After ‘Black Swan,’ Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis go for some casual sex
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In “Black Swan,” Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis essentially play the same character. Portman is Nina, a ballerina who has been cast as the lead in her company’s production of “Swan Lake” — but who begins to see different sides of herself reflected in Lily (Kunis), a carefree new cast member who is both rival and friend.
Coincidentally, the young actresses’ roles in separate romantic comedies out next year are also strikingly similar. Portman will star opposite Ashton Kutcher in “No Strings Attached” while Kunis is in “Friends With Benefits” with Justin Timberlake. As the films’ titles imply, both movies center on women who claim to want casual –- not serious -– romantic relationships.
The closest Portman has ever come to romantic comedy was 2004’s “Garden State” –- a low-budget film in which the protagonists are brought together by a mutual interest in indie music. The 29-year-old said she opted be a part of the more commercial “No Strings Attached” because of its attitude toward women.
“I love romantic comedies, but I never found one I actually wanted to be a part of -- they’re always geared towards marriage. That that’s every girl’s goal in life,” she said in a recent interview.
Kunis, who starred in 2008’s “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” said she similarly admired the progressive attitude of “Friends With Benefits.” Not that anyone seems interested in the film’s effort to challenge social mores. “During the [‘Black Swan’ press] junket, I would say four people asked me: ‘So, is it more fun to make out with Natalie or Justin?’” she said, referring to her costars. “And that’s four more than ever should have.”
Kunis, who appears in a much-talked-about same-sex scene with Portman in the ballet thriller, has never seemed shy about her sexuality. At the height of the success of “That ‘70s Show,” the former Fairfax High School student posed scantily clad on the cover of Maxim — a decision she says she now regrets.
“It was horrible. It was like, ‘Who is this girl who comes to school in sweatpants and a T-shirt and now she’s on the cover of a magazine that half the boys take to the bathroom with them?’ ” she recalled.
She’s been uncomfortable with being open about her sexuality since.
“The truth of the matter is that it’s just not who I am at all,” she said. “In my experience, playing these type of characters — it’s great to be sexually liberated in all these movies. But it’s still like, ‘Hey, nice to meet you. Here’s my whole body.’ ”
--Amy Kaufman
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