How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (Deluxe Edition) Review
Posted by Jeremy Thomas on 08.26.2009
They very nearly could have called it How to Lose an Audience in 100 Minutes.
Directed by: Donald Petrie Written by: Kristen Buckley, Brian Regan & Burr Steers
Starring: Kate Hudson - Andie Anderson Matthew McConaughey - Benjamin Barry Kathryn Hahn - Michelle Annie Parisse - Jeannie Adam Goldberg - Tony Thomas Lennon - Thayer Michael Michele - Spears Shalom Harlow - Green Robert Klein - Phillip Warren Bebe Neuwirth - Lana Jang
DVD Release Date: 8/25/2009 Running Time: 116 minutes
Rated PG-13 some sex-related material.
The battle of the sexes is one of the oldest and most oft touched-upon topics within the genre of romantic comedy. From 1928—when D.W. Griffith remade his drama The Battle of the Sexes into a comedy—all the way through the golden era of Hollywood up into the modern era, filmmakers have found a cinematic gold mine in portraying the antagonistic romantic confrontations between men and women for laughs and love. Films such as His Girl Friday, Adam's Rib, Moonstruck and others have won critical and commercial success, not to mention adaptations of The Taming of the Shrew and Much Ado About Nothing, two of the original works on the topic. Audiences are always willing to watch men and women go at it while they stumble their way to true love. Thus, when Jeannie Long and Michele Alexander wrote a little coffee book called "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," it was not entirely surprising that Hollywood came calling. With Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey in the roles of the leads, the film proved to be a big hit with audiences and made over $175 million worldwide and helped launch both stars into the public eye as romantic comedy leads. After a highly successful DVD release the same year it came out, it was only a matter of time before it received a double dip. Now, six years later, that double dip has come, hoping to capitalize on the impending DVD release of McConaughey's May rom-com, Ghosts of Girlfriend's Past.
The Movie
The movie stars Hudson as Andie Anderson, a journalist at the Cosmopolitan-esque Composure magazine. Andie wants to write pieces of substance, about politics and social issues, but finds herself constantly thwarted by her boss Lana (Neuwirth). Meanwhile, Ben Barry (McConaughey) is an advertising executive who's looking for that huge account he can land that will make him a star. He's quite the ladies man, and when a diamond company looks his company's way, he finds himself making a bet that he can make a woman fall in love with him in ten days. At the same time, Andie is looking for someone for her latest project, the one that will give her the freedom to write what she wants—how to lose a guy in ten days. The two are maneuvered into choosing each other as their topics, and they meet and start to work their charms on each other. As Andie tries to drive Ben crazy and Ben has to stick with his plan no matter how much he wants to run, the two start to wonder if maybe this project is getting a little too personal. Who will win in the end, and will they be able to avoid falling in love with each other?
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days was written by Kristen Buckley, Brian Regan & Burr Steers based on Long and Alexander's book. Buckley and Regan had previously written the dud of a live-action sequel 102 Dalmatians, while Steers had a much better film on his resume with Igby Goes Down. The trio takes the book, which is little more than a joke advice book about how women do crazy things that end up costing themselves men, and fashion a script that is pure contrived nonsense. The set-up stretches credibility, even for a romantic comedy where gimmicks and far-fetched situations are the norm. These two people just happen to fall into the same sort projects at the same time? Certainly, there is some manipulation that points them at each other, but still the premise is rather outlandish. After that is out of the way, the plot focuses on Andie putting Ben through ten days of torture, by the end of which they somehow have fallen in love with each other. It is a story that brings out the worst of both sexes, but in a way that manages to be amusing for portions of it. The characterizations are one-dimensional, even for the leads; Ben is a poker-playing, cigar-smoking ladies man and while Andie may not be a truly neurotic and psycho woman, she certainly acts like one as well as she can. The plot twists can be guessed at long before they happen and the lack of originality is practically embraced. There are a few moments that scratch weakly at the surface for something deeper, but by and large this is a completely by-the-numbers script that unravels as complexly of a formula as 1+1=2 is.
