Just Friends
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Just Friends | |
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| Directed by | Roger Kumble |
| Produced by | Chris Bender |
| Written by | Adam 'Tex' Davis |
| Starring | Ryan R. Reynolds Amy Smart Anna Faris Chris Klein Chris Marquette |
| Music by | Just Friends (album) New Line Records |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
| Release date(s) | November 23, 2005 (USA) |
| Running time | 96 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
Just Friends is a 2005 film starring Ryan Reynolds and Amy Smart. Its tagline is "He loves her. She loves him not." The film was shot in Los Angeles and parts of Saskatchewan.[1]
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[edit] Plot
Chris Brander (Ryan Reynolds), an overweight high school student in a suburban community in New Jersey, is in love with his best friend, Jamie Palamino (Amy Smart). In 1995, on the night of their high school graduation, Chris attends Jamie's open house party. He confesses his feelings to her by writing them in her yearbook, but as he tries to return her yearbook to her, it is swiped by Jamie's ex-boyfriend and he reads it aloud at the party. Chris is then publicly humiliated when she doesn't reciprocate the feelings that he has for her, instead giving him a cheek kiss and states that she loves Chris like a brother. After Jamie yells at their classmates for making fun of him, Chris storms away humiliated from the party on his bicycle vowing to leave town.
Ten years later, Chris is handsome and successful with a thriving career as a record producer in Los Angeles and a reputation as a ferocious womanizer. Just before Christmas, Chris's boss orders him to take up-and-coming pop singer Samantha James (Anna Faris) to Paris so that she will sign with their company. Chris objects, saying that Samantha James "Is a crazy person". We had one date and I ended up in the hospital!" On the duo's "business" trip to Paris, Samantha sets her private jet on fire by neglecting to remove the tin foil from her microwave dinner. This necessitates an emergency landing in New Jersey, not far from Chris's hometown. He takes her to his mother's house for the night, causing him to face the humiliating high school years he left behind and his unresolved feelings for Jamie.
Stepping out to the local bar, Chris runs into some old friends, including Jamie (and her ex-boyfriend who is now a overweight and broke alcoholic.), who is working her way through graduate school as a barkeep. Thinking that he can finally get his high school love out of his system, Chris plans to woo and seduce Jamie. However, a number of unexpected problems, namely Samantha's reality-challenged jealousy, exploding Christmas decorations, angry hockey players, the competition of fellow geek-turned-hottie Dusty Dinkleman (Chris Klein), and the growing realization that his friendship with Jamie actually did mean something to him keep getting in the way. He bonds with Jamie on several occasions, mainly when he uses his brother Mike (Chris Marquette), who is obsessed with Samantha, as a way to distract the pop singer. However, Samantha soon figures this out and chaos ensues. After one disaster after another Chris returns to LA only to figure out that Jamie is the one for him.
[edit] Cast
- Ryan Reynolds — Chris Brander
- Amy Smart — Jamie Palamino
- Anna Faris — Samantha James
- Chris Klein — Dusty Lee Dinkleman
- Chris Marquette — Mike Brander
- Julie Haggerty — Carol Brander
- Stephen Root — KC
- Fred Ewanuick — Clark
- Amy Matysio — Darla
- Jacob Anderson — Mr. Palamino
- Maria Arcé — Athena
- Ty Olsson — Tim
Both Ryan Reynolds and Amy Smart made appearances in Season 2 of Scrubs. Amy Smart's recurring character in Scrubs was also called Jamie. Meanwhile, Ryan Reynolds and Anna Faris previously appeared together in the comedy film Waiting...
Alanis Morissette, then Reynolds's fiancé, made a cameo as "herself" as a former client of his character. This came about when the casting director said "we need an Alanis Morissette type" and Reynolds suggested he knew someone who would fit that type.
[edit] Original songs performed in the film
- "Forgiveness", performed multiple times by Anna Faris.
- "When Jamie Smiles", performed multiple times by Chris Klein
- "Love from Afar", performed by Anna Faris
- "Just a Guy", performed by Anna Faris (only on the Alternate Ending)
Most songs in the film were written by Adam Schiff, except "When Jamie Smiles", which was written by H. Scott Salinas.
