Written by Muchacha Motorista
Chick flicks are like candy. Not rich candy like Godiva chocolate or anything like that, but just plain old drug store candy. Skittles, Starburst, Spree. Colorful, fun, sticky-sweet... without any nutritional value. Too much candy may rot your teeth; too much superficial entertainment may rot your brain. That said, not everything needs a deeper value. Sometimes it is good just to buy candy at the drug store, and sometimes it is good just to turn on a chick flick.
And that's exactly the kind of experience you ought to be looking for when you turn on How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
Kate Hudson plays Andie Anderson, a columnist for a women's magazine who (surprise, surprise) wants to be a serious writer covering important issues. To help out a friend, she agrees to write a story about how to turn guys off, and to use personal experience by making a guy fall for her and then leave within ten days. At the same time, Matthew McConaughey plays Ben Barry, who makes a bet that he can make a woman fall in love with him within ten days. So you see where this is going.
No shocker, they are actually perfect for each other, but these games they're playing get in the way of them having a real relationship. Wacky hijinks ensue as Andie tries every trick in the book (specifically, the book How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days by Michele Alexander and Jeannie Long... but more on them later) to turn him off. You know, things like putting stuffed animals all over his apartment, and calling him every few minutes, and buying him a "love fern" to represent their relationship. I don't think women actually do these things, mind you... I suspect this is an over-exaggerated version of the little annoying habits women sometimes have based on their insecurities. But the crazy stuff is funnier.
And the movie is that... funny. Sort of. The cute scene of them playing cards with his family: funny. Her learning to ride his motorcycle: funny. The creepy dog she buys to join their little family: not funny. The creepy dog peeing on his pool table and poker table: not funny.
This movie tries to walk a line between elegant and crude. I'm not sure if they thought a dog peeing on stuff would hook men into the film, or if they thought women would think it was silly. The elegant stuff they do alright, especially because the whole reason Ben Barry is trying to win the bet is to score a diamond ad campaign. His rivals' campaign slant is: "A woman in lust wants chocolate; a woman in love wants diamonds." But Ben, through Andie's inspiration, pushes the campaign: "Women: Frost Yourselves." Diamonds as frosting, no man required. The whole diamond sub-story is kind of silly. While I wasn't totally rooting for either Andie or Ben to succeed in their careers, I did really end up wanting them to remove their masks and succeed in the relationship they could have.
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