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How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days: Deluxe Edition
R1 - America - Paramount Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Ethan C. Stevenson (14th September 2009). |
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The Film
 What’s the recipe for over $100 million in box-office receipts? Apparently, all you need is a deceivingly original idea that is actually not original at all and some huge movie stars. The last part, I think, is the really important part. At least that’s my guess, because so many awful movies seem to break the nine-figure threshold these days, seemingly only because they have a top name on the one-sheet. The above formula is just about the only way I thought I could explain the $105 million domestic tally in sales that “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” was able to accumulate a few years ago. Without the stellar pairing of Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey there is no way this unsurprising, unoriginal romantic comedy could have made that much money…. Or so I thought (and still do somewhat). I’ll admit to prejudging the film, six years ago when this was new I assumed all that I wrote above (that the movie was no good, in no way redeeming or worthwhile) to be 100% fact, and perhaps it was this predisposition that made me truly not like it when I eventually did see it some months later on home video. But, now, upon revisiting the film, I’m not so sure I made the right call. This second time I actually find “How to Lose a Guy…” to be quite enjoyable, admittedly fun and, yes, truthfully, flawed. But, more importantly, it isn’t as bad of a movie as I remembered. The plot: Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) is the “how-to” columnist for the best-selling glamour magazine “Composure.” Looking for the next big thing that will push her to the top, allowing Andie to write about what she really wants to: politics, poverty, etc… (you know, she’s got a Masters Degree and wants to be a serious journalist), our lead decides to write a “how-not-to” about relationships, or, “How to lose and Guy in 10 days” (10 days because 5 is too short and they go to print in 11, an explanation which I actually find truly humorous, not because it’s ludicrous but because it isn’t. Anyone who’s worked for a newspaper or magazine probably understands why this is funny.) She chooses her mark, Benjamin Barry (Matthew McConaughey), a successful advertising executive, who’s trying to land a lucrative deal with a diamond company. A bet with his boss leaves Ben with the need to make a “random” girl fall for him; if he succeeds, he gets the diamond deal. If he doesn’t, two she-devils steal his thunder. It turns out that the unsuspecting duo is actually using each other (each blissfully clueless to the others schemes) and this is, primarily, what I like about this movie. As Andie desperately tries to drive Ben away, she’s bat-shit crazy and any sane man would run out on her faster than you could say "John Wayne Bobbitt", Ben equally desperate, tries to keep them together. They’re mean spirited but faux-sappily happy banter is delightful. The little mind games that Andie plays with Ben are oh so creative, well written and despicable. The two leads are on the bottom of my list of “go to” talent; aside for his roles in “Dazed and Confused” (1993) and the more recent “Tropic Thunder” (2008) I’d rather have every single one of my teeth drilled than watch McConaughey in almost anything, yet, he’s likable here. I’m fairly indifferent to Kate Hudson (she’s fine; most of the movies she’s in and characters she plays aren’t) but, again, she makes this film worth watching. She actually has pretty spot on comedic timing too. The chemistry between the two is probably the best thing about “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”… even more so because it isn’t a positive chemistry (they aren’t all lovey-dovey) but a funnier, negative kind that is fully on display here. Problems? Well, yes, there are a few. The film’s over-long; it could lose a good 20 minutes and still be effective (probably more so, actually), the screenplay is uneven; some jokes aren’t nearly as clever or funny as the writers thought they were, and parts of this movie are so unbearably bubblegum; I just had to wince and get through those scenes, hoping for better. I like the wicked, anti-rom-com that “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” occasionally is, not the super-sweet “she loves him, he loves her, they live happily ever after” that it ultimately ends up as. Do they get together? Unfortunately, you already know this answer before the front credits are finished rolling and that, ultimately, is the downfall of this film. It had promise, goes places I’d love to see other rom-coms go, but in the end falls to the expected conclusion. This could have been something so much better than it is. But, I still think the film is tolerable. So shoot me; I sort of, kinda, almost, maybe like Donald Petrie’s “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.” Yes it’s a romantic comedy that, most of the time, fails to escape genre conventions, but there is just something about the overall film that makes me not hate it. I’m not entirely sure why I can and do tolerate this film, I really probably shouldn’t given my stance on the genre, but so be it… not the greatest movie ever, I have to admit “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” is hardly the worst way to waste 2 hours.
Video
Much like the film itself, the DVD transfer (framed at 1.78:1 and enhanced for 16x9 displays) on “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” is inconsistent and occasionally spotty, with moments of brilliance mixed in for good measure. A great deal of the film is shot soft-focus and any scene with said filter applied is zapped of all appreciable detail; faces look overly smooth lacking definition and clothing textures are limited. At times these soft scenes are grainy (distractedly so) and it looks, frankly, awful. Early on in the film when Ben and Andie go to a seafood restaurant (their first night out), the reaction shots of Kate Hudson look like someone smeared Vaseline on the camera lens and threw some sand in the air; it’s so not what a newer film should look like, no matter “director’s intentions.” On the flip side, Paramount has kept the print in good shape with maybe one or two blemishes early on in the film but otherwise not a speck of damage, dirt or debris is to be seen. The transfer also seems to be clear of over excessive edge-enhancement; a few halos here and there, maybe, but nothing too bothersome. The dual layered encode seems taught and polished; I never saw any evidence of poor MPEG-2 compression. Scenes not shot like a film from 1973 are fairly impressive; the image is sharp and clean. Colors are bold, bright and attractive. Skin tones may be a little over done, the result of slightly amped up contrast, but the film has good depth and a nice solidity to it. If more of the film looked like it does during the highest points in this transfer, it’d be reference quality for the format. Unfortunately, the moments that really shine are few and far between and most of the film is a muddy (if bright and colorful) mess of mediocrity