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'Just Friends': No romance? Fat chance

By HAP ERSTEIN
Palm Beach Post

Likely to be most remembered for its explication of "the friend zone," that dreaded limbo in which one half of a couple wants a romantic relationship, while the other wants to be Just Friends, this is a reasonably savvy comedy bound to strike a chord with date-night moviegoers, one that only occasionally resorts to gross-out humor.

New Line Cinema

'Just Friends'

The verdict: A guy rebuffed in high school gets a second chance to be more than friends in this above average romantic comedy.

Director: Roger Kumble
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart, Anna Faris, Chris Klein, Ty Olsson
Run time: 88 minutes
Release date: Nov. 23, 2005
Rating: PG-13 for sexual content including some dialogue.
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Ryan Reynolds (The Amityville Horror), wearing a fat suit and jowly makeup that makes him look like Jiminy Glick's younger brother, plays Chris Brander, best pal to bubbly high school cheerleader goddess Jamie Palamino (Amy Smart). But he wants to be more than that and is crushed when those feelings are not reciprocated.

Fast-forward 10 years, when slimmed-down music industry bigwig and ladies' man Chris makes an unscheduled visit to his hometown, with spoiled sex-kitten rock star Samantha James (Anna Faris) in tow. Bumping into Jamie again, he seizes the opportunity to impress her, but finds that his success and new physique are no guarantees of winning her over.

Director Roger Kumble (Cruel Intentions) delivers the humor and the life lessons efficiently enough, helped by his leading actors and two scene-stealing performances — by the Kate Hudson-ish Faris and Christopher Marquette as Chris' eager-to-please younger brother, reminiscent of a young John Cusack.