How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)
Directed by Donald Petrie
It's the battle of wills, as Andie needs to prove she can dump a guy in 10 days, whereas Ben needs to prove he can win a girl in 10 days. Now, the clock is ticking—and the wildly entertaining comedy smash is off and running in this irresistible tale of sex, lies and outrageous romantic fireworks!
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In the rush to anoint Gore Vidal blood relation Burr Steers the next Dylan Kidd (writer-director of Roger Dodger ), I wonder how many people suspected that Steers' follow-up act to Igby Goes Down would be the conceptual lollapalooza of habitual bad director Donald Petrie's How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
Andie decides to write an article about how to act like a heroine in a Julia Roberts/Ashley Judd romantic comedy and thus scare away a man in ten days; Benjamin, in order to win the diamond contract away from a pair of scheming women dedicatedly joined at the hip like the Siamese cats in Disney's Lady and the Tramp, makes a bet that he can make any woman (read: Andie) fall in love with him in those same ten days.
Only one of three scribes to blame for this mess, Steers seems to have contributed a certain smug misanthropy to the picture of the variety that fuelled the over-praised Salinger ape Igby , with Brian Regan and Kristen Buckley, the brain trust behind 102 Dalmatians, apparently responsible for the sentimental slapstick garbage that comprises the rest of the piece.
In "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," director Donald Petrie ("Miss Congeniality," "Grumpy Old Men") and screenwriters Kristen Buckley & Brian Regan ("102 Dalmatians") and Burr Steers ("Igby Goes Down") -- who work from a book by Michele Alexander and Jeannie Long - have taken that last element a step farther.
The film has charm and even some grace, neither of which could be presumed from the director of Miss Congeniality, the undiscerning star of The Four Feathers and Alex & Emma, and the braindead beefcake that is Matthew McConaughey.
Donald Petrie ("Miss Congeniality") directs "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" with little energy or ingenuity; the theme is rife with possibilities for observant, honest humor but he's content to settle for the broad and improbable every time.
When Andie starts to really fall for Ben, director Donald Petrie ("Miss Congeniality," "Mystic Pizza") lets things go all gooey, instead of riffing on the vaguely thrilling undertones of treachery and deviousness he'd set up in the couple's early scenes together.
Director Donald Petrie (Miss Congeniality) wants us to like both Andie and Ben, so he never allows either of them to do anything too reprehensible.
In "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," director Donald Petrie ("Miss Congeniality," "Grumpy Old Men") and screenwriters Kristen Buckley & Brian Regan ("102 Dalmatians") and Burr Steers ("Igby Goes Down") -- who work from a book by Michele Alexander and Jeannie Long - have taken that last element a step farther.
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How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is, at its empty core, a weird blend of that unwatchable "Just Shoot Me" TV show and Mel Gibson's unwatchable What Women Want --a misogynistic, hideously scored excuse to elevate product placement to the level of an Austin Powers movie.
When Andie starts to really fall for Ben, director Donald Petrie ("Miss Congeniality," "Mystic Pizza") lets things go all gooey, instead of riffing on the vaguely thrilling undertones of treachery and deviousness he'd set up in the couple's early scenes together.
The screenplay, by Burr Steers ("Igby Goes Down"), Kristen Buckley and Brian Regan (based on a book by Michelle Alexander and Jeannie Long), has its moments: In some places the jokes click together nicely, with the satisfying snap of Legos, but in others they sprawl too loosely.
In the rush to anoint Gore Vidal blood relation Burr Steers the next Dylan Kidd (writer-director of Roger Dodger ), I wonder how many people suspected that Steers' follow-up act to Igby Goes Down would be the conceptual lollapalooza of habitual bad director Donald Petrie's How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
In "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," director Donald Petrie ("Miss Congeniality," "Grumpy Old Men") and screenwriters Kristen Buckley & Brian Regan ("102 Dalmatians") and Burr Steers ("Igby Goes Down") -- who work from a book by Michele Alexander and Jeannie Long - have taken that last element a step farther.
Compare How to Lose a Guy with Two Weeks Notice, which is every inch a personality vehicle tailored to the already established talents and screen personas of stars Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock.
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How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is, at its empty core, a weird blend of that unwatchable "Just Shoot Me" TV show and Mel Gibson's unwatchable What Women Want --a misogynistic, hideously scored excuse to elevate product placement to the level of an Austin Powers movie.