Jamie Rellis, an executive headhunter in NYC, recruits Dylan Francis Harper Jr., an LA art director, to interview for a position with GQ magazine. Initially skeptical, he accepts the job after a night exploring the city with her.
Dylan moves to New York, signing a one-year contract that earns Jamie a commission, and they become close platonic friends. One night, after agreeing that sex should not require emotional attachment, they have purely casual sex. After several trysts together, Jamie decides to start dating again, and she and Dylan return to simply being friends.
Jamie meets Parker, an oncologist for children. After five dates, they consummate their relationship as per her five-date rule, only for him to break up with her in the morning.
When Jamie’s free-spirited mother, Lorna, abandons their Fourth of July weekend plans, Dylan persuades Jamie to travel with him to Los Angeles. There, she meets his sister Annie, nephew Sammy, and his father, who suffers from the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Though Jamie and Dylan assure his family that they are merely friends, they spend an intimate night together, having sex again.
The next day, Jamie overhears Dylan telling Annie that she is too “damaged” for him to date. Hurt, she flies home and ignores Dylan’s attempts to reach her. He finds her on the roof of a skyscraper – a place she showed him the day they met – where she reveals that she overheard everything he said, and ends their friendship.
Sometime later, Jamie discovers that Dylan may be leaving GQ for another job before his contract ends, which would affect her commission. She confronts him, leading to another argument. Jamie spends time with her mother, while Dylan meets his father at Newark Liberty International Airport.
In a moment of Alzheimer’s-induced confusion, his father mistakes a passerby for a woman from his past. Regaining his lucidity, he explains that he met “the love of my life” before marrying Dylan’s mother, but let her go. Dylan’s father urges him not to do the same, and to therefore reconcile with Jamie.
Realizing his true feelings for Jamie, Dylan calls Lorna to set up an excuse for Jamie to go to Grand Central Station, where he surprises her with a flash mob dancing to “Jump” and “Closing Time”. After confessing his feelings to her and sharing a passionate kiss, Dylan suggests they go on their first real date. They go across the street to the Pershing Square café and are unable to keep their hands off each other.
In a post-credits scene, Dylan and Jamie watch outtakes from the fictional romantic comedy seen throughout the film. If you want to watch the heartwarming journey of Jamie and Dylan, don’t miss Friends with Benefits online full movie!