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How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days 2003 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Donald Petrie
PG-13, 110 min. (some sex-related material) |
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Starring: Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey, Kathryn Hahn, Robert Klein, Bebe Neuwirth
Producers: Robert Evans, Christine Forsyth-Peters, Lynda Obst
Screenplay: Kristen Buckley, Brian Regan, Burr Steers
Cinematography: John Bailey
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Released: 2.07.03 (Wide) |
Rating:
  (out of ) |
I must admit that despite its clumsy and silly premise, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days has a way of getting under your skin, in a good way. The characters are superficial
but pleasant to look at, and it's always refreshing to see a film actually filmed in New York City instead of a backlot in Los Angeles. The problem is that the screenwriters, including
Burr Steers (who penned the infectious Igby Goes Down), create a manipulative and dreary first act, which sours the mood before the film even gets started. Thankfully for them,
the stars, Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson, do their best to overcome their boxed-in roles.
Whether or not audiences will be satisfied with this film is largely dependent on a contrivance so unbelievable that it almost destroys the picture at the outset. Meet Andie
Anderson (Hudson), a columnist at Composure magazine that is forced to write about makeup and dating tips even though she has a Masters degree from Columbia University.
She wants to stretch her writing, and her boss (Bebe Neuwirth) gives her an assignment - find a guy and then chase him off. It's entitled "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," and
Andie finds her subject in Ben Barry (Matthew McConaughey), an advertising agent. Little does she know that Ben actually picks her out when he accepts a bet from his boss
(Robert Klein) to "seduce her and make her fall in love with him in 10 days," which would ensure Ben a huge account that involves a company that distributes diamonds. Of
course, Andie and Ben are working against each other, as Ben endures Andie's outrageous pranks (such as ruining a Knicks basketball game and crashing his guys only poker night).
The inevitable moment of truth ensues, and now Ben and Andie must determine if they actually fell for each other during the fiasco.
What saves the film from ignominious levels is the considerable charm exuded from both Hudson and McConaughey. This is light material (as most romantic comedies provide) and
they develop a strange kind of chemistry that keeps things interesting. Director Donald Petrie (Miss Congeniality) works hard to compensate for a near disastrous beginning,
garnering sympathy for his characters who can't help but let their guard down on several occasions. It's at times like this that one yearns for a film that plays it straight,
giving the audience a chance to enjoy two people who find each other, fall in love, and stay that way. But no, this is called "Crisis screenwriting 101," a disease that requires
the storyline to be so out-of-step with reality that it creates the bizarre circumstances that Ben and Andie find themselves in.
With lesser actors, the film would have been awful. Thankfully, Hudson, whose work has steadily degraded since her impressive turn in Almost Famous, captures the attention
of the audience instead of the film's ridiculous storyline. For McConaughey, who has made a sort of comeback lately after several questionable career moves, his Ben is efficient
but not entirely a typical New Yorker type. Together, they help steady an otherwise sinking premise and provide a few nice moments to offset their alter egos.
There's something about How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days that makes you want to like the film, but that doesn't necessarily guarantee success. There are times when you smile
and others when you cringe. But most of all, the film loses its way because of a borderline lame conclusion that resorts to the always popular
boy-chases-after-girl-before-she-leaves-town scenario. That in itself is worth panning the film, but the picture was already sunk before it arrived at its predictable end.
This is the type of film you watch to see two attractive actors play off each other without regard to their surroundings. Anything more than that and you're pushing your luck.
© 2003 Jonathan Cornwell
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 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
| Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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