Image courtesy Paramount Pictures. This was going to be a progressive romantic comedy; instead of featuring voracious cads bagging bimbos or letting down clingy, wholesome girls desperate for commitment, this would showcase an empowered woman who demanded sex without a relationship.
By featuring a rational, self-controlled protagonist across from a submissive male lead, this atypical departure would provide enlightened commentary about the traditional woman-as-object storyline. From the first moment, it appeared my suspicions would be confirmed.
On the other hand we have Adam who cries, gives lingering, unsolicited hugs to strangers, and appears incapable of refraining from describing every emotion and feeling he ever has.
The pair reunites in the present day when Adam again emotive and crying drunk dials Emma after a breakup. In a scene identical to the opener, she awkwardly comforts him, solidifying this dynamic. Somehow this encounter segues right to passionate sex and thus begins their no-strings-attached relationship. In fact, Emma even puts her job at risk for the sake of her casual relationship when she has sex on an operating table and in a hospital supply closet, among other places.
On the whole, Emma seems alternately robotic and hysterical. Spending most of the film dead-eyed and expressionless, the only times her character feels believable which are also the only times she gets any laughs are instances where she verbally attacks other women.
