Just Friends

At a high school graduation party, overweight Chris Brander (Ryan Reynolds) attempts to reveal his true feelings for his best friend Jamie Palomino (Amy Smart), but ends up making an utter fool of himself. What's worse, his humiliation takes place in front of his jeering teenage peers. A decade later, Chris has become a success story. He is now thin, prosperous, is a hit with girls, and works as an executive in the music industry. His latest assignment is escorting wacky starlet/pop princess and ex-flame Samantha James (Anna Faris) to Paris, France. But their plane has to make an unscheduled landing in Jersey, Chris's high school home. Rationally, Chris and Samantha decide to stay at his old house. Chris has a reunion with his former buddies, including the winsome Jamie, who immediately rekindles that old spark within Chris. The remainder of the film concerns Chris's efforts to make Jamie see him as more than a friend, while simultaneously fending off the warped Samantha. Competition comes in the form of a former fellow nerd turned sensitive guy Dusty Dinkleman (Chris Klein).

Just Friends is a very funny, feel-good movie. Ryan Reynolds is a hoot as a brash L.A. stud who disastrously channels his inner dweeb whenever he's around unrequited love Jamie. Ryan is really excellent with physical comedy. There are scenes with him that are just uproarious (case in point, the aftermath of his politically incorrect hockey game with the kids). I even enjoyed his frequent Three Stooges encounters with his kid brother (Chris Marquette). And when he has to, Ryan steps outside the slapstick and layers in a deeper nuanced, more introspective performance. I ended up rooting for Chris, even though he was overly cocky and big-timed his home town folks. And then there's Amy Smart, who seemingly can do no wrong. There's just something so lovable and natural about her. She embodies the type of girl every guy would want to be with. Anna Faris's turn as the unstable Samantha adds to the already boisterous feel of the film. Samantha actually scares me. Chris Klein's Dusty, Chris's guitar-playing, song-writing rival, is disgustingly touchy-feely. One would wish that a different sort of arc for Dusty's character had been laid out; the script writer, in my eyes, sold out and made things too convenient for Chris, with regards to Dusty. Julie Hagerty (Airplane!) has a goofy supporting role as Chris's mom.

The special features are tasty:

a filmmakers' film commentary

"Tales from the Friend Zone" featurette (the cast & crew talk about real life "just friends" experiences)

"Developing Just Friends" featurette (wherein we learn of the script's 7 year odyssey and how, originally, Chris didn't get the girl at the end)

"A Director's Guide to Comedy" featurette

"The Transformation" featurette (about Ryan's fat face make-up)

"The Body Shake" featurette (the awkwardness of when you're dropping off a date; do you hug or kiss?)

"It's Friggin' Cold" featurette (the cast & crew basically complaining about how cold the shooting was)

"A Writer's Journey" featurette (focus on script writer Adam "Tex" Davis)

"A Disaster in the Making" featurette (about the making of the Palomino house X-mas decor and its eventual fate)

"The Reshoots" featurette (the making of the eventual ending of the film, which wasn't the original ending)

a so-so blooper reel

deleted scenes

an alternate ending (this was the initially intended ending; you could see why they changed it)

an amusing "Jamie Smiles" video

theatrical trailer

So, try out this movie. It'll make you smile and laugh and even feel nostalgic because, let's face it: just like me, you've been in Chris's position before, too.

This is not hi-def quality. It's lo-def recorded onto a blu-ray disc. All the cost, none of the detail. Doesn't even have the extras that are on the dvd. For the record, I loved this movie and was very anxious to get it in hi-def, but this was a complete rip-off. Don't waste your money. Just get the dvd.

Buy Just Friends Now

This movie definitely turned out to be better than expected. I'd just seen "Waiting", which was decent, so I was interested to see what this Ryan Reynolds film would have to offer.

This movie had a much better storyline than did "Waiting..." It was very refreshing to see Ryan Reynolds play a character that wasn't Van Wilder-esque. He gives a very funny performance as the fat-kid turned Hollywood man-about-town who returns home and reconnects with the girl who broke his heart in his youth.

The movie is funny right off the starting line and remains funny throughout.

Recommended.

Read Best Reviews of Just Friends Here

I didn't really like Waiting, another Ryan Reynolds film. So I was leery about this one, but my sister assured me that it was totally different, and boy, was she right. This one's in the romantic comedy category, but with an American Pie attitude, which makes for a very funny movie. And I've never liked Ryan Reynolds more.

Reynolds plays Chris, a guy who was fat and unpopular in high school, but had a really great friend (played by Amy Smart) who hung out with him and had sleepovers w/him. Unfortunately, he saw her as more than just a friend, but she didn't feel the same way at all. After an embarrassing moment at a grad party, he gets on his bike and rides away, saying, "This town if full of losers, and I'm pulling out to win!" Flash forward ten years-Chris is now a total hottie with a body and has a flashy job in L.A. working for a record label. He has to escort the pop princess Samantha James (the hilarious Anna Faris) to Paris. But when their flight is grounded in Jersey because of an onboard fire (thanks to Samantha!), Chris heads back to his home to catch up with his mother and little brother, and maybe regain what he lost when he left-the girl of his dreams. Throw in a wacky little brother (played by Chris Marquette, whom you will LOVE in this role!!!) and another cute guy (Chris Klein) and you've got some serious obstacles!

Such a funny movie, really good physical comedy on Reynolds' part, he really reminded me of Jim Carrey in this movie, especially in that car scene when he's lamenting over his crappy first "date" with Jamie. Reynolds and Marquette are hilarious together; man, brothers sure know how to push each others buttons. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

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I laughed so hard sometimes I couldn't stop. This is absolutely the best comedy of the last couple of years. Chris (Ryan Reynolds) was the quintessential nice guy, great friend all through high school with Jamie (the lovely Amy Smart). He was a bit overweight and the kids were kind of mean to him about it. Years pass and he comes back, lost the weight, in excellent shape, and has a career as a well known music exec. He's intent on winning Jamie this time. Enter Anna Faris (as a Britney Spears type, and really ditzy but in a hilarious way), and Chris Klein as a musician trying to win Jamie also. The sound and picture are great, this DVD has GREAT extras, and please let movie play all the way through so you can hear Anna singing "Forgiveness". I promise you'll be laughing.

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