(Credit: www.DVDTown.com)
Director:
Roger Kumble
Cast:
Ryan Reynolds……….Chris Brander
Amy Smart……….Jamie Palomino
Anna Faris……….Samantha James
Chris Klein……….Dusty Dinkelman
New Line Cinema presents Just Friends. Written by Adam “Tex” Davis. Running time: 94 minutes. Rated PG-13 (for sexual content, including some dialogue). Available on DVD: March 7, 2006.
The movie:
When a girl says she likes you as a friend, what she really means is: “The likelihood of sex between you and me is, um, not a chance. But let’s be BFF! (Best Friends Forever!)”
Everybody has a “just friends” story or an experience from the Friend Zone. In many instances it involves a guy who is good friends with a girl. The relationship grows to the point where he wants to tell her he loves her; but it either isn’t the right moment or she is romantically involved with somebody else. So, he walks on eggshells waiting until he can tell her how he really feels. The drawback is the reaction. Opening your soul to another should be a relief, but it can backfire. Since you are a close friend, the girl could laugh and not take you seriously. If the love isn’t returned in favor, relationship ties can be cut. It’s hard to go back to being just friends.
For writer Adam “Tex” Davis he has a lifetime of knowledge about what it means to be just a friend. From past experiences he was able to write a less-than-inspired script on the subject in which the protagonist, Chris Brander, is a shy, overweight high schooler that likes to lip sync to All-4-One’s “I Swear”. Flash-forward to a decade later and he is a brash, fit and successful music executive. But Just Friends isn’t the male interpretation of the classic Ugly Duckling yarn; it’s a dense comedy on escaping the just friends stigma, when all you want is love.
A lot can happen in ten years. As a teenager Chris was a nerd. He was stuck in the Friend Zone with his best pal Jamie Palomino. Despite having a crush on her since middle school, he could never express to her how he really felt. The night of high school graduation was supposed to be his big opportunity, but fate deals Chris a bad hand again. Humiliated he flees Trenton, New Jersey in favor of the smog-filled, breast-augmented capital of the world. Yeah, I’m talking about Los Angeles. We never learn how he went from flab to fab, but I’m going with the assumption that it involved numerous liposuctions and probably a personal trainer the likes of R. Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket.
Ryan Reynolds plays Chris, both the regular and super-sized versions. Working for Red Bulb Records, his boss played by Office Space‘s Milton, Stephen Root, wants him to sign a hot new pop music star. Samantha James (Anna Farris) is her name; and, for some reason, her persona resembles that of a “coked out of her mind” Brittany Spears. If only she came with accessories like a backup dancer named Kevin. Chris and Samantha have a history, but I don’t need to go into specifics. Just know that Sam is a psycho chick who can’t even complete simple tasks like using a microwave. Next time, remove the aluminum foil that’s inside a Tupperware dish before heating. A Napoleon Dynamite “gosh” would come in handy right about now.
Thanks to Samantha’s stupidity Chris has a chance to go back to his hometown of Trenton just in time for Christmas. Now 150 pounds lighter he thinks, “Hmmm, why not see if Jamie Palomino is still single.” At a local drinking establishment he meets two of his old friends from high school and sees Jamie. Amy Smart plays Chris’ first crush. Her role as a bartender has to be the second or third movie in which she has played a character working in a bar or restaurant. Maybe she’s cast in these roles because she always appears to be tired and on her feet all day. The bags forming under her eyes don’t help either.
Catching up on old times it’s funny that Chris never remained in contact with Jamie or his pals from high school. Sure, there was the rough patch once Chris spoke from the heart to his best friend. But it’s nothing a good hangover and some Advil couldn’t fix. Remember, friends come and go, as do the surgically-enhanced women the new-and-improved Chris Brander sleeps with every night.
Chris and Jamie don’t really have a love connection, though the writer, producers, and director try to create chemistry with a ridiculous chain of events. It doesn’t help when your protagonist keeps flip-flopping to emphasize his good and bad qualities. Then there’s the added bonus of including another would-be suitor in Dusty Dinkelman (Chris Klein). A pimply-faced Dusty also had a crush on Jamie during high school. Ten years later his acne has cleared up and he plays a mean guitar. Note to forlorn nerds, Clearasil and Esteban “How to play guitar” tapes work wonders.
