Portman/Kunis Rom-Com Battle

"No Strings Attached" is a movie starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher about two friends who decide to have sex without a relationship.


"Friends With Benefits" is a movie starring Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake about two friends who decide to have sex without a relationship.


It's happened again. We've entered 2011 and already there are two movies being released with the exact same premise. Why have these two seemingly inconsequential rom-coms caught my attention? Well, look at the leads.

One stars Natalie Portman, the other Mila Kunis. These two lovely ladies are clearly riding on the tailwind of their noteworthy performances in "Black Swan"--they're now in high demand. But why have these two taken a step backward into such territory rather than further expanding their boundaries as gifted actresses?

Natalie Portman is opposite Mila Kunis' ex-costar from "That 70's Show" meanwhile Kunis is opposite Justin Timberlake who is also riding the tailwind of his acclaimed performance in "The Social Network."

I think it would be a really funny joke if the twist at the end of both movies is that the actors from each make cameos in the other's movie. Portman gets with Timberlake while Kunis gets with Kutcher. Perfect!

Check out the trailer for "No Strings Attached" and the trailer for "Friends With Benefits," and ask yourself, which looks like the better mediocre rom-com?

"Friends With Benefits," at least in the trailer, appears to be kicking up the raunchiness and is shooting for an R-rating perhaps in the same vein as "Love & Other Drugs." This I can appreciate. "No Strings Attached" looks a little too tame.

In any case, only time will tell who comes out on top in the Portman vs. Kunis rom-com battle. Actually, there's no suspense there because it's probably neither.