It is exceedingly difficult to classify ?How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days? as a romantic comedy given that the film is about as romantic as a punch to the face — literally. That?s right, one of the movie?s scenes of heightened romance involves protagonist Benjamin Barry (Matthew McConaughey, ?The Wedding Planner?) getting socked in the eye.
The picture is also almost entirely devoid of original humor, a problem that is minimized by the more significant lack of an original premise. And as for the chemistry between leading actors Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson (?Almost Famous?), it is more of the ?Nutty Professor? sort than the Bogart and Bergman type.
Andie Anderson (Hudson) graduated from Columbia University with a Masters degree in journalism. But her plans of being a serious political reporter have been preempted by a job at Composure Magazine, a loosely disguised Cosmopolitan. Andie is the resident ?how to? girl, currently searching for a guinea pig for her next article, ?How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days.?
Benjamin Barry is an advertising executive who has established himself by promoting sports and alcoholic beverages. But Benjamin?s eyes sparkle at a new diamond account. However, in order to win the account over two conniving young executives, Benjamin will have to prove that he understands women by winning one over in 10 days. You can guess whom he gets stuck pursuing.
?How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days? has extreme issues distinguishing between what is stylish and what is romantic. Andie and Benjamin meet in a swank New York martini bar which screams of style in the worst ways. Yet the crowded atmosphere of the bar denies the couple any sort of an introductory spark.
Benjamin?s apartment (where much of the film takes place) is also posh. But plasma televisions and fancy stereo systems don?t exactly define sex appeal. At one point he does begin to decorate the room with lighted candles, but then he blows them out — you can see the film?s hopes flicker and extinguish.
The greater romantic burden of the movie, though, is Andie. What she does to Benjamin in the name of losing him in 10 days makes her into such a villainous, evil character that the necessary endgame of redemption becomes impossible. At one point Benjamin describes her as a ?crack-enhanced Kathie Lee Gifford;? given the totality of her shenanigans, that is quite the understatement.
Watching Andie destroy Benjamin?s gourmet work in the kitchen is even more painful than watching Cinderella be denied by her stepsisters — with Cinderella you at least know that vindication will come, while with Andie you know much the opposite to be true.
So what is good here? Well, ladies, you get to see Matthew McConaughey topless in the first 10 minutes. And he sure does look good in his biker jacket; pity the filmmakers couldn?t get an actual Harley to accompany the getup. Some of the other outfits are also excellent. Andie has one dress in particular that dazzles almost as much as the gorgeous diamonds the film continually produces. But the two leads simply lack a romantic spark time after time; topless bikers and psychotic writers don?t equate to romance.
Perhaps worst of all, originality is absent from both the picture?s humor and plot. The formula for this movie goes back to Shakespeare?s ?The Taming of The Shrew? and has been replicated and imitated so many times with only the most minor of changes that any notion of cinematic suspense is lost.
This is not to say that the romantic comedy doesn?t work, just that it fails here. In fact, at one point in the film, audiences are treated to a clip from ?Sleepless in Seattle.? This serves as a gentle reminder that there is a better romantic comedy waiting at a video store near you.
Grade: D
