With a top job going at GQ magazine, New York headhunter Jamie (Mila Kunis) is desperate to get art director Dylan (Justin Timberlake) to interview. So when the West Coaster reveals he is reluctant to relocate, she takes him on a tour of the Big Apple to convince him otherwise.
After scoring the job, Dylan realises his only acquaintance in the city is Jamie, and their easy friendship soon mutates into a sex-without-strings arrangement. While this initially quells their craving for a physical connection, a discontented Jamie decides to back out and begin dating again. After a bad break-up, however, Dylan drags her to a family get-together, and genuine feelings between the two finally begin to emerge.
Featuring a similar snarky wit to Gluck's breakthrough hit Easy A (Emma Stone also pops up in a small role here), Friends with Benefits attempts to take a sideways look at the rom-com.
While not wholly successful in avoiding the traps of the genre it sets out to mock, the simultaneously sexy and goofy charms of Timberlake and Kunis make this a more than passable attempt.
There's some nicely barbed humour directed at sappy rom-com mores and fun no-nonsense banter between its stars. Perennial mother-figure Patricia Clarkson is also, as usual, on top form, but it's the sizzling chemistry between the dynamic duo that really carries the show.
Friends with Benefits is a Film programme that first aired in 2011 and has been classified a 15 certificate.
