The Location of Friends with Benefits

The film Friends With Benefits is a perfect arena to discuss the dynamics of space and place, and what those things mean in terms of popular culture. Justin Timberlake’s character leaves his home in Los Angeles to take on a new job at GQ magazine in New York. Mila Kunis’ character sets up this job for him, and helps him settle into his new life in New York. The film does an amazing job at emphasizing “place and space in terms of absence-presence, where place is marked by face-to-face encounters and space by the relations between absent others” (Barker 376). The fact that Timberlake is thrust into a new “place” with no familiar others to associate with, helps to propel the romance that develops with Kunis. One can see this in the clip below, in which what can be considered their first date begins because Timberlake asks her to suggest a place to eat.

Their face-to-face interaction is thus magnified because of Timberlake's reliance on Kunis for a better understanding of a new location. This also begins the reliance on an emotional connection between the two characters. This connection between the two, however, does not detract from the fact that the two are from opposite sides of the United States. The film pokes fun at stereotypes of Angelenos and New Yorkers. For example, there is a moment when Timberake and Kunis are flying from New York to Los Angeles, and Kunis is cursing loudly in front of children passengers. Timberlake consoles them and their upset parents by mentioning something along the lines of, "She's from New York, this is how she is." Thus showing that Hollywood portrays particular stereotypes of people from certain spaces in a rigid manner. The stereotypes rarely bend in favor of a more diverse type of people.

The trailer of the film travels deeper into the emotional aspect of the movie which presents the respective families of Kunis and Timberlake. Both of their parents have particular reasons for providing a lack of support. Timberlake says, "Come with me to L.A. You'd be a great distraction from my family. They'll love you, all fast talking and brusk like I'm bringing home a carny." The first thing that stands out about this line of dialogue is that Timberlake's character needs a distraction from his family. The audience finds later that his father is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and the family struggles with having to cope. This section proves that "places are discursive constructions which are the target of emotional identification or investment" (376). Timberlake's character associated Los Angeles with his father's illness and his emotional relation to that.

Overall, it seemed that the characters romantic relationship, and emotional identity is highly attached to where they come from, and where they live at the moment. Their place directly corresponds to their emotional timbre and attitude. Perhaps this in itself is the cliche part of the movie. The casual sex and attempt to refrain from relationship romance purports itself to be a different type of chick flick. However, the stereotypes and expectation placed on people from particular locations remains the same.

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Works Cited

Barker, Chris. "Cultural Space and Urban Place." Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. London: Sage, 2008. 376. Print.

"Exclusive Preview Clip of Friends with Benefits - YouTube." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. 29 Apr. 2011. Web. 10 Aug. 2011. .

"Friends with Benefits Movie Trailer Official (HD) - YouTube." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. 17 Mar. 2011. Web. 10 Aug. 2011. .