Friends (With Benefits) (2010)

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

After viewing the film at the Royal Flush Film Festival in NYC, I was impressed with the heart that the film had. Like most good independent films, FWB shows the passion and dedication that the filmmakers put into creating it. The story rings true to everyone on some level and it has some very nice moments (both of the humorous and touching varieties). The dialog has some real high points to accompany some very funny visuals. Though the content may make some people uncomfortable, the writers/editors dealt with the subject matter in a simple, yet effective way. A fine little film. I would recommend this film to a friend.

While the whole idea of friends with benefits may seem like a cliché Mr. Bechard's take on it in this movie is anything but that! It will open your eyes to a broader view on "unconventional sex". Never before has the concept of friends with benefits been so beautifully aestheticized. While the beginning may seem a little "slow" trust me the plot kicks into high gear and you will soon find yourself completely immersed into the film. The cinematography itself was amazing, the bathing shot was probably the most effortlessly erotic thing i have seen in cinema in a while. The film was shot beautifully with an amazing soundtrack. I could definitely feel the strong connection between Chloe and Owen as well as the bond the other characters shared. This film will definitely make you re-examine the role sex plays in your relationships and possibly even give you some ideas ;)With the quirky unexpected plot twists i.e. the blond all American boy getting off with the help of a dog! I would highly recommend this movie, i thoroughly enjoyed it from the beginning to the denouement.

I recently saw this movie at the Sacramento Film and Music Festival, and thought it was great! The movie centers on a group of six friends in their early 20s, and the various sexual combinations you can get from three women and three men. (One kind of silly distraction: of the six main actors, all of whom were good, one looked like Melissa Joan Hart, one looked like Mark Paul Gosselaar, and one looked like Adrian Grenier.) I went back and forth on whether the touting of the movie as "A novel with moving pictures" and the use of chapter headings with cutesy titles was annoying or helpful, but I think I liked it, because the movie isn't a straightforward romantic comedy. It's composed of bits and pieces-- confessional-type scenes with a therapist ("Dick Weed"), split screens, music montages (the main character is in a band), flashbacks (the requisite senior prom), a fast scrolling of one character's rules for living. Plus plenty of talking about sex and then sex and then dealing with the aftermath. Sure, there were some clichés, but the movie felt surprisingly fresh. Plus, the two leads had great chemistry. One part I didn't feel was as successful was the treatment of parents--only one set of parents makes it on screen, and it's an overbearing father pressuring his son. That relationship didn't seem to have the nuance and creativity of the friends' relationships.For a low-budget movie, it looked and sounded lush (nice music, too).If you have the chance to see Friends (with Benefits), I'd highly recommend it. Just maybe go with someone who you'll be comfortable sharing a raunchy evening with.

So we settle in for a romantic/comic/sex farce kinda film and going in I'm in the pocket and the wife is on the fence. But guess what? We laughed, we were touched by the sensitivity between the laughs and in the end-I got laid! It's the perfect date movie. The photography is surprisingly lush for an indie film. The use of split screens never gets confusing or trite. The dialog is fast paced but just fast enough- funny jokes within jokes-let's just say I'm enthused.I want to quit my job to follow that rock band on tour- but maybe bring them a couple of songs.Or maybe it's just that I want to follow Chloe wherever she goes. Bechard has hit his artistic stride with this film.I'm hoping his treatment of "2nd Greatest Story" will be up to these standards- he's set his bar very high.