Posted: 11/28/2005

Just Friends

(2005)

by Clint Fletcher

Hot damn Ryan Reynolds is on a roll. First an uber-creepy performance in The Amityville Horror, a cult classic character in Waiting… and now Just Friends. His latest venture is a delicious holiday treat for anyone who’s ever been in the dreaded “friends zone” with someone they care about. Personally I’ve never had this problem as I’m God’s gift to women, but many less attractive pals of mine have suffered this terrible fate. And who better to play a fat loser than Van Wilder himself.

Reynolds stars as Chris, a fat dude who makes Ruben Studdard look like Adrian Brody. After pining for his hottie best friend through his teen years, Chris decides its time to confess his love for her in the form of a year-book message. Only a nerd could be that smooth. He gives her the yearbook at their graduation party, only for it to be snatched up and passed around. As his deepest desires are read aloud by the entire senior class, you can’t help but think of a time you were ridiculed in high school. His friend Jamie informs him “I love you like a brother.” From that night on, Chris disappears to the West coast never to be heard of again… until now. He’s spent the next ten years becoming everything he assumes girls would want from a man- sexy, wealthy, athletic and shallow. While escorting a psychotic musician (Anna Faris) across the country, their plane makes an emergency landing right near Chris’s hometown in Jersey. With a few hours to kill, he makes a few visits and runs into Jamie. He then gets sucked into the high school vortex he spent the past ten years getting out of as he forms a new mission- to bang his high school love. But he also has competition from the ever-annoying Chris Klein, a fellow former geek from high school vying for Jamie’s affection.

Just Friends is funny, but it could’ve been much funnier. While some scenes are downright hilarious, most of them come off as far too slapstick-ish for my taste. One minute the screenplay shows glimpses of sophistication and the next minute it turns into Home Alone 3. If it weren’t for the performances of the front-runners I may have actually advised against this little number. Thank God Reynolds and Amy Smart bring their A-game. Meanwhile, you just want to shoot Anna Faris and Chris Klein in the fucking head. In Anna’s case, her character is supposed to get that reaction out of you. Sadly, far too much time is spent focusing on her character. She gets twice as much screen-time as the charming Smart. In Klein’s case, he’s just a terrible actor. American Pie is over and Katie Holmes dumped you. Shouldn’t you be suicidal or an alcoholic now or something? Kudos go out though to actor Chris Marquette (The Girl Next Door, Freddy vs. Jason) who continues to crack my ass up with every role he gets. I really felt the brotherly love between him and Reynolds as they kick the living shit out of each other in every scene. Other classic scenes involve Reynold’s inner-monologue while attempting to sleep with Jamie and Reynolds beating the hell out of some kid hockey players.

While a lot of Just Friends will remind you of failures such as Cheaper by the Dozen, the performances shine and the jokes are continuous enough to make this flick a nice holiday tale. Don’t expect it to compete with something like Christmas Vacation or Elf, but if you like Reynolds or dud-to-stud transformation flicks, slap Just Friends down on your must-see list.

Clint Fletcher is a writer and filmmaker in Chicago.

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