Thinking I was on my way to "chick
flick" hell, my wife had to drag me, kicking and screaming, to
this film. After the first twenty minutes I thought I was there,
wallowing in "chick flick" hell, counting down the minutes until
freedom. Trite, contrived, clichéd, and awful were just a few of
the words swirling around in my head. Thankfully, I was wrong
and those words slowly drifted away.
How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days
turned out to be extremely funny, very entertaining, and right
on target in exploiting the disastrous complications of new
relationships and dating. It also sports two very charming and
funny lead performances by Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey.
The film may be contrived and clichéd, but once it gets rolling,
what follows is pure entertainment. To call this is a perfect
date movie is a cliché by itself, but it’s true.
The story
centers on Andie (Hudson), a women’s magazine (think Cosmo)
writer looking to become successful. She decides to write an
article (I’m sure you can guess the title of it); she will meet
a guy, commit all the things women typically do wrong in a
relationship, and get dumped by him in 10 days. Ben
(McConaughey) is an advertising exec specializing in men
products like beer and sports equipment. He is also trying to
land a large jewelry account. He makes a bet with his boss
(Robert Klein) that he can meet any woman who’ll fall madly in
love with him. His boss tells him the jewelry account is his if
he can bring this love struck woman to the company gala (which
will take place in, you guessed it, 10 days).
Ben meets
Andie and the games begin. Andie starts to do all the things
that women should never do when starting a new relationship.
Such as making Ben fetch her a soda with only seconds left in a
tie championship basketball game or calling his mother to talk
about Ben after just meeting him. Ben, meanwhile, is just trying
to hold on until the big gala. Ben is very confused, because
whenever Andie is not doing any of these nutcase things and just
being herself, he is drawn to her. He can’t understand all this
bizarre behavior and Andie can’t understand why he would put up
with it. She begins to have real feelings towards Ben.
McConaughey and Hudson are
terrific together; they have a strong and believable chemistry.
Hudson is just hilarious when she is acting out all these
relationship no-no's; she has that physical, comedic presence
just like her mother (Goldie Hawn). She also looks stunning in
this film. I think director Donald Petrie cast a permanent glow
around her whenever she’s on the screen. McConaughey has great
comedic timing and knows how to turn on the charm when needed.
The supporting cast is adequate, with no particular standout
performances.
How to
Lose a Guy in 10 Days
stumbles out of the gates so badly that it seems impossible to
rebound from. The plot starts out so absurdly contrived, it is a
miracle that the screenwriters got so many things right
afterwards. The characters start out as cardboard stereotypes
and the dialogue is a complete groaner. But, again, give credit
to the writers and the stars for getting out of that huge hole.
It’s quite the accomplishment. As clichéd and contrived as it
is, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is a very funny and
entertaining crowd pleaser with two bright and charming lead
performances.
