Movie Review: Just Go With It, No Strings Attached

Managed to catch two romantic comedies in a row.

Just Go With It, starring Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Brooklyn Decker and Nicole Kidman, was a less than typical rom-com. If you had read my previous posts on "upcoming flicks" you would know what the story is about.

Adam Sandler co-produced this show, which thankfully made it more tolerable and funnier than other Adam Sandler movies I've watched (Grown Ups was a clear disappointment, for me at least). The cast was rather fresh - how often do you see Adam Sandler in a movie with Jennifer Aniston, or Jennifer Aniston and Nicole Kidman on the same big screen for that matter?

Needless to say, Brooklyn Decker was so hot in her bikinis. Her acting wasn't so bad for a first-timer.

And it's absolutely cute seeing her and tennis superstar hubby Andy Roddick for a short 4-second segment at the end. Yup, he was the guy she met on the plane - the 'NSYNC fan wearing a "I love Justin" necklace.

Jennifer Aniston looked beautiful herself at aged 42. I wish I'd look this flawless when I hit forty. Oh hell, when I hit my late thirties. She was so gorgeous despite a high definition zoom into her pretty face. I love it when she does romantic comedy. It's like her Friends character Rachel Green doing her thing again - always funny and stylish at the same time.

Even Nicole Kidman was cute in her role, but I thought her character was written to be over-exaggerated. I almost forgot how fair the Aussie actress was until I saw her in coconut husks and a hula skirt.

The little kids acting as children to Jennifer Aniston's character in the movie were amazing actors too. Bailee Madison (Maggie) and Griffin Gluck (Michael) were soooo good. Kudos to Bailee for her well-executed British accent.

And did you guys catch Minka Kelly doing a cameo, right at the beginning of the movie, the hot girl who hit on big-nosed Sandler? Oh yeah and Heidi Montag at the party in the mansion, just before Sandler met Decker in the movie.

On the whole, it was a very cute movie, funnier than I had expected and with two cute chicks to look at, a bunch of great actors and actresses - I give it a 3.5/5.

No Strings Attached was horrible if you asked me. It was boring. And tell me again, why was it rated M-18? Singapore has way too strict ratings for movies if you ask me. Just a little bit of bum or boob and you need to be 18 to see that? The so-called sex-scenes were not even explicit in any way. Over-exposure wouldn't be good for Natalie Portman's image as an actress, right?

It was Portman's first attempt at romantic comedies and I'd like to think that she should stay away from this genre from here on. Don't be mistaken, I love Natalie Portman and I think she's such a pretty and talented (not to mention really smart too) actress but this category of films will remain one of those that she doesn't convincing enough performing her role. I don't feel the chemistry between her and Ashton Kutcher either.

And that brings the other problem I have - Ashton Kutcher. It's about enough that I've had with romantic comedies starring Demi Moore's beau. From Valentine's Day to The Killers and many other titles and now this. It's just getting clearer to me that he's not a flexible actor in terms of the types of movies he can do and he is just being pigeon-holed into this one genre of films. True enough, he comes across as a really cute and innocent guy who always does the right thing at the right time in these flicks. But besides that, he doesn't quite appeal to me.

So do watch this show if you don't have anything better to watch, 'cause for a Valentine's Day celebration, I think Just Go With It would have been a much better option. Plus movies like 127 Hours and I Am Number Four are out, why would you waste money on this? I give No Strings Attached a 2 out of 5.