Some
friends are just friends. Others you get to see
naked.
Joaquin
Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon have received much
applause and critical praise for their
performances in "Walking the Line" and for the
fact they did their own singing in the film.
Well, hold the presses, as "Just Friends"
features its own duo of celebrity singers in
Anna Faris and Chris Klein, who both do their
own fair share of singing in this low-brow yet
oddly endearing comedy.
The film centers around Chris Brander (Ryan
Reynolds), a one-time high school loser, whose
attempt at graduation to reveal his true
feelings to his long-time best friend, Jamie
Palomino (Amy Smart), ends miserably when his
yearbook signing falls into the wrong hands and
he ends up humiliated at Jamie's graduation
party. When we first meet Chris, he resembles
yet another of cinema's loveable losers. He's
the overweight guy with a goofy haircut, silly
grin yet warm heart. He's the kind of guy who
ends up best friends with the best looking girl
in the school, but she inevitably dates the jock
or some other class success story. Reynolds, a
classically handsome actor with a sort of nice
guy charm and presence, dons a fat suit and
obvious facial augmentations to portray Chris
during these years but also does a wonderful job
of portraying Chris in such a way that it's easy
to see why Jamie adores him.
The script for "Just Friends" is a step above
the usual script for a film such as this one.
Writer Adam "Tex" Davis covers his bases, and
while character development is often skeletal,
it's far above what is usually found in films
like "Just Friends." In this case, the high
school experience is a wonderful set-up for the
future. In reality, neither Jamie or Chris
respond appropriately here, but neither do they
respond badly. Jamie, in particular, is
affectionate, warm and accepting of Chris'
revelation under the awkward circumstances even
though it is obvious she does not have the same
feelings towards Chris. These early scenes work
because of a marvelous chemistry between
Reynolds and Smart, and Smart's wonderful
ability to dig beneath the surface of her
character and reveal her not just as the
beautiful girl outside, but her inner beauty as
well.
Chris immediately leaves town, becomes a
successful radio executive, loses weight and
becomes transformed into a handsome, successful
and athletic "player." However, he's forced to
confront his past during an unexpected New
Jersey stop while he's attempting to sign
Samantha James, a "pop" star with limited
talent, limited boundaries, limited values and
limited personality. As portrayed by Anna Faris,
Samantha is over-the-top hilarious and Faris
steals nearly all her scenes, especially when
Chris' brother begins entertaining her so Chris
can re-visit Jamie.
The visit becomes almost a revenge fantasy for
Chris, as he flaunts his new self in an attempt
to, in essence, get the revenge bang from Jamie.
Of course, nothing goes as planned leading to a
series of increasingly funny hijinks as
everything goes wrong for Chris.
Reynolds nails the part of Chris, because he's
able to balance that desire for revenge, those
feelings of finally being "good enough" and yet
still express all those past insecurities and
feelings. When another high school loser who
also had feelings for Jamie enters the picture
(Chris Klein) with the same idea of revenge
Chris finally starts to learn his lesson BUT is
it too late?
Everyone here is perfectly cast, including the
normally comatose Chris Klein as Dusty. Klein
plays both the acne ridden, stuttering loser in
high school and the charming, seductive EMT and
all-around good guy both quite perfectly (almost
too perfect). Likewise, both Reynolds and Smart
are marvelous and Smart, in particular, shows so
much depth in what could easily have been a
caricature role that you long for her to be
happy and it's hard not to wonder if even the
"good" Chris is really good enough for her.
In supporting roles, Julie Hagerty is back in a
marvelous appearance as Chris' mother doing what
she does best...the demure, goofy but oh so
loving role that allows her to be constantly
subtle and funny.
"Just Friends" is directed by Roger Kumble, who
helmed two "Cruel Intentions" films and has
proven adept at balancing sincerity, sarcasm
and, well, cruelty. Indeed, especially in the
last third of the film the pratfalls and
physical comedy become a tad too meanspirited
and several of the situations, most notably that
with Dusty, resolve too abruptly to really be
believable. Christopher Marquette, as Chris'
brother, and Stephen Root, as the label
president, also make funny appearances in the
film.
The film's cinematography aids the mood nicely,
and the editing is done quite nicely with
several nearly perfect camera shots in the film
offering unique, funny scenes.
The glory of the film, for me, lies in the
balanced humanity of the script. Everyone here
is remarkably human, and none (possible
exception being Dusty) is truly portrayed in a
bad light. Jamie has matured, changed and makes
bad choices along the way. Likewise, Chris ran
away, possibly when Jamie needed her best friend
most. The script, which has the inevitable
positive resolution, nonetheless makes positive
statements about friendship, attraction and
chooses inner beauty over external, emotional
attraction over physical attraction.
In terms of the singing of both Klein and Faris?
Both are severely lacking in the vocal
department, and the entertainment value lies
more in the "William Hung" neighborhood than the
Johnny and June Carter Cash neighborhood.
Closing credits will offer an extended version
of the opening lip-syncing appearance by Chris.
Unfortunately, it is played a tad too quiet to
be funny or effective. The full version of Faris'
singing "Forgiveness" is much more effective and
a nice close to the film.
I never thought I'd say this about a Ryan
Reynolds film, but "Just Friends" is thought
provoking and it makes me want to talk about it.
"Just Friends" is not a perfect film, but it's
an unexpectedly enjoyable film featuring fine
performances from Amy Smart, Ryan Reynolds,
Chris Klein and Julie Hagerty. A smart script,
solid direction and a solid heart will add up to
an enjoyable date movie during the holiday
season.
©
Written by Richard
Propes
TC Candler's Comment
n/a
Jacob
Hall's Comment
n/a
