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How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (Widescreen Edition) Customer Reviews (1 - 3 of 46 Reviews)

Tired of Trying
I tried watching this movie more than once but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't like it. It's like soup that needs seasoning. I just can't bring myself to root for this romance no matter how hard I try.

"I miss you, Benny-boo-boo-boo!"
How to Lose A Guy in Ten Days" starts off awkwardly, unfolds dully, suddenly gets better, and then loses steam again. This is too bad, because for a while in the middle I was starting to enjoy this goofy movie. Ultimately, though, it was as my mother would say "Sha-poopy."

Kate Hudson stars as Andie Anderson, a columnist for a "Vogue"-type magazine who longs to write about important issues like the refugee plight in "Takijstan". Instead, she is saddled with an assignment to drive a man away in ten days by committing all the supposedly classic mistakes woman make in relationships. You know, calling a guy fifty million times a day, telling him you love him after knowing him less than a week, etc. Matthew McConaughey is a slick ad exec named Ben who attempts to prove he can handle a big account targeted toward women by making a random woman fall in love with him, also in ten days (This part of the plot is pretty shaky, to tell you the truth). Of the millions of people in New York, guess which two hook up in a crowded bar?

Of course, none of the nutty things Andie does to Ben send him packing, so her ideas gradually become more and more outrageous. This part of the movie actually borders on being funny, as Andie humiliates Ben in wilder and wilder ways; redecorating his apartment, getting him beat up, and (horrors!) dragging him to see Celine Dion. There is also a sweet scene involving Ben's parents and a rather colorful card game, but the final fifteen minutes or so return to the strained feeling of the beginning before we finally get to the end we all knew was coming.

Kate Hudson's once promising career really started to go downhill with this film, and even though you can see the Goldie Hawn sparkle she doesn't appear to have her mother's magnetism. Simply put: Kate grates. And don't get me started on McConaughey, who with the exception of "A Time to Kill" plays the same part in every movie. His character here is really no different from his character in "Sahara", and that's saying something.

If you really want a modern romantic comedy, I recommend "Two Weeks Notice" or "Laws of Attraction". While no classics, these two are at least funny and unpainful. As for "Ten Days", I would say as a point of reference it's is worse than "Miss Congeniality" but better than "The Wedding Planner". But then again, what isn't.
GRADE: C+

(By the way, for those who care, I will admit Kate trounces "Maid in Manhattan's" J.Lo in the Looking-Stunning-While-Wearing-A-Designer-Dress Department. So she gets props for that.)

Good Movie to Help You Fall Asleep
I first saw this movie on an overseas flight, and I slept through half of it. Then my mother gave me her copy that she had received from Columbia House when she forgot to send in her "I'm not interested" form. Again, I fell asleep when I tried to watch it. Finally, I managed to stay awake through the entire thing, and it was not as bad as I had thought it would be. That's not saying much, though. Now, I play the movie quite frequently at night because I immediately fall asleep every time, and it is much cheaper than sleeping pills.

I am surprised that I always fall asleep with this movie because usually when I am bothered by something, I get restless. I have several problems with the premise and execution of this movie. Kate Hudson is over-the-top, and not in a Katherine Hepburn funny way. The opening scene (after a bizarre montage of her former magazine stories) introduces her as a beautiful but deeply caring individual who wants to change the world through her journalism...by writing at a superficial women's magazine run by a terribly miscast Bebe Neuworth (I say "miscast" because she is too good for the shallow part). This is the last time we see anything of substance from Andie, Hudson's character. Never once throughout the rest of the film does she show any depth or compassion. She acts incredibly silly every time she is in the same room as Ben, McConnaughy's character. It gets really annoying. She is not as bad when she is away from him, and the part of the movie where she visits his family is better than the earlier scenes.

There are some funny moments, including one in which Andie uses Photoshop to create a family photo album. I found that scene to be amusing. The scene that many people have mentioned, when she crashes Ben's bachelor party, starts out funny but is ruined by Hudson's horrible acting.

Also, I have not figured out yet how she was able to afford such a swanky apartment when a job of her sort would not pay that well. It's not like Friends, where the apartment is huge because it is a set. I do not remember seeing the inside of her apartment--just the outside, complete with a doorman.

And of course, the diamond family name is made up because we all know that the diamond trade in this country is a virtual monopoly run by the De Beers family.

Basically, this movie is a funny premise that was not well-written or well-acted. Part of the problem is that the movie is based on a very small, humorous book by the same name. The book is full of cartoon pictures and funny little tips about how to get a guy to leave you alone (i.e., cry during/after sex). It has no plot, so the screenwriters had to come up with their own plot while adhering to the lines in the book. This is a huge challenge that the writers obviously could not handle.

Hudson is pretty bad in the movie, and McConnaughy is not much better. There is a great scene in which he takes off his shirt--nice eye candy.

One thing that perplexes me is that this movie is often listed as a best seller and a best renter, especially with services like Netflix. I am not quite sure why so many people are still renting this movie when it has been around for several years now. It is not the worst movie in the world; it has some funny moments; overall, though, my thought was that I wanted to rewrite most of it. I kept thinking, "I wish they would have...."

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