Review of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) by Ben L — 16 Feb 2012

How can you like a romantic comedy when both of the characters are manipulative jerks? I mean the normal rom-com formula is that one of the people (usually the man) does something wrong, or there is some misunderstanding that comes between the couple. However in this case both sides are completely unsympathetic. And by the end they are completely incapable of admitting there own culpability in the situation. So how do you manage to care about this toxic relationship? And yet, somehow you do.

Part of the enjoyment is the ridiculousness of the whole situation. I mean Kate Hudson's character claims she will only make the common relationship mistakes that women make, and yet she does things that I can't imagine any sane woman doing. This makes for some really funny situations as you watch Matthew McConaughey being tortured. But it also makes me uncomfortable at certain points because I start to feel bad for the guy.

While there are humorous moments which I do enjoy, the characters are a little too mean-spirited for my taste. Even the inevitable scene where they genuinely fall for each other felt a little hollow to me. As you can see I have very mixed emotions when it comes to this film. On the one hand I want to like it, because it's funny and has a good cast. On the other hand I want to dislike it because the characters behave horribly and the climax just leaves me frustrated. As a result it's a movie that I will watch from time to time, but not one I generally look forward to watching.