MOVIE - HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS - Review Rating - $$$$$ (OUT OF 10)
STARRING - Kate Hudson (Andie), Matthew McConaughey (Ben), Adam Goldberg, Michael Michele, Shalom Harlow, Bebe Neuwirth & Robert Klein.
DIRECTOR - Donald Petrie (Miss Congeniality, The Associate, Grumpy Old Men)
Inspired by the book "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days: The Universal Don'ts of Dating", by Michele Alexander and Jeannie Long.
Two yuppies find true love despite their original dishonest intentions.
If Roger Ebert has to watch and review films like How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days than
I too, as an aspiring movie reviewer, must pays my dues and do the same. Gosh, February has to be the worst month of the year for good movies. Think about it. Can you name a movie, released in February, that won the Academy award for Best Picture? Or won an Academy Award for anything? How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is, and I say this with the utmost confidence, not going to win any Academy Awards.
The film gets off to a very, very slow start, picks up momentarily around the middle and then disintegrates into mush. There is a definite lack of charm and chemistry along the way. Hard to be charming, when Andie (Hudson) is doing everything to end the relationship and Ben (McConaughey) is doing everything to keep it going, both for all the wrong reasons. Without a genuine person to cheer for How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days amounts to nothing more than a series of bad relationship jokes, strung together, to get us from point A to point B. Admittedly, some of the jokes are funny, but most of them fall flat.
The performances, of all concerned, are hampered by the contrived premise and weak character development. The extreme lengths that Andie and Ben go to, in the name of achieving the desired outcome, force Hudson and McConaughey to unconvincingly overact. Even their karaoke duet, a potentially very funny scene, lacks feeling. When they do actually start to fall for each other the audience could be excused for wondering what the basis of the attraction is? Surely an afternoon playing the card game "bullshit" is not a sufficient basis for forming a lasting relationship. The audience could also be excused for not caring, when they do predictably fall in love, considering that Ben and Andie are portrayed as selfish, shallow individuals.
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is a love story that's hard to love.
Alternative Reviews:
Roger Ebert's Review
Rotten Tomatoes Reviews
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days Official Website
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2003
David Schwartz.
Last update:
8/9/03; 11:07:11 PM.
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