How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days

“How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” released in 2003, is an old-fashioned comedy that revolves around the idea of two people falling in love over a bet. Instead of one bet, there are two in this story. Other than that, there are no real surprises, just a funny comedy with some romance added.

The hot Kate Hudson stars as Andie Anderson, a magazine writer who comes up with the idea for an article about what women can do to accidentally make their boyfriends insane. The article will be based on her own experiences. She says she will date a man, get him romantically hooked, and then shove him off in 10 days by purposely making the usual dating mistakes, like being dependent, interfering with his friends and family, and different other separation behaviors. The man she picks as the basis for the article is Ben Barry, played by Matthew McConaughey. Barry just happens to have a work-related bet of his own happening. For him to land a big diamond advertising campaign based on romance, he bets his boss he can make a woman fall in love with him in 10 days. You would think it would be very unlikely for two people with the same type of bet that just happen to meet each other at just the right time to get into this problem, but the script does have a good explanation for how this happens. It involves handling the situation by other characters that know about both bets, and have a good reason for wanting to lose his bet.

Robert Roten said in his review, “Anderson's bait and switch tactics are very funny.” After getting together with him on the first day, she begins to make him insane with very aggravating behavior. She places stuffed animals around his apartment. She puts tampons and other feminine hygiene stuff in his medicine cabinet. She speaks in baby talk around his friends. She clings to him, but orders him and his friends around at the same time. She interferes with his enjoyment of sports games and interferes with his family. The pranks continue, but Barry holds on. He refuses to break up with her. Andie can’t understand why Barry hasn’t broken up with her. She knows she is making him insane. Barry begins to doubt whether he will not win his bet. Andie’s behavior is weird and he cannot seem to get inside her head. Roten said, “She keeps deftly deflecting his advances. She says that she loves him, but avoids intimacy.”

Of the two main characters, it is easier to sympathize with Andie. Roten said, “She was maneuvered into pitching the story idea to her editor and she doesn't like what she is doing to Barry. At the same time, Barry seems like a fairly shallow, self-centered womanizer. He goes into the relationship fully intending to break Anderson's heart.” We find out later in the film that he has never brought any woman home to meets his parents, and he isn’t that young. In a way, it looks like Barry deserves the punishment that Andie puts on him. The comedy in the film works very well. The romance isn’t really that convincing. Matthew McConaughey is one of the best romantic leads in the movie company and Kate Hudson is extremely talented and charming. Roten said, “Their chemistry together is such that they manage to pull off a believable romance despite a couple of creaky plot twists at the end of the movie.” They are supported by Adam Goldberg (Barry’s friend, Tony), Thomas Lennon (Barry’s friend, Thayer), Robert Klein (Barry’s boss, Phillip Warren) and Bebe Neuwirth (Andie’s boss, Lana).

Director Donald Petrie shows a nice look with romantic comedies, and he overcomes the problems in this one. Roten credited, “The script has some sharp, witty dialogue.” Despite the lack of character development in the story, it works really well, especially as a comedy.

This is a funny movie, despite the fact that it can get annoying with Andie’s antics and how you would think they will lose the bet, but they hang on. You know what will happen in the end, and you might say that it’s predictable, but you cannot deny the fact that Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey really work well together and actually put their all in their roles. Definitely see this movie if you’re a fan of either or both actors because they really do a funny and great job here.

Look out next week for the next installment of “Matthew McConaughey Romantic Comedy Month.”