If the script is not distinguished by originality, what makes it stand out? One thing and one thing alone…the mean-spirited nature. Andie and Ben are, at their core, pretty callous and unlikable people. Andie is willing to subject Ben to emotional torture and manipulation of the worst kind in terms of a relationship for her career. At the same time, Ben is willing to keep dating someone who is pretty much clinically nuts and clearly overly obsessed with him for the same reason. Sure, we know that they're going to eventually fall in love and that will make everything okay…but does it? When all the nastiness hits a climax and falls apart, it melts down in a way that can only be described as a social and career Chernobyl, to the point that it is almost uncomfortable. This is one of those movies that portray the worst of the sexes as they struggle to find love, and other films have done it much better than this one when it comes to scripts.
That being said, How to Lose a Guy is not a terrible movie. What makes it work, in all honesty, is the acting. Kate Hudson has largely and unfortunately done her best to torpedo her career with bad romantic comedy after bad romantic comedy—Alex & Emma, My Best Friend's Girl and Bride Wars come to mind. Here though, she shows why she would end up getting typecast in the role as she commits herself nicely to the role of Andie. She is game for all the crazy things she has to do in this film, and she handles the comedy and farcical elements quite well. She also has a lot of chemistry with McConaughey, who gives Ben a charm that helps us overlook how much of a jerk he really is. Without these actors in these roles, the movie would have been a total failure; with them in it, the film is lifted to something tolerable, even if it's certainly not good. The supporting cast also performs admirable, particularly Bebe Neuwirth as Andie's editor, making her ruthless and yet charming likable. Robert Klein is enjoyable as Ben's boss, and Annie Parisse does well as Andie's friend Jeannie. It is one of those films that are well and truly saved by the performances within.
Director Donald Petrie got the reigns for this film, likely based off of his success with comedies like Miss Congeniality and Grumpy Old Men. He certainly turned this film into a success, but he did it by playing by the numbers. Petrie doesn't do anything particularly original at all here, and he's more than content to sit back and let the standard rom-com tropes guide the film. It works for what it is, but a sharper eye could have taken more from the effort the actors were putting in and done more even with the script he was given. It's certainly not Petrie's fault the movie sags as much as it does under the weight of familiarity, but he doesn’t help, nor try to blunt the nastiness of the set-up. The movie doesn't fail because of him, but it sure doesn't manage to succeed because of him either.
Film Rating: 5.0
The Video
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is presented in a 1.85:1 widescreen ration, enhanced for 16:9 televisions, and as a video presentation goes it's pretty good. This is a substantial improvement over the original DVD release which had some pretty bad flaws; there are no color faults, and they come across splashy and bright in the film as they should. There's a softness to the images, but that seems to be a directorial choice to try and give the film a sort of dated motif to hearken back to the days of better rom-coms. The film is free of any digital flaws and compression issues, and while there's nothing eye-popping here it makes for a very good transfer.
Video Rating: 7.5
The Audio
The audio track is a decent but not great 5.1 Dolby Digital track, presented in English, Spanish and French possibilities. The focus is on the music and the dialogue, which is exactly the way a romantic comedy should be, and any ambient sounds are kept very limited. It's a track that works well enough, but there's nothing exceptional about it. But then, the audio in this case isn't intended to impress, simply complement the film, and it does that well.
Audio Rating: 7.0
The Packaging
Paramount has given the movie a decent-looking outer release, and clearly targeted toward a certain demographic. The yellow of the poster is replaced with a deep pink, both on the case and on the slip-case covering. The slip case has a fold out flap that includes the list of how you actually DO lose a guy in ten days…which consists, more or less, of the plot. The DVD menus are the same color as the case and are easy to navigate; the disc itself is generic grey on silver.
Packaging Rating: 7.5
Special Features
Commentary with Director Donald Petrie: This commentary track is from the original, 2003 DVD release, and features director Petrie talking solo about the film. He talks at length about the stretches they took to make the characters likeable despite all the cruel and manipulative things they do to each other. Petrie is informative and good-natured, but he's also very tedious to listen to. He tries very hard, but he's just not very interesting and he could have definitely used someone else along for the ride to keep things moving. As commentaries go, this is far from one of the better ones.
