No Strings Attached is No Big Deal

The top box office flick this weekend, No Strings Attached starring Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher, is a real letdown.  The film's snappy script was written by Elizabeth Meriwether, but don't be fooled.  The facade of empowerment is quickly torn down by Portman's near-psychotic (but supposedly independent and intelligent) character Emma, who is really less-'role model'-more-'poster girl' for standard female behavior.

In No Strings Attached, Emma and Adam (Kutcher) become friends with benefits, but Adam wants more (oh, a little typical role reversal, that's cute).

Emma reads like a Cosmo magazine, which is unfortunate considering the possibilities for a character like this.  Her resistance throughout the film to the relationship that Adam desires could show her dedication to work (Emma is a medical resident) or her fabulous insight into men.

Instead, the script follows only its creator's whims and leave us in the dark about why she behaves this way.  And any jackass can see the ending from a mile away, so we might as well mention that her personal crusade is an exercise in failure.

When will women make their mark on the box office outside of the standard role of nutjob or object?  When we acknowledge that it's more than just a character, it's an distorted view of all women that we subscribe to at the theaters.