No Strings Attached

Directed by Ivan Reitman

(R)

***

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Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher’s “immense likability” make this new romantic comedy better than you’d think it could be, said Jen Chaney in The Washington Post. The story of two friends who believe they can be each other’s go-to sex partner yet never fall in love, the film probably wouldn’t work at all if the star of Black Swan didn’t prove to be “so consistently adorable that she makes wide-eyed kittens look like amateurs.” It’s her character who proposes the no-strings pact, and between her “genuinely funny” moments, she projects an intelligence that makes her emotional reticence believable. I didn’t buy it for a second, said Dana Stevens in Slate.com. Even though the “amiable, shambling Kutcher and the tightly wound Portman” never display real chemistry, you can hear the creaking and groaning of the plot machinery as it strains to keep the blossom of romance on hold. I heard only the music of two “beautifully tuned” stars clearly enjoying themselves, said Joe Morgenstern in The Wall Street Journal. No one could deny that the premise is “iffy.” The outcome, however, is a “smart, sexy,” delightful comedy.