How to Make a Movie in 2 Years: (16:54) Obviously by the title, this is the "making of" featurette, and has the source material's writers Jeannie Long and Michelle Alexander talking about the genesis of the book from their hangout Wang's Sports Bar…which is, incidentally, the place the book apparently began on cocktail napkins. The duo is actually pretty engaging and funny in a self-deprecating way. It moves on to talk by the producers, including the disturbingly cat lady-like Christine Peters, about picking up the option rights. Producer Lynda Obst talks about how the project was so original and how she imagined these great set pieces, which sounds good but is laughable when you consider that the book was little drawings and joking ways that girls can do the wrong things in relationships. That's neither original in film, nor inspiring of imaginative set pieces. Peters actually says that the writers began to flush out the story—not flesh out, but flush out. This is confirmed by the subtitles. They talk about using the best screenwriters in Hollywood and talk glowingly about how deep the characters and story is. They then move onto the casting where they hint at drama that happened in finding the right guy opposite Hudson, but never talk about it. In fact, there's more talked about the glamorous shopping spree in Paris for the wardrobes than the casting. They talk about how good New York for romantic comedies is because we've seen it in so many times in the genre, as if originality is a problem. Notable in their absence are anyone who was actually on-screen. This is one of the worst making-of featurettes seen in a long time, being pure fluff—and bad fluff at that.
Why the Sexes Battle: (5:01) This incredibly lame featurette features "Evolutionary Expert" Shanee Edwards and psychologist/author Aaron Kipnis talking about why men and women fight from a biological and social state. That information is fine, although nothing anyone who's made it through high school biology probably hasn't heard before. Where it gets absurd is where Edwards and Kipnis talk about the characters as perfect examples of this war between the genders. They talk about Andie as if what she's doing are actually attempts to woo Ben, not drive him away, and it's intercut with scenes of the movie because apparently the battle of the sexes doesn't carry enough discussion to last five minutes on its own. This is both a pretentious and silly fluff piece that tries to make the movie seem like it's more than it is and fails drastically.
Girls Night Out: (5:17) The most engaging feature on the disc, this is because it features Long and Alexander answering questions about what their lives are like now and how the book and movie have influenced them. They're not bad at all to listen to and they feel much more real than anything else on the disc. One of the best moments is when they point out how the book has been placed in self-help sections of book stores and get bad reviews on Amazon because the book didn't help them. It's not at all bad to listen to, and it's unfortunate that it's one of the shortest features on the disc.
"Somebody Like You" Music Video by Keith Urban: (3:53) One of the original features from the 2003 DVD, this is pretty much what it states, a music video by country music star Keith Urban featuring clips from the movie amidst Urban singing as he traverses the plains. If you like country music and the movie, this is for you. Otherwise, it's completely skippable.
Deleted Scenes: (9:30) The last of the carryover features is five deleted scenes, all available with or without commentary from Petrie. In a nice touch, either the commentary or the dialogue can be subtitled while you play the audio for the other, allowing you to follow both. Most of the scenes add little to nothing; the first scene shows Andie at a fashion show interviewing a supermodel, which turns into a piece about war in Tajikistan. "Puppy Palace" has Andie and Jeannie talking while they pick out the dog, while "Getting Ready for Staten Island" has the girls improving about Jeannie's poor shrink abilities and her inability to get guys, followed by the two lovebirds meeting at the ferry. "After the Bullshit Game" gives the two some bonding time. "Bookend – Andie Dumped" has Jeannie trying to pick up Andie at her lowest, and is perhaps the most relevant. All in all, these add nothing to the movie and it is easy to see why they were cut.
Special Features Rating: 3.0
The 411: As successful as How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days was doesn't change the fact that in terms of quality, it falls squarely in the pile of mediocrity. The script and direction is unoriginal and mean-spirited, and only the performances of the cast, particularly the leads, saves it from being a waste of time. The reason for this double-dip is tenuous though; anyone who liked this film probably bought the 2003 DVD, and there is nothing on this disc that is worth picking up if you already have the first. Ultimately, this is a DVD to avoid, even for fans of the genre or the film.
