Free «An Affair with no Strings Attached» Essay Sample

Have you ever wondered if it is possible to have sex with someone on a regular basis without falling in love with them? If you have, then you should definitely watch No Strings Attached and Friends with Benefits. Released in 2011, these two romantic comedies will show you a possible scenario of what may happen if you decide to have sex with someone without emotional engagement. Although their storylines have a lot in common, there are still some differences between them.

In No Strings Attached, the main characters are Adam and Anna who decide to have sex without developing any emotional attachments. Anna is a medical intern, and she is highly determined and career-oriented. Thus, she has no time to develop long-lasting romantic relationships. Adam is an average TV producer, whose heart has been broken by his ex-girlfriend. Adam does not seem interested in serious relationships either. So, they make an agreement to just have sex with each other. In the first half of the movie, each of them seem satisfied and get what they want. In the second half, though, Adam starts to feel more attached to Anna, and he thinks that there might be something more between them than just sex. However, Anna does not share his feelings and gives him the cold shoulder until she finally realizes that she is actually in love with Adam. Happily, they stay together and make a beautiful couple.

The relationships between the main characters in Friends with Benefits are similar to those described in No Strings Attached. At the beginning of the movie, Jamie, an executive recruiter, is trying to persuade Dylan, a talented art director, to move to New York and work for a popular American magazine. Since Dylan does not know anybody in New York, Jamie becomes his guide and the only friend in this huge city. They become true friends and share with each other the most intimate thoughts and experiences, unlike Adam and Anna in No Strings Attached. Finally, they decide to enrich their friendship with sex. Both of them truly believe that sex between them will not add any complications to their lives and will definitely not spoil their friendship.

Gradually, their relationships start to develop into something more serious, and Jamie realizes that she has fallen in love with Dylan. By contrast, Dylan does not seem to be emotionally involved at first, and he makes it clear that he has no real feelings for Jamie. Still, when she leaves him, Dylan understands how much she and their relationships meant to him. He cannot imagine his life without her, and he does his best to win Jamie back. At the end of the movie, just like in No Strings Attached, we can see the happy couple hugging and kissing.

Both movies raise an important question as to whether it is possible to have sex with someone on a regular basis without getting emotionally involved with them or even falling in love with them. The obvious answer provided by the movies is negative, as the main characters in both movies fall in love and stay together. In No Strings Attached, the viewer can see a reversal in gender roles, as Anna is undoubtedly more dominant than Adam. She actually performs the same role as Dylan in Friends with Benefits. Also, in Friends with Benefits, the couple’s relationships are based on strong friendship and mutual affection, which is not the case in No Strings Attached, where the main characters are initially lovers, not friends. Finally, both movies show that people tend to truly fall in love with someone who understands them and takes them the way they are.