Get ready for another action-packed, high-speed thriller—or you could let your girlfriend decide what to go see this time. Odds are you’ll end up sitting through How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. The film, while lacking many of the elements of the typical action flick, isn’t an extremely painful girlie movie. And there’s a motorcycle to boot.
True to the general formula, there’s a guy, there’s a girl, they fall in love, but, of course, there’s some kind of twist; love can’t be simple—at least not in movies anyway.
First there’s Annie (Kate Hudson): the typical atypical heroine we’ve grown used to. She likes sports, would rather write about politics than shoes and fashion, and has a more realistic view of relationships. Unfortunately, she’s a writer for the up-and-coming fashion magazine, Composure. Instead of writing about things that matter on the world stage, she finds herself writing “How-To” columns, like how to talk to your way out of a speeding ticket. She longs to write that one big article that will win her the right to write about whatever she wants.
In an attempt to save one of her closest friends from having her personal life ripped apart due to her most recent breakup, Annie volunteers to write a story about all the methods that women use to drive men away—from first-hand experience, of course. Annie finds herself having to find a man, make him fall in love with her, and then torment him using all the classic mistakes that women make while dating. On top of that, she has a tight deadline—10 days.
Enter her victim: Ben (Matthew McConaughey). There’s not much to say about Ben. He’s a guy. He likes sports and playing poker. He hasn’t had a single long-term relationship. He works for an advertising agency that’s trying to secure a large diamond account. While Ben played a large part in attracting the interest of the company, the account is transferred to the women of the company because they understand their customers better. In an attempt to win back the account, Ben makes a bet that he can make any woman fall in love with him.
While not great, it’s a fairly decent setup. Kate Hudson puts in a charming performance, really making her character believable. While McConaughey could have stepped up more to really round his role out, he doesn’t hold a candle to Hudson. Because of this the focus falls mainly on Annie, making the film more of a chick-flick than it could have been.
The result is cute but not earth-shattering or overly charming. The character motives are credible as long as you believe that the characters are actually a little shallower than the directors want you to. Once you get past that part, though, the movie seems to flow a little more naturally.
While there could easily have been some commentary on men and women in relationships, it really doesn’t show up. It’s a no-brainer.
Yes, it’s worth seeing. Whether that’s in the theater or from the comfort of your own home, that’s a personal choice.
