise in America (Williams and Jovanovic 158).
- Williams, Jean, and Jasna Jovanovic. “Third Wave Feminism and Emerging Adult Sexuality: Friends with Benefits Relationships.” Sexuality & Culture 19.1 (2015): 157–171. EBSCOhost. Web. 25 July 2016.
