A high school loser, Chris finally expresses his love to Jamie, a popular cheerleader. She turns him down and says she just want to be friends. Chris then goes to another country and changes himself to be a flirt, He then comes back 10 years later, and tries to hit on Jamie again, which he now feels is a more challenging task.
Just Friends is part Farrelly Brothers and part Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, all wrapped together to deliver gross-out gags in bizarrely random and rapid-fire fashion, with zero intent to develop sustainable plot or character.
No one will be surprised by the plot machinations that ensue, but the film is saved from utter tedium thanks to a relatively intelligent screenplay and the amiability of the leads.
Despite a rich premise, Just Friends ultimately fails to live up to its early potential, settling into broad comedy that shortchanges the romantic possibilities.
A barbed romantic comedy with a distinct debt to the Farrelly brothers' gross-out-plus-sentimentality formula, Just Friends is a welcome antidote to the usual seasonal sweetness.
Matt Pais
Metromix.com
May 04, 2006
Every single person operates with the maturity and common sense of a dog chasing its tail. Into a tree.
