Well, online *technically*...it's from an email list. Some guy named "Dr. Scott" said he was reviewing my film for his email list, and he did. His email address is until_dark@yahoo.com if you'd like to join. Considering this fair review, I just might .

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FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS
Dir: Patrick Buorincini (Buonincontri)
Run Time: 85-90m
Category: Home Made Collegiate Comedy

Most of my readers are college age folk, and all of the Doctor’s readers are film fans. Recently, I sent out an article about FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS, the "homemade" film shot by college student Patrick B. (Sorry, Patrick, but I’m just not going to keep writing out that last name), which included an interview with the director. Hopefully, you read that article before reading this, so you’ll have an understanding of where I’m coming from with this review.

That is to say, this isn’t a "normal" film review. FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS is not available at your local Best Buy, and certainly isn’t showing in any theaters near you. Rather, the film is available for download at FriendsWithBenefits. com, where you can also purchase the film if you’d like a hard copy of it. I urge all my readers to download the first part of this film, give it a chance, and see what you think.

A recent review for the film was put up on the site’s message board that was largely negative. I was kind of charmed by the film, but that isn’t to say it’s without its faults. Usually, I’ll save all my complaints for the second half of a review, but I’m going to go ahead and get all my complaints out of the way up front. Why? Well, it’s my attempt to take a page from the book of Costanza and "go out on a high note"; I’m determined to get you guys to give this film a chance, and I want to make sure that you know I’m supporting the film. So, let’s get the hard truths out of the way.

For one, the thing looks cheap. Of course it does; It was made by college students with little to no budget. I expect this from an amateur director, so I’m not going to let that count against the film too much. That said, I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that it detracts from the film overall. Go into your viewing of FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS knowing that you’re going to be seeing something that amounts to a scripted home movie, and it won’t be as bitter a pill to swallow.

Second of all, I felt that some of the characters’ executions fell completely flat. The film is bookended with narration from the unseen character of Stu, an old man who lives right off campus and preys on sorority girls. I didn’t find the character amusing, but I found myself able to ignore it in favor of everything else going on in the film. Another character I wasn’t pleased with was the "creepy cafeteria guy". The idea for the character– the guy you always see in the college dorm’s cafeteria, eating by himself and apparently plotting something of a Columbine nature– was inspired, but the execution was lackluster. That has more to do with the actor than the writing, though; Whoever it was that played the guy just couldn’t read a line believably.

Which brings us to my third and final complaint: The acting. Some of the "actors" just...aren’t actors. Maybe it’s because of Patrick’s admittedly dubious audition process, or maybe it’s the lack of experience, but some of these folks just couldn’t deliver well enough. In particular, I thought that the two, female, semi-leads– Debbie and Kim– weren’t executed well. In the review for FRIENDS written by "Ian" at the film’s website, he states: " Marissa Hanely’s Debbie is such an annoyingly grating character that I can’t tell if Ms. Hanely has any acting talent at all, or was cast solely on the size of her boobs, which steal the scene from her every time. Carrie Tolles (who plays Kim) can’t act. It’s that simple." I tend to agree with "Ian" on these points. However, in a film that’s made with no budget utilizing actors from on-campus, I expect some amateurism to be on display. These two don’t act well, but it didn’t ruin the film for me.

As I mentioned, I found FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS to be a charming flick with some genuine laughs in it. Here’s the story: J.T. and Toby are two college students who work at the campus’ library. J.T. considers himself quite the ladies’ man, while Toby has a more restrained approach. There’s a lot of banter between the two concerning sexual conquests and the oftentimes bizarre aspects of college-age relationships. Toby is introduced to Jessica by his friend Debbie, with whom he enjoys the titular relationship. When Toby starts ditching Debbie in favor of getting to know Jessica better, tempers flare and the plot starts grinding away. In the meantime, we are introduced to the supporting characters and subplots: The aforementioned "creepy cafeteria guy"; J.T.’s attempts to bed Kim; The mindless antics of your average frat party; Toby’s "relationship" with a girl he’s met online, but doesn’t know what she looks like. As I stated in my previous article on the film, this is all very unoriginal material– nothing we haven’t seen before– but damnit if I didn’t enjoy myself watching it.