Just Friends has a few moments that are amusing, but mostly you’ll be laughing at the silliness of it all. How about the Christmas lighting scene that turns into Apocalypse Now. Outside lights careening off the house and gigantic snowmen exploding. All that was missing was a bit of napalm. Though, I seriously doubt the sweet smell in the morning could have saved Just Friends of being anything more than it already is: a slightly below average comedy that can’t be saved by a Brittany Spears imposter or Ryan Reynolds’ Chevy Chase-like demeanor. Better luck next time Fletch.
Score: 4.5/10
The DVD:
VIDEO: How does it look?
(Presented in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen)
A small in town in Saskatchewan stands in for the town of Trenton, New Jersey. Don’t expect lush scenery like that of an Ang Lee movie. Instead, expect, snow, snow, and M&M pancakes. Back to describing the video transfer, as a whole, the colors are fine and I didn’t spot any problems with the print.
Score: 8/10
AUDIO: How does it sound?
(English Dolby Digital 5.1; English Dolby Digital 2.0)
Plenty of surround sound to go around when watching Frosty the Snowman being blown to smithereens. As an added bonus you get to hear Anna Farris and Chris Klein sing songs like “Forgiveness” and “Jamie Smiles” in 5.1 clarity. For the rest of us there’s All-4-One’s “I Swear”. Sing-a-long with Ryan Reynolds during the closing credits and learn about the moon and the sky and the stars.
Score: 8/10
SPECIAL FEATURES: 9 Behind-the-Scenes featurettes and much more!!
When it comes to extras, New Line likes to give its home releases an adequate amount of bells and whistles. The release of Just Friends is no exception.
First off, is a short gag reel with profanity and flubbing lines. It is a little less than three minutes, but I’m sure you can muster a chuckle or two. The six deleted/alternate scenes are also fun. You should watch them without commentary by the filmmakers, then go back and find out why they could not work in the final cut of the movie. One scene just goes on too long, another features Reynolds’ real-life fiancé, songstress Alanis Morissette, and the last is the original ending that creates this whole, new story arc for Samantha James. Here you can witness that Brittany Spears can actually sing. No lip syncing needed. Oh wait, that’s Ashlee Simpson.
Next we have nine behind-the-scenes featurettes. If you were to watch all of these back to back, it would take 52 minutes and change. Don’t expect to learn how to dress a set or light a scene with these featurettes. Instead, learn how being a wingman for a girl is totally counterproductive. Though, in Tales from the Friend Zone, the knowledge you gain from being just a friend will help you in your love life.
Developing Just Friends has the filmmakers (writer Adam “Tex” Davis, director Roger Kumble, and producer Chris Bender) talking about the Friend Zone and how it influenced them on this project. The movie’s goal is to be the Anti-When Harry Met Sally. The interesting development is the mention that Bender actually married his “Just Friend” after seven years and how Chris Brander is an amalgamation of several different people. The name itself is a dead giveaway.
Learn how to direct comedy the Roger Kumble way in his Director’s Guide to Comedy. The cast talk about how when shooting a scene Kumble does not yell cut. He says to reset and they do take after take with different variations. It’s an acting exercise, really. At the end is a comparison of two different versions of the scene – Mellow Dusty vs. Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs Dusty.
There are some frivolous behind-the-scene looks at the transformation of Ryan Reynolds; shooting the body shake between Chris and Jamie; the number of reshoots that had to be done before production could wrap; and how Adam “Tex” Davis got into character and the journey he took to play an extra in the movie. Metal head #1, I believe.
When a movie studio tells you to shoot in a specific location, you go or your movie is pulled. It’s Friggin’ Cold is a good example why lower production costs can be hazardous to your health. The feature is a look at the town of Ragina (pronounced just like that “V” word), Saskatchewan (a.k.a. The Coldest Place on Earth). At one time the temperature reached 54 degrees below zero. The cast can joke about their experiences now, but nobody wants to be in temperatures where you can turn into a Ken doll.
The last featurette is a disaster in the making. That’s not to be taken literally. The extra allows you to see how they blew a bunch of crap up. And who doesn’t like to see things go up in smoke? To think, the pyrotechnic crew gets paid for something they’d do for free on the weekend.
If that wasn’t enough supplemental material for you, there’s more. A “Jamie Smiles” music video; trailers for the theatrical release of Just Friends and many other New Line Cinema releases; and a feature commentary with the writer, director, and four producers. Commentary is rather blah, as the six talk incessantly over each other, cracking jokes in the process. It may work for Kevin Smith movies, but here it isn’t quite as funny.
Score: 6/10
