SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN

THE DESIGN SCHOOL

FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT

NAME: TAN CHUU YEE

STUDENT ID NO: 0315097

FILMS SELECTED: Friends with Benefits and No Strings Attached

WORD COUNT: 1261

ENGLISH 2 (ENGL 0205)

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE – CONTRAST ESSAY

LECTURER: CASSANDRA WIJESURIA

SUBMISSION DATE: 5TH DECEMBER 2013

Romantic comedy films are involved with light-hearted, amusing plotlines and

cantered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to overcome most

obstacle. Silent films were the starting point since 1890s (Howlett, 2010). However,

romantic comedy films are involved two characters fall in love and then films makers

well-defined love films being about sex and desire. In the 1920s to 50s, romantic

films began to portray more painful love (Howlett, 2010). The story line would involve

perhaps two people who didn’t get on. They would then fall in love more towards the

end. But over a several years, the romantic genre has been amused with, they trying

to make films to suit a wide ranged audience. That’s why more sub-genres of

romantics’ films were gradually produced (Howlett, 2010). Based on the romantic

movie I has been watch before was twilight, friends with benefits, act like a women;

think like a man, no strings attached and so on. Therefore, I would like to choose

“Friends with benefits” which are act by Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake and the

other movie I has select is “No strings attached” which are act by Ashton Kutcher

and Natalie Portman. There are some parallels between these two movies such as

their first meet not fantasists, their first time, their breaking point and their big signal.

In the beginning, the movies of friends with benefits and no strings attached are

similar of their first meet not fantasists. First, the first chance meeting of friend with

benefits was Mila is a head-hunter in New York, who meets Justin’s web designer

from California at the airport while she’s chasing the temporary sign with his name

on it on a luggage conveyor belt to take him to his interview to become the new art

director. She has to sell him on New York before midnight, when the job offer

expires. She does and they become friends because he’s passionately unreachable

due to his ambition and scare of getting hurt, and she’s emotionally damaged

altering the lack of promise. In the other hands, the first meeting of no strings

attached was more complicated because they meet at a summer camp when they’re

young, then again when they’re college-age and Natalie invites Ashton to an

unknown event that turns out to be her father’s funeral. A few years later they run

into each other and now she is a resident in a hospital but then he is a production

assistant writer on a High School Musical-type show but they’re still not friends.

Points by point, both of two movies have also its similar part which is their first time.

For the movie of friends with benefits, while they are watching a not really platitude

romantic comedy at her place starring Jason Segel and Rashida Jones, they start a

chat about how sex should be like playing tennis with someone. You do it and you

don’t want to spend the weekend with them later. No need to respectful, no feelings,

so you can tell the other person exactly what you like in bed. They think it’s a bad

idea but they do it again for a minute. However, movie of no strings attached also

have similar point with it. After Ashton finds out his actor father is overnight with his

ex-girlfriend, he gets drunk and make a phone call to every woman in his cell phone.

He wakes up naked on the sofa in Natalie’s apartment. Unfortunately, her friends’

make-believe they had sex with him, she guides him into her bedroom to put on his

pants and hear his story. They end up having sex, which neither of them estimated.

She has to leave for the hospital and tells him he has a few seconds to pull himself

together and he does. Ultimately, she’s the one who asks him to be her sex buddy

because she doesn’t believe in love.

In addition, both of the movies also have a common breaking point. Through the

movie of friends with benefits, Mila actually decides she’s ready to date again and

starts going out with a perfect paediatric oncologist. After sleeping with her on their

fifth date, the new rule she was trying and he tries to make a run for it when she’s out

getting them coffee. Its Fourth of July weekend, the planes aren’t full, so Justin uses

his miles to get Mila a ticket to come home with him to Los Angeles. They end up

making love, which shocks him out. His sister is trying to get him to admit he cares

for Mila when Mila hears him tell her that she’s too attached up for him to be really

interested in her when she leaves that night. Besides, the breaking point of no

strings attached was there is another doctor who clearly has his eye on Natalie. Still,

Ashton doesn’t make his move until Natalie has his back at a dinner with his father

and ex during which they tell him they’re going to try to have a baby. He persuades

her to have a dating with him on Valentine’s Day. It goes well until he tells her that he

loves her at the beginning. After him express to Natalie, they keep away with their

eye contact because of bashful.

On the other hand, I has explore that both of two type of movie have also a similar

part which are their big signal. For the movie no springs attached, Natalie realizes

while her sister’s wedding that she does want to be with Ashton. She dials to him but

it was too late. She drives all the way to his place but realizes him with another

woman, a partner who had helped him get a handwriting filmed. She went back to

her sister’s wedding, which is the next morning. Ashton gets a call that his dad is in

the hospital. After Ashton’s ex breaks up with his father, he calls Natalie from outside

the hospital and says if she wants to fix things with him she needs to do it in person

not on the phone. Luckily, she is there at the hospital. She confesses she actually fall

in love with him and invites him to another event. After having a breakfast along the

way for going her sister’s wedding, they arrive and walk in hand-in-hand. So, the

other movie which is friends with benefits also involved a big gesture. Finally, Justin

organizes a flash mob to their song, “Closing Time,” because that’s exactly what

would happen at the end of a movie that started with her taking him to a flash mob in

Times Square. He tells her he wants his best friend back because he’s in love with

her and they agree to go on their first date where they end up making out instead of

talking.

Last but not least, romantic comedy films have change from the soundless films

which only non-colour and just take around seven minutes as a starting point until

now became colourful films, add on sound effects and take around two hours. But

only one element never change which is a high conflict, touching, sweet and so on

that should be involve in romantic comedy films. Based on the movie that I selected,

it’s have a little of common which are their first encounter was not dreamy, their big

gesture in the movie, their once to work out and their crunch time. At last, both of the

movies were ended up with a happy ending that make me feeling warm from heart

deeply.

References:

1. IMDb (2013). No Strings Attached (2011) - Plot Summary. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1411238/plotsummary [Accessed: 3 Dec 2013].

2. Cosmopolitan (2013). The Big Fat Myth About Friends With Benefits. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/dating-advice/friends-with-benefits-relationships [Accessed: 3 Dec 2013].

3. Gesang's Blog (2011). Comparison-Contrast for Paragraph Writing (romantic drama). [online] Retrieved from: http://gesangunair.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/comparison-contrast-for-paragraph-writing-romantic-drama/ [Accessed: 3 Dec 2013].

4. Slideshare.net (2013). Romantic Genre Essay. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.slideshare.net/Roseannesblog/romantic-genre-essay-for-bliss [Accessed: 3 Dec 2013].