14 DAY TRIAL // Shortly after Justin Timberlake broke up from girlfriend of 4 years Jessica Biel, the press linked him with his “Friends with Benefits” co-star Mila Kunis. While they denied they were an item, they also dropped major hints that they may be more than friends – and this faux romance could actually be a cover for a really bad movie.
It’s not uncommon for movie studios to plant stories in the media about the two leads of a movie hooking up right before the release, in a bid to draw more attention to the film.
Sometimes, the romance is real and lasts even after the movie is yanked from theaters. Other times, it’s just a PR stunt used to compensate for the fact that the film the two stars are in is not really up to standards, PopEater argues.
The same could happen in the case of Mila and Justin and their romantic comedy “Friends with Benefits.” After all, their fauxmance does seem to play by the rules set up years ago by other movie studios.
“Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis and the publicity machine behind Sony’s ‘Friends With Benefits’ desperately want you to believe the co-stars might be a couple with their none-too-subtle and staged game of grope-a-dope at the MTV Awards,” PopEater writes.
Indeed, at the MTV Movie Awards 2011, Justin and Mila, onstage to present an award, almost shamelessly groped each other, trying to sell the argument that they were very good friends, while hoping people would believe the exact opposite.
“That doesn’t make me optimistic for this flick,” PopEater says.
“Hollywood marketing machines believe they can generate buzz by having co stars pretend to couple up prior to a film’s release. It generates buzz (case in point, we are talking about Mila and Justin and the movie 6 weeks before its July 22 release) and often translates into big bucks at the box office,” the e-zine argues.
“It also often signals a last ditch attempt at free marketing for a film that isn’t very good,” adds the same report.
Examples of bad movies who made a fortune at the box office because of their stars’ fauxmance abound, from Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler in “The Bounty Hunter,” to Sandra Bullock and Ryan Gosling in “Murder by Numbers,” and Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth in “The Last Song,” PopEater argues.
Then again, Mila and Justin could really be just friends – and the movie could actually be good. “Friends with Benefits” is out in US theaters on July 22, 2011. See below for a trailer for it.
*Please be advised that some discretion is recommended when viewing it.