Just Friends (2005)

Film and Plot Synopsis

Chris Brander is best friends with Jamie Palamino in high school. The overweight and awkward Chris is in love with Jamie, but she does not reciprocate his feelings and considers him her best friend. After being rejected, Chris leaves town and builds a new successful life for himself in California as a record producer. However, when circumstances require a now fit Chris to spend the Christmas holiday in his hometown, Chris will be forced to face his former life and his feelings once again for Jamie after a ten-year separation.

‘Just Friends’ Movie Summary

Back in 1995, Chris Brander (Ryan Reynolds) was an overweight high school senior who had a secret crush on his best friend, Jamie Palamino (Amy Smart), one of the most popular people in the school. Chris confesses his feelings to Jamie by writing them in her yearbook. However, the yearbook ends up in the hands of Jamie’s ex-boyfriend Tim (Ty Olsson) who uses it to humiliate Chris in front of everyone at a party. Jamie is touched by Chris’ words but informs him that he is just her friend. Chris leaves the party in tears and promises that he will never return to his hometown and that he will be more successful than everyone else.

Ten years later, Chris is a thin, fit womanizer who now lives in Los Angeles, California and works as a successful record producer. Just before Christmas, Chris’ boss, K.C. (Stephen Root), orders Chris to sign a former girlfriend of his, Samantha James (Anna Faris), to a record contract. Samantha is a self-obsessed pop singer who is slightly unhinged. K.C. orders Chris to sign Samantha or face losing his job. Chris agrees to accompany Samantha to Paris for the Christmas holiday. Samantha is interested in becoming involved again with Chris, but Chris does not reciprocate her feelings. On the flight on a private jet to Paris, Samantha accidentally sets the plane on fire which forces the pilots to land in New Jersey near Chris’ hometown.

Due to the Christmas holiday, Chris must take Samantha to his childhood home to stay with his mother Carol (Julie Hagerty) and his younger brother Mike (Christopher Marquette). Mike is obsessed with Samantha and lusts after her constantly. Once in town, Chris is forced to re-engage with many of his former classmates, including Tim, Chris’ other best friend Clark (Fred Ewanuick), Clark’s wife Darla (Amy Matysio), and, of course, Jamie. Chris learns that Jamie never left town and is working as a bartender to pay for graduate school to complete her teaching degree.

Chris formulates a plan to seduce Jamie and incorporates Mike into keeping Samantha busy while Chris goes out on dates with Jamie. The dates do not go well as Chris’ sleazy new lifestyle does not interest the down-home Jamie who is simply seeking to reconnect with her former best friend. Chris goes overboard in trying to impress Jamie and ends up hurting himself in an outdoor hockey game with some little kids. One of the paramedics who responds to the scene is another former classmate of Chris and Jamie’s, Dusty Dinkleman (Chris Klein). Like Chris, Dusty also had a crush on Jamie in high school and was just as socially awkward as Chris, tending to focus on his music. Much to Chris’ chagrin, Dusty and Jamie begin getting along well together.

It’s like the Michael Bolton starter kit. Chris Brander (Ryan Reynolds)

The next night, Chris goes to Jamie’s family’s Christmas party so that he can confess his feelings to her. However, Dusty is already present at the party and captures everyone’s attention, including Jamie’s, with his music. At the same time, Samantha becomes suspicious of Chris’ multiple disappearances and attempts to discover what is going on from Mike. Mike refuses to tell Samantha anything until she kisses him to which he reveals Chris’ entire plan with Jamie. Angrily, Samantha drives to Jamie’s family’s house and crashes through her front yard fence, destroying an elaborate Christmas light display. Dejected and embarrassed, Chris returns home. Jamie knocks on the door a short time later and tells Chris that she is not mad at him. The old friends spend the night catching up and reminiscing, Chris finally reverting to his high school self. The pair end up in bed together with Jamie interested in taking the relationship physical. However, Chris begins thinking about it too much and ultimately does not make a move on Jamie. Both end up just sleeping.

The next day, Jamie goes to talk with Darla about the previous night while Chris goes to Clark for advice. Jamie admits to Darla that they were formally just friends, but she would like for it to be something more now. Clark tells Chris that their pass history hinders Chris and that the timing is not right for the relationship to become physical. Outside of Clark’s office, Chris and Clark catch Dusty singing a song to a nurse that he sang for Jamie the night before. At the end of the song, Dusty kisses the nurse. When Dusty sees Chris, he informs Chris that he plans on sleeping with Jamie to humiliate her the way he felt humiliated by her in high school.

Chris tries to warn Jamie, but Dusty is already with her by the time he gets there. Chris attacks Dusty in front of her and looks like a maniac. Jamie refuses to listen to Chris as he tries to explain what is going on. Chris ends up getting drunk and goes to Jamie’s bar to confront her later in the day. Once again, he finds Dusty there. However, when Dusty implies that he and Jamie will have sex, Jamie declines the offer. Dusty reveals his true self and storms out of the bar. Afterwards, Jamie and Chris get into an argument as Chris expresses his frustration for being placed in the “friend zone” for years by Jamie. Chris insults Jamie by stating that she will never amount to anything. Jamie punches Chris and the bouncer throws him out of the bar.

Chris returns to Los Angeles where he has multiple messages from Samantha seeking to apologize and get back together with him again. Chris comes to the realization that Jamie is his one and only true love. Chris returns to New Jersey on New Year’s Eve and apologizes to Jamie. He declares his love for her, and the two former friends finally kiss. Three kids from the hockey game look on in disgust due to their disapproval of Jamie becoming involved with Chris. One of the boys of the group hands the girl a cookie, which she gives to the other boy. The girl calls the boy who gave her the cookie her friend, which he is excited about until he realizes that he has been put into the friend zone.