Film Review: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)

With pools of its own creativity drying up, Hollywood was, in desperation, turned to some unusual source materials as basis of its films. At least this is the impression you might get from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, romantic comedy directed by Donald Petrie.

The unusual source in this case is eponymous semi-humorous self help picture book by Michelle Alexander and Jeanine Long, written with intention to help the women evade mistakes that could cost them dearly in their romantic lives. The book was series of “don’ts” that actually serves as basis of the film’s plot. Protagonist, played by Kate Hudson, is Andie Anderson, reporter for Composure magazine, who dreams of writing about serious and important subjects, but her editor Lana Jang (played by Bebe Neuwirth) demands that she writes inconsequential fluff pieces. When learning that her best friend Michele (played by Kathryn Hahn) has broken up with her boyfriend, she decides to write article based on her mistakes and, to prove her point, start relationship with a man only in order to wreck it. Her target is Benjamin Barry (played by Matthew McConaughey), ambitious and attractive advertising executive who dreams of branching from beer and sports adverts to diamonds, which his colleagues consider to be “women’s area”. In order to prove them wrong and show that he understands women, he makes a bet that he could make any woman fall in love with him in ten days. When he starts dating with Andie, she tries desperately to make him leave her, while he is even more determined to stay. During the course of that charade both slowly realise that they have genuine feelings for each other.

“High concept” behind How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is more complicated than usual romantic comedies that revolve around bets, because it is made of two instead of one deception. This makes the plot more preposterous, but also more intriguing, especially in the first half, when we are introduced to the characters and their respective agendas. Unfortunately, somewhere around half of running time How to Lose a Guy succumbs to Hollywood’s romantic comedy cliches. What manages to rescue this film from complete disaster is the charm of Kate Hudson, an actress who obviously inherited some of the talents of her mother Goldie Hawn and was on the way to become one of greatest Hollywood comediennes of her time. Matthew McConaughey, on ther other, simply looks the part and, despite solid performances, can’t spark much life into his stereotypical role. How to Lose a Guy, despite having solid box office results after the premiere, is actually quite forgettable film that could be recommended only to the most devout fans of Kate Hudson.

RATING: 3/10 (+)

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