"It's the cliche Hollywood thing to do, and I've always railed against that," he said.
Gluck is never one to shy away from pointing out platitudes - he freely does so in his new film, which opens today, which comes as the follow-up to last year's breakout hit "Easy A." Both movies showcase a savvy comic voice that owes greatly to the Tracy-Hepburn school of whip-smart repartee delivered at breakneck speed.
Gluck honed his skills during more than a decade in television, working for such veterans as Mitch Hurwitz ("Arrested Development") and Darren Star ("Sex and the City") and running his own productions, including the short-lived Fox comedies "The Loop" and "Luis."
"My film school was running TV shows," said Gluck. "Instead of paying USC, I cost Fox a lot of money in failed TV shows."
Although he made the leap to features with 2009's "Fired Up!" Gluck remained below the radar until "Easy A." A contemporary twist on "The Scarlet Letter," the $8 million teen comedy helped transform star Emma Stone from up-and-comer to "it" girl and earned Gluck the best reviews of his career.
It also earned him the chance to direct "Friends With Benefits," in which Timberlake plays a hotshot art director lured to New York by Kunis' seemingly confident headhunter. Each has recently ended a bad relationship, so the friendly duo swears off anything complicated, choosing sex as their extracurricular activity of choice.
If the premise sounds familiar, it's with good reason. The January release "No Strings Attached" paired Ashton Kutcher and Kunis' "Black Swan" counterpart Natalie Portman as attractive twenty-somethings who attempt a physical relationship with no emotional consequences. Both films feature protagonists with parent issues and quirky supporting casts.
Gluck is hopeful the comparisons will stop there.
