Weighing the ‘Benefits’

If Friends with Benefits looks familiar it is because the Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher-led No Strings Attached from earlier this year had the exact same premise. Things get complicated fast for buddies Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis when their friendship turns physical in the new comedy in theaters this Friday. Riding the line between a parody of romantic comedies and a close-adherent of the “guy meets girl, guy looses girl, guy wins girl in the end” formula, Friends with Benefits is directed by Easy A helmer Will Gluck finds Timberlake and Kunis trying to add sex to their relationship without all the emotional attachments and commitments that typically accompany such a move. Patricia Clarkson, Woody Harrelson and Andy Samburg co-star. Rated R.