Hollywood's revisits an age-old formula for a blockbuster, rom-coms on relationship-free sex |Commitment-free sex sells

Hollywood has explored every possible relationship known to man, woman and dog. Interracial, inter-species, rich and poor, woman and beast, same sex and so on. And since the nature and intensity of no two relationships is the same, films have explored everything, right from the painfully intense to the barely there. More recently, a much-evolved permutation seems to spell success: friends who've individually suffered bitter break-ups and are reduced to f***-buddies. And this platonic copulation invariable ends up with the the two realizing they can't keep their emotions (for each other) out of the bedroom and voila, we have a relationship.


While this age-old recipe for success has been around since 'Last Tango in Paris', among recent blockbusters, 'Friends with Benefits' is as good an example as 'No Strings Attached', since they're hardly any different.

An interesting thing about these anti-romance movies is that they eventually result in, well, an everlasting love story. But the reason to seek more than sex differs. Pregnancy features as the top catalyst for fueling a relationship with superhit examples like Nine Months, Juno, Knocked Up and Back-up Plan. It may seem like a cliché but the idea of parenting a child somehow sprouts a sense of responsibility and unites the two to take on the job of fathering and mothering the child.

A reason why these films rock is that they present a relationship that celebrates the joys of being in one (sex, duh!) minus the sufferings (everything else apart from sex). At the same time, it concludes with the idea that we long for a bond that is pure and more long-lasting than the most satisfying orgasm. So we get to realize our fantasies, yet not feel sorry about our own lives (in case you're in a regular relationship).

So, if you're up for movies about one-night-stands, 'happy-endings', happily-ever-afters, packed in with some giggles and smothered with that tickly obscure feeling called love, this one's for you.