Plot: What’s it about?
In the realm of romantic comedies, there are rules and limits as to what is generally acceptable. I don’t want to get started on the wrong track here, as this isn’t that controversial of a movie, but we’ll get into that later. There’s a scene in “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” that shows the couple inside a movie theater as part of a “Chick Flick”? marathon with titles like “Sleepless in Seattle” and “When Harry Met Sally” in the lineup. These are great romatic comedies. What “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” attempts to divulge is that two people, good-looking and successful, can manipulate anyone they want anytime and any place. Not to say that this same thing doesn’t happen every day, but for a romantic comedy that came out (appropriately enough) around Valentine’s Day; this has some pretty fierce underlying issues. The movie tries to be funny and upbeat, he (Ben) has his buddies and she hers and if it were approached in a different way, this could have been a totally different film altogether. However, it wasn’t and it isn’t. Those that have read this far might think that I’m not a fan of the movie. That’s true, and it’s not. Here’s why.
We meet Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) as she is writing what she thinks to be a “story that matters”?. She’s just out of grad school and has been relegated to writing “How to”?”? columns for an up and coming women’s magazine. “How to Feng-Shei your apartment”?, “How to Dress Like a Supermodel for under $50”?, etc. Her friend has recently been dumped by a boyfriend of a week and a half (10 days, naturally) and to please her editor (Bebe Neuwirth), she takes on the assignment of what it would take to chase off a man in only 10 days. Essentially, what “not”? to do with a guy in a relationship. Conversely, Ben Barry (Matthew McConaughey) works at an ad agency where he is master of his domain in the beer and athletic equipment arena. He wants a diamond account, but it’s been given to two women in the same agency. Proving that he has what it takes to get the account, he bets his boss (Robert Klein) that he can make a woman fall in love with him in only 10 days. Should this happen, he’ll get the account. And wouldn’t you know it, the two meet at the same party and the game (as they say) is on. Now this is both where the movie gets interesting and when the movie falls apart. She appears to be normal for the first few days, then we see the baby talk come out, she names a certain part of his anatomy “Princess Sophia”? and so on. Most any other guy would turn the chick loose, but lest we forget; he’s going after a diamond account and she’s got a story to write!
Now I don’t hate this movie, really I don’t. It’s a good movie to watch on a date, so long as you tell her that you’re not like any of the characters in the movie. What I had a problem with is the fact that the movie plays on one of our (humans) most underlying basic instincts, love. It makes it out that any two people, naturally attractive and confident, can manipulate anyone into doing what they want for the sheer sake of utter enjoyment. Again, I’m sure this happens everyday and we do live in a world where “reality”? television shows this same thing. So maybe this movie is just cashing in on what we already watch and therefore know? Regardless of this, the movie was a financial success. It seems that the window is closing for day and date releases as this just went off of my local movie theater a few weeks ago. Odd? Don’t try and read too much into the movie and odds are that you’ll enjoy yourself. There are some truly funny moments and things that a lot of men (and women) will be able to relate to. So I suppose there’s something for everybody in this movie. We have to wonder, though, would a sequel be called “How to get a guy back in 10 days?”
Video: How does it look?
“How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” sports a solid-looking 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer is really hard to beat. The movie, new to DVD, has several bright spots to it, color-wise and other-wise. Fleshtones appear to be right on track and consistent and edge enhancement is barely existent. The movie seemed to possess a sharpness to the picture that we don’t see except in these new DVD’s. Quite frankly, the only thing that keeps this one from being perfect is some minor compression artifacts from time to time. If we had a 4.75/5.00, it would get that score. A great transfer and truly representative of what Paramount has consistently been putting out.
Audio: How does it sound?
On the other hand, the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is about average for a romantic comedy. If you really want to crank it up, then some of the soundtrack will fill the room and the speakers might even “bump”? a bit; but for the most part the film is dialogue-driven. The surrounds do take charge during some scenes, but nothing that really makes one turn around and say “Wow”? (not that we ever do turn around and say “Wow”? when a movie sounds really good). The majority of the action takes place on the front speakers with the LFE kicking in from time to time. “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” carries a great and acceptable soundtrack that should please most every viewer.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Paramount is cashing in on the success of the film by loading it down with some supplements. We get an audio commentary with Director Donald Petrie (who directed “Miss Congeniality”), who seems pretty at ease in the track here. There are some dead spots, but he does comment on some of the movie’s more serious issues. A nice track, but I imagine that only die hard fans will want to give it a listen. Next up is a featurette entitled “Mapping out the Perfect Movie”? which is essentially some cast and crew interviews. Unlike most featurettes like this, these are broken down into the individual characters and individual members of the cast/crew. Five deleted scenes are shown in a non-anamorphic image that can be played as a group or individually. Additionally, these are shown with or without the director’s commentary and he tells us why the particular scene was cut. Another feature is called “Mapping out the perfect location”? in which you can select a map of Manhattan at pre-marked spots and see a little clip as to where and why that spot was chosen for the movie. A nice and interesting touch. A music video “Somebody Like You”? by Keith Urban is also shown as are some trailers, most notably for the upcoming “Indiana Jones DVD Collection”! A nice selection of extras and a movie you’ll either love or not. Either way, Paramount has done this disc right.
