"'Just' Terrible"
by Scott Mantz

"Just Friends"
Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart, Chris Klein
Directed by Roger Kumble

Too cool for school!  Ryan Reynolds wants to be more than "Just Friends" with Amy Smart!

On the surface, “Just Friends” has all the right ingredients required to fit the bill as a perfect Thanksgiving Weekend movie – big laughs, charismatic actors and a good-natured premise that everyone can relate to.  Besides, what better way to take a break from all those crazy holiday shoppers than by zoning out with a carefree, easygoing, funny movie?

Well, “Just Friends” may be carefree and easygoing, but it’s not very funny.  It sure tries to be – very hard, in fact – and therein lies the problem.  Director Roger Kumble (“The Sweetest Thing”) spares no expense at shoving the slapstick stuffing down moviegoer’s throats, resulting in a lame cinematic turkey where you’re waiting for the big laughs to come, but they never do.

The gags start immediately, with the sight of the usually slim-and-trim Ryan Reynolds dressed up in a fat suit.  Personally, I got over the whole fat suit gimmick after Martin Lawrence and Gwyneth Paltrow milked it dry in 2000’s “Big Momma’s House” and 2001’s “Shallow Hal” respectively, but obviously, the filmmakers still thought it was funny.

Anyway, the year is 1995, and Reynolds plays Chris Brander, a shy, overweight nice-guy who’s about to profess his love for his best friend, Jamie Palamino (Amy Smart).  Needless to say, things don’t go as planned, and she gives him the whole “I love you as a friend” speech in front of everyone.  Chris is humiliated, and he runs out on Jamie – and his New Jersey hometown – for good.

Flash-forward 10 years, and Chris is now a fit, dashing, successful music exec living the good life in Los Angeles.  When he unexpectedly finds himself back in New Jersey, he seizes the opportunity to cash in on his good looks and finally break out of the “friends zone” with Jamie.  But not only does Chris soon fall back into his old habits, but he goes head-to-head with an old high school acquaintance named Dusty Dinkleman (Chris Klein, playing against type), who has also transformed into a lethal lady-killer.  His target, of course, is Jamie.

There’s nothing wrong with going for cheap laughs, especially when you know that they’re going to work, but “Just Friends” had a real opportunity to be something more.  After all, the Holiday Season is when many people return to their hometowns and run into old friends, some of whom they’d really rather not see again.  That’s because no matter how successful they’ve become, simply being around those people makes them feel uncomfortable and brings out those old insecurities all over again.

Instead of exploring that vulnerable side of human behavior, “Just Friends” seems content to quite literally put the “slap” back in slapstick.  Reynolds is always smacking around his annoying younger brother (played by Christopher Marquette), while Anna Faris, who stole her scenes as a self-absorbed action star in 2003’s “Lost in Translation,” tries way too hard as Paris Hilton-style socialite who Reynolds has to miraculously transform into a pop singer.

Actually, I was surprised that Reynolds didn’t become a bigger star after his charismatic, hysterical turn in “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder” in 2002, so I was really hoping that “Just Friends” would really do it for him.  I doubt that it will, which is a shame, since he obviously gives it his all (and then some) and has some charming, but under-utilized chemistry with co-star Amy Smart.

So take my word for it, folks – this is one Thanksgiving turkey that you can avoid.  Believe me, you’re much better off taking your chances with those crazy holiday shoppers.

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