Ryan Reynolds and Amy Smart star in the enjoyable comedy flick JUST FRIENDS. Full of laugh out loud moments, and PG-13 humor, it is a great coming of age romantic storyline that we all can relate to. Chris Brander (Ryan Reynolds) is a rather "portly" fellow and is in love with his best friend Jamie Palamino (Amy Smart), in this small New Jersey town. Chris decides at their 1995 high school post-graduation party to confess to Jamie his undying love. Well, things go awry, and he is laughed out of the party. He rides off on his bike quoting from Bruce Springsteen's song "Thunder Road": "It's a town full of losers, and I'm pulling out of here to win!" Flash forward to 10 years later in California. Chris Brander is a slimmed down record company executive, who has no shortage of beautiful women at his beckon call. He has kept quite a distance between him and his Jersey hometown. On the way to Paris with an awfully untalented pop star Samantha James (Scary Movie's Anna Faris), they have to make an unscheduled landing due to a freak accident, and they end up not too far from his hometown in New Jersey. They are stranded for a time, and Chris takes Samantha back to his hometown, where he runs into old friend and love interest Jamie Palamino. Comedy ensues as Chris faces the woman he had feelings for who kept him in the "just friends zone" back in high school. His feelings are re-awakened, and he tries once again, to take it to the next level, out of the dreaded "friend zone." He still has to overcome his past insecurity which still haunts him, providing the humorous contrast of a guy who seemingly has it all, but wants something maybe out of reach, which still makes him nervous, all these years later. Ryan Reynolds is very funny (as usual) both over and under the convincingly real "fatsuit". Amy Smart is the very cute girl-next-door. A great comedy I liked a lot. I recommend this movie for anyone looking for light-hearted fare.
Review of Just Friends
