No Strings Attached

No Strings Attached (2011)

You expect more than you're going to get here. There are two strong leads, Natalie Portman at her finest relaxed self (seeming) and Ashton Kutcher in a slightly amusing, self-deprecating mode that is a little dulling but fits his part. But there isn't the necessary conflict here to make their attraction take on fire. They drift together, they push apart, they find each other again, and so on, all mildly engaging and a bit sleepy.

And don't expect much from Kevin Kline, either, mostly because his part is small and a bit canned, a caricature dad with too much to prove. The rest of the cast is frankly just functional, and you start to look harder at why the movie fizzles with so much apparent talent, especially Portman. And the only real answer is the director, who is more a producer at heart, Ivan Reitman. You can't fault the success of some of his movies, but it's an uneven bunch, from "Ghostbusters" to "Kindergarden Cop." Something lacks energy and imagination here, and the writing stretched a bit.

Enjoyable? Somewhat. Be warned, it's not funny, romantic, or energized enough to quite make it on any score.