How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days Synopsis: Benjamin Barry is an advertising executive and ladies’ man who, to win a big campaign, bets that he can make a woman fall in love with him in 10 days.
Journalist Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) works at Composure Magazine as the “How to” woman, though she is desperate to report on more significant matters. Her next column becomes ‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days’, which requires her to date a guy and use every trick in the book to get him to dump her before the ten days are up.
Benjamin Barry (Matthew McConaughey) is an advertising executive looking to land a huge diamond campaign. He bets his boss and two of his co-workers that he can get a woman to fall in love with him in 10 days… if he wins, he gets the campaign. His coworkers already know about Andie’s new column and deliberately chose her for Ben. She decides he’s the perfect guy for her column when he hits on her at a party.
I had not seen How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days in a long time, so it was fun to watch again. I asked myself frequently if it had always been so cringe-y, but I suppose that’s part of its charm.
Kate Hudson goes for the jugular as an obsessive, obnoxious girlfriend who uses baby talk and moves her things in too soon. She interrupts Ben’s poker night, forces him to miss the end of an exciting NBA playoff game, and covers his bathroom in pink and feminine hygiene products.
She even puts together a photo album full of creepy photos to foreshadow their future. But, while disturbed and annoyed, Ben doesn’t do the same thing that most men would do… which would be breaking up with her!
As awful as some of these scenes regarding secondhand embarrassment, I found them amusing. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is from the era of ridiculously plotted rom-coms, but that’s part of what made them fun.
Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey have some really great chemistry. While the majority of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is Andie acting batshit crazy, we get some genuine, authentic interaction between the two characters in the final act when Ben takes Andie home to meet his family. This is where Andie and Ben drop the bullshit – during a game of Bullshit, no less – and start being honest with each other.
As fun as it was to watch their chaotic relationship begin, I felt a sense of relief when that finally ended, and the real love story began. Director Donald Petrie does an excellent job of giving us enough time to see them together as they truly are before the conclusion, so the actual falling in love part of the movie doesn’t seem rushed.
Petrie is a director who is a bit hit-and-miss for me. I loved Mystic Pizza but really hated Little Italy. Thankfully, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days strikes a balance somewhere between those two movies for me. I don’t think it’s a perfect rom-com, but let’s face it, it will probably end up on the top ten lists for many rom-com lovers out there. Despite how messy it is, there’s just something about it that makes it entertaining and watchable.
Watched: 03/10/2022
Notable Song: Follow You Down by Gin Blossoms