And isn’t that the most important thing? While some of the humor in the film is a little low-brow, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the conversations play out and the punchlines that, more often than not, hit their marks. I expect bad acting and sub-par production values from a film that wasn’t made with anything resembling a "budget"; Isn’t that what amateur film making is all about?

Jeff Costanzo, who plays Toby, was the standout actor for me. I thought he was charismatic and believable in his role, and I was always entertained by whatever was coming out of his mouth. I recognized a lot of my friends (as well as myself sometimes) in the character, which is more than I can say for some other "collegiate comedies" like VAN WILDER. Costanzo may have a future in the film industry, judging by his largely successful performance here. Some of his line readings were off, and some of his dialogue sounded a tad forced, but again: This is not a major release from a major film studio. Solid work, Jeff.

Dan Schankel plays J.T. I thought that his performance was lacking in several scenes, but for the most part I enjoyed watching him make a fool of himself. The scene where J.T. seduces Kim while licking a taco seductively started out as highly immature and tasteless, but achieved a kind of brilliance in its refusal to end too soon. I really enjoyed J.T.’s "nightmare", wherein Kim tells him that he’s "just a friend" or "a nice guy", virtually guaranteeing that he won’t be landing any ass, as well as his crude attempts at wooing the "girl in the library" that he’s after from the first several minutes of the film. One minor complaint I had with the character was the musical cue that accompanied the line "Everything’s great when you’re J.T.", which I thought was really, really cheesy. Not his fault, though. Again, I saw a lot of my college friends in the character, another sign that the script was written effectively.

Kim Aquila, who played Jessica, did a fine job with the role. She gets the standard "I’ve been hurt before by other guys, so why should I trust you?" female role, but I thought she was charming enough to forgive the unoriginality of the character. I found myself really rooting for her and Toby to end up together, something I didn’t expect from what I initially thought would be a mindless, sex-crazed, college-set, student film, but there you have it. Once again, this has a lot to do with the script.

So, let’s talk about that. Much of the dialogue reminded me of Kevin Smith’s dialogue in CLERKS, MALLRATS, and CHASING AMY. In those early Smith films, the characters seem like they’re bursting with dialogue, and the lines are often much more complex and witty than they have any right to be. I enjoy this kind of dialogue. The alternative– mindless, stupid dialogue– isn’t favorable, and while some of the dialogue in FRIENDS is admittedly lowbrow, there were enough clever exchanges to keep me from closing the thing down on my computer. I particularly enjoyed the scene wherein the stages of a college romance are illustrated with the contents of Jessica’s purse, as well as the scene where the "little devil" on Toby’s shoulder gives him some terrible advice. Nothing new here, I admit it, but it’s all thoughtfully done.

Is FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS a great film? Hell, no. Is it a bad film? Not at all. FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS resides comfortably in the "Solid" category, with enough clever dialogue and relatable situations to keep you entertained for its running time. Maybe, like me, you’ll see a little bit of yourself or people you know in the film, which I promise will make it that much more entertaining. As I mentioned, you can download the film directly from the website, and since it’s free there’s no excuse for you not to go check it out. Go on, you cheap bastards!

Bottom Line: If you go into FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS with an open mind, as well as the knowledge that what you’re about to see isn’t going to be highly stylized, always brilliantly acted, or in possession of only highbrow humor, you’ll enjoy what you see. The film can be considered the first major effort by a potentially gifted film maker, and features enough solid performances as to not be a total disaster. The Doctor recommends FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS whole heartedly to anyone who enjoys verbose, college-age, relationship-driven comedy.

Word,
Dr. Scott

this is a solid review that sums everything up leaving little else to comment on. i pretty much agree with all of it. check it out if you have the bandwith, but dont expect to be blown away.

how do I see this movie?

- C. Davis
President, Alabama Film Club
Owner, Yellow Hammer Films

quote:

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Originally posted by C:
how do I see this movie?

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www.friendswithbenefits.com

Hopefully it's not a waste of your time.

-patrick