Just Friends

Summary

“I find something so resplendent in the simplicity of Nicholas Spark’s writing, you know what I mean?’” 

One of the aspects that I appreciate about Warner Archive’s slate of releases is the sheer variety of titles that they release. It means that I don’t check out every single release they put out (because I need to have my interest piqued,) but it also means that almost every month there is some title they are putting out that I want to add to my collection. Whether it is blaxploitation films, film noir, Sixties science fiction, or dramas from the Eighties, there is seemingly no defining aspect of their collection aside from the fact that they aim to release films that collectors want. I was definitely surprised to see that Warner Archive was turning its attention to the 2005 romantic-comedy Just Friends. I remember catching the movie my sophomore year of college and thinking it was pretty funny, but I realistically didn’t think about the movie again for a couple decades. In the two decades since I saw the movie, Ryan Reynolds has become a big name on the marquee because of his Deadpool franchise (amongst other successes,) which is probably one of the reasons this film was finally being given a proper Blu-ray release. I was more than happy to revisit the picture with my wife and two boys, and I am happy to report that we had a good time watching it.

In New Jersey in 1995, overweight high school senior Chris Brander (Ryan Reynolds) wants to let his feelings for his best friend Jamie Palomino (Amy Smart) be known. He has a plan. He is going to go to the big party that night and show Amy a heartfelt note in her yearbook that reveals he wants to be more serious than just friends. That night, nothing goes according to plan and instead of revealing his feelings to her, the yearbook note is read aloud to all of his classmates, humiliating him. Ten years later, Chris is now a record company executive in Los Angeles. He has gotten in great shape and has stayed emotionally detached. He has become extremely successful and a womanizer. He has not returned home since high school. His boss KC (Stephen Root in a great cameo) assigns him a difficult assignment. Over the week of Christmas, Chris is meant to take the famous pop singer diva Samantha James (Anna Faris) to Paris and show her a good time, because Samanatha has a crush on him. In his one date with Samantha years earlier, the date ended with Chris in the hospital. While en route to Paris on a private jet, Samantha idiotically puts some food, still in aluminum foil, into a microwave. This fire forces the jet to land in New Jersey. Suddenly back in his hometown for Christmas, Chris visits his family with his “girlfriend” Samantha, whom his younger brother Mike (Christopher Rodriguez Marquette) is very attracted towards. Chris reunites with his old friends and hopes that he can show Jamie Palomino how much he has changed. Unfortunately, Chris finds himself through a series of comedic events back in the friend zone. On top of that, another suitor that has blossomed since high school –  Dusty Dinkleman (Chris Klein). Dusty was a pimple faced guitar player who lacked skills in high school, but now he is a handsome guitar virtuoso paramedic. When he begins to seek Jamie Palomino’s affections, comedy ensues.

Just Friends is a funny comedy. While it follows numerous predictable romantic comedy plot points, the movie succeeds where many fail by having numerous moments of well thought humor. First off, this picture largely works because the premise of being placed in the friend zone in high school is such a well understood concept by both men and women. This concept is surprisingly not explored all that often in films, and Just Friends absolutely nails that timid high school existence down. I have so many memories from high school of being infatuated with girls where those feelings were not reciprocated, and for those of us that experienced this, this picture should immediately resonate. I understand that Just Friends is essentially a disposable comedy, but that doesn’t mean that it is bad. In fact, revisiting the film I laughed much more often than I cringed at a joke that didn’t land. It was refreshing. In this era where comedies are not made that often for theatrical release, and the ones that are made seem to simply try too hard, Just Friends felt great to revisit. This is partially because comedies were much less worried about self-censorship to avoid being cancelled than the current sanitized garbage being produced now. I honestly was shocked at how much the comedic landscape had changed in what felt like a short amount of time, but twenty years will do that. The cultural landscape is very different than when I was in college. I am not at all condemning sensitivity, I just was surprised to see the harder edges of a seemingly innocuous comedy from that time compared to today. Even something like putting Ryan Reynolds in a fat suit today could be called out as punching down, (and honestly maybe it was,) but it still draws laughs.

The actors all do well in their roles. Ryan Reynolds jumps into the role of Chris Brander and is willing to do any humiliating task the film asks of him. Whether wearing a fat suit and singing along to “I Swear,” or trying to embrace being a snowflake to potentially win over the one who got away, he is very funny in the picture. Amy Smart was a huge crush for all red blooded men that grew up in that era. She is very well cast, because most of us knew what it was like to have a crush on her. Funnily enough, the performance that is probably the most comedically satisfying is by Anna Faris. My goodness, she is absolutely hilarious as the unhinged celebrity Samantha James. This role calls upon Faris to embody everything that was false and terrible about pop celebrities of that time. She is a perfect mixture both of self-importance and stupidity, while also sexualizing herself. A poster shows Samantha wearing a whip cream bikini and licking chocolate off of a banana. Faris draws the most laughs in the film and is just wonderful in the role. Chris Klein plays against type in the film as Dusty Dinkleman, portraying him as a nerdy guitar player and then later as Chris’s nemesis who seemingly can one-up anything that Chris brings to the table. Chris Klein is very funny in the picture. Both Julie Hagerty and Christopher Rodriguez Marquette also have notable roles in the movie. Director Roger Kumble is expedient and gets laughs from the audience out of the performances of all involved.

At the end of the day, Just Friends is a somewhat disposable comedy that I think has aged really well. I laughed much harder than I anticipated, and the picture made me long for more comedies of this ilk in this age. I appreciate that Warner Archive has decided to give this film a release after it languished on DVD for two decades, seemingly skipped over from when Blu-ray had just become a format.

Video

Presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio in 1080p with an MPEG-4 AVC encode, Just Friends has arrived on Blu-ray twenty years after receiving a DVD release. This is not a brand new transfer from a new 4K scan or anything, so expectations should be kept at a reasonable level, but I thought the film looked pretty good  on Warner Archive’s Blu-ray presentation. This film looks like a lot of movies that came out at that time. It was shot on Arri cameras on film and has a nice warm look to it. I think fans will be pleased.

Audio

Just Friends is given a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track that replicates the original theatrical experience well. Dialogue is very clear. I did not take notice of any hiss or distortion. Songs from Fountains of Wayne, The Lemonheads, All-4-One and more sound just like they did back then. 

Supplements:

• Audio Commentary – director Roger Kumble, writer Adam “Tex” Davis, producer Chris Bender, co-producer Jake Weiner, and executive producers Richard Brener and Cale Boyter.
• Behind the Scenes Featurettes 
• Deleted / Alternate Scenes
• “Jamie Smiles” Music Video (2:59)
• “Samantha James” Music Video 
• Gag Reel 
• Theatrical Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4/5

Audio – 4/5

Supplements – 3/5

Overall – 4/5

Just Friends is a goofy and enjoyable romantic-comedy that I liked better now than when I first saw it in theaters almost twenty years ago. The cast is charming with star turns from Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart, Anna Faris, and Chris Klein. My family and I had a lot of laughs watching the film, and while it was not a particularly memorable film when it first came out, I had a great time revisiting it. We were all struck by how much comedy had changed in the last couple decades, and also surprised at how much funnier Just Friends seemed now. Anna Faris and Chris Klein are both particularly hilarious in their supporting roles. Warner Archive have given the film a fan-pleasing release.

The film can be purchased at www.moviezyng.com.