"Just Friends" is about a guy named Chris (Ryan Reynolds) who in high school was an overweight but caring, sweet, and likable guy. Chris wanted to date his best friend Jamie (Amy Smart) but they never did because she wanted to just be friends and date the cool guys. Ten years later, Chris sheds all his weight and is now a big time record producer touring with the hottest pop star Samantha James (Anna Faris). While on their plane to Paris, Chris and Samantha's plane has to make an emergency landing and the plane lands near Chris's old home town. To make matters worst, Chris winds up going into the bar where he runs into his old crush Jamie. So does Chris have what it takes for Jamie and him to be more than just friends?

"Just Friends" is not a great movie by any means but a likable romantic comedy. Sure the movie is predictable but it's a fun and ultimately sweet movie. I actually like the fact that the movie had a nice message in the end which basically said "be yourself and it will pay off in the end." The jokes for the most part worked for me because they were all pretty innocent and didn't really rely on sex gags to sell the movie.

I did however get annoyed by the amount of gay jokes in the film which like I always say are never really that funny and get old very fast. I understand as much as I rant about gay jokes there not going to stop but let's hope that they can be limited. There is only one gay joke in the entire film that works, while there are about 10 in the entire film.

As far as acting goes, I must say it's about time that Ryan Reynolds stars in a decent movie!!! I have been waiting for years to actually go into a theater and see something of his that doesn't totally suck! You see I always wanted to like him but most of the material he has done just didn't appeal to me and every time I saw a movie he was in, I hated it with a passion. I think this role worked for him because he had to play a likable character and while many will say he always plays a likable character I say that he always plays the same sarcastic cool guy character. This role allowed him to still be his normal character for some part but also a likable character as well. Mr. Reynolds has finally gotten out of his box and played a role that wasn't tailor made for him.

As for the rest of the cast, Amy Smart was also very likable as the best friend Jamie. She was honestly a very sweet and caring person and you really wanted her to date Chris at least in the beginning. Anna Faris who again plays the same character in every movie did play her "typical" airhead role. But she played a stereotypical brainless pop star and played it perfectly. And while I must admit I do like pop music, I found her whole performance hilarious. She basically played Jessica Simpson in the movie and there are a few jokes that really imply that's who they were mocking.

The reason I think I actually enjoyed this film was that I could relate to the characters. The main character Chris was like a few people in high school including myself, a really nice guy who was friends with a lot of very pretty girls but never moved past that point because of their image or how they were perceived in school wouldn't allow them to be more than just friends. And while the movie doesn't really seem realistic it is made by Hollywood, which at times gives people a chance to believe that the underdog will come out on top. "Just Friends" isn't going for a Best Picture nomination or even trying to be original but it does a decent job of what its suppose to do and that is provide jokes and some romance which the film does and does it very well.

All in all, "Just Friends" is a guilty pleasure film. It's not one that will do well at box office or be liked by everyone (most critics gave it rather poor reviews) but I don't think it was a film created for critics but a specific limited audience. And while the film's marketing makes this film look like a typical teen movie, I feel it's a bit more mature than that even though some of the characters in the film are almost childlike. Overall "Just Friends" shows how important it is to be yourself and act mature. It is also proof that Ryan Reynolds can play a different character and is actually good at it. As long as you don't go into the theater expecting a film that is original and thought-provoking you should be fine because this movie is a decent holiday romantic comedy that both guys and girls alike can enjoy.

MovieManMenzel's final rating for "Just Friends" is a 7/10 and it will be added to my guilty pleasure section of my DVD collection when it is released on DVD in a few months.

Ryan Reynolds plays a man who used to be fat, but slimmed down and became rich. When he returns to his hometown ten years later, he runs into his best friend from high school, who is just as gorgeous as ever. Can he get her out of "the friend zone" now that that he's svelte? Or will his big ego be worse than his big belly?

I see on the Internet Database this film is consistently getting a vote of 6 or 7. And I want to say, for the record, that everyone who voted this higher than a 6 has the worst taste in movies ever. I mean, if you like it, I'm not going to hold that against you. I liked it. I really did. But I would not say it was a "good" movie. It was the same old romantic comedy clichés I see again and again, with sex being a rather large part of the film for a movie that is about people who don't have sex.

Sure, the film is funny at times. Ryan Reynolds is okay, although he reminds me of a crude humorist (which I don't like) and looks too much like Dane Cook (whom I don't like). Amy Smart is the third most attractive woman in Hollywood, so I really enjoyed seeing her in this film. But I liked her better in "Crank". And I've had others tell me they love Anna Faris. I don't mind Faris, but if your idea of a comedy is "Scary Movie", you're operating on the level of a third grader.

The one thing this film had going for it, aside from the few funny parts, was the fact it rested on a nugget of truth. Which is something a lot of romances simply don't. But that nugget (that women in high school won't date their fat friends) becomes diminished along the course of this film. I mean, really, in the real world a small town girl like Amy Smart would have been married by the time she was 28, right? But I guess I should repeat to myself that it's just a movie (and really just relax).

So, yeah, it was a fun film and funny at times. I wouldn't be inclined to see it again, as it really doesn't stand out from many of the other romantic comedies or teen movies of this era. But if you'd rather see Reynolds, Smart or Faris than some other b-list star, then this is one you're going to want to rent.

Just Friends stars Ryan Reynolds in a fat suit who plays Chris, the nice high school nerd who wants to declare his love for hot babe Jamie (Amy Smart) at the graduation party.

Jamie likes Chris only as a friend which means platonic only relationship, no sex. Feeling humiliated Chris leaves his New Jersey town vowing never to return.

Ten years later, Chris is a successful musical executive. He is thin, rich, handsome and a womaniser. However when he is sent to sign an emerging but spoilt pop star (Anne Faris) ends up in his home town with her when the plane is forced to make an emergency landing.

Chris hooks up with his old friends, some are older, fatter and balding. He also sees Jamie and plans to impress her but it always ends up in disaster and humiliation for Chris.

Just Friends is an easy going and charming comedy with a few good laughs. It is really a starring vehicle for Reynolds which did OK but not brilliantly in the box office.

Reynolds hams it up in the fat suit, sings Backstreet Boys songs but even when thin, he cannot escape his past nerdiness which rather inverts this type of film where the geek becomes the Greek god.