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Just Friends

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 28 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 28 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Comedy | Romance
Written by: Adam 'Tex' Davis
Directed by: Roger Kumble
Release Date:
Theatrical: November 23, 2005
DVD: March 7, 2006
Running Time: 94 minutes, Color
Origin: USA / Canada
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for sexual content including some dialogue
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Anna Faris, Chris Klein, Amy Smart, Christopher Marquette, Julie Haggarty, Stephen Root, and Fred Ewanuick
This romantic comedy stars Ryan Reynolds as a former high school geek turned trendy Los Angeles music executive. When he gets stranded in his New Jersey home town due to bad weather with a superstar singer he is trying to sign, he finds himself reunited with his high school crush and discovers she is his true love. (New Line Cinema)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Cruel Intentions The Sweetest Thing
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Argues on behalf of the Darwinian theory that all of life imitates high school...But the argument is only halfhearted. Just Friends is much more interested in - and hilarious about - the small nostalgias of suburbia.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub
A thoroughly enjoyable three-or four-gimmick comedy.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Scott Foundas
The infectious high spirits of the performers help to carry the day.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Mikael Wood
A refreshingly mean-spirited breeze through both the holiday movie and romantic-comedy checklists.
Read Full Review >USA Today Mike Clark
Still, there are some funny surprises, from skewering overdone Christmas decorations to casting Chris Klein as a creep.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
Funnier than any low-rent rip-off of "There's Something About Mary" has a right to be. It's crass, it's unsophisticated, it aims right for the slapsticky pleasure center of the under-30 moviegoer's brain. So sue me, I laughed. A lot.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
A welcome antidote to the usual seasonal sweetness.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer David Hiltbrand
Thanks to director Roger Kumble's breathless pacing, Just Friends manages to outrun most of its flaws. And its likable leads - the coolly clownish Reynolds and the feline-faced Smart - fill this empty Christmas stocking with glee.
Read Full Review >Empire Helen O'Hara
Funnier than it has any right to be, thanks to Reynolds’ charisma and Faris’ bubbleheaded blonde.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Michael Ferraro
Despite the fact that we are watching Reynolds do the same schtick yet again, director Roger Kumble never lets him outlast a joke or take a gimmick too far. The plot is nothing short of formulaic but what comedy of this nature isn’t these days?
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
Whenever Just Friends threatens to become a total drag, Faris bops onscreen for some serious comic business - either saving the film, or making things worse by pointing out what could have been.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Peter Debruge
This is superficial entertainment to say the least. But if you're looking for laughs, then Just Friends is just fine.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Allison Benedikt
But alas, even with young talent, director Roger Kumble and writer Adam Davis rely way too heavily (no pun intended) on the fat-suit joke and titular impasse.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall
Chris Klein steals the film as a rival ex-nerd, now the most gorgeous guy in town, while director Roger Kumble (Cruel Intentions) cribs from the Farrelly brothers and the Three Stooges.
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson
Where are our Tracy/Hepburn screwball combos? Part of the appeal of "Wedding Crashers" was that Isla Fisher truly did have the comedic chops to match Vince Vaughn, and Just Friends suggests that Reynolds and Faris have potential greatness together too. Just not so much in this film.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White
Although set 10 years after high school graduation, Just Friends is a dumb teen comedy.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin
The tantalizing promise of 90 heavenly minutes of Ryan Reynolds in a roly-poly fatsuit and unconvincing tubby make-up (which make him look like a younger version of Martin Short's Jiminy Glick) proves a case of the old bait-and-switch.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
This is a standard-issue gross Hollywood knockabout comedy in which slapstick antics have been piled up with a steam shovel and driven home with a sledgehammer. Reynolds and Smart are game and even dimensional, but all others are stuck playing tiresome, obnoxious characters.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
And though Samantha is written as a sly spoof of Ashlee Simpson, Faris frantically overplays her. She might have taken a tip from Smart, a lovely, understated actress who wastes too much time in lousy films.
Read Full Review >New York Post Kyle Smith
There's a line between rogue and jerk, and Reynolds lives on the wrong side of it. As Dusty, Klein is such a smooth operator that he could have been - should have been - the lead.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Ironically, Faris' Samantha is the most convincing personality in the mix: She's a grotesque caricature of Courtney Love by way of Nancy Spungen, a vulgar, selfish monster of unbridled id, but you always know where she's coming from.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
Overcompensates for its sloppiness with loud, knockabout farce.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
The script, by Adam "Tex" Vegas, ricochets between over-earnest romantic comedy staples and a noticeable lack of any consistent tone for Reynolds’ character.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
There are bad movies and annoying movies, and this one contains elements of both.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
There is not a spark of chemistry between Chris and Jamie, although the plot clearly requires them to fall in love. There is so much chemistry involved with the Anna Faris character, however, that she can set off multiple chain reactions with herself, if you see what I mean.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 28 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Angie L gave it a10:
Just watched it, funniest movie I have seen in ages.
Raymond B. gave it an8:
Such a quotable movie. Just watch it and have a good time, because you will!
[Anonymous] gave it a10:
A grossly underrated comedy. Great comic performances from the whole cast. Anna Faris and Ryan Raynolds are great, and the supporting cast, including Julie Hagerty as the mom and Chris Marquette as the little brother, is fantastic. If you don't like this movie, you have no soul.
sparklee me gave it a9:
One of the BEST movies I have ever seen! Anna Faris plays a hilarious character and Ryan Reynolds provides some light humor. I could watch it a million times and never ever get bored of it. HILARIOUS!
[Anonymous] gave it a9:
Great movie, especially if you like Ryan Reynolds. Should have scored higher - worth the rental!
[Anonymous] gave it a9:
Great movie, especially if you like Ryan Reynolds. Should have scored higher - worth the rental!!
Steve gave it a0:
Very, very unfunny. Stupid, cliched movie. What an insulting movie to watch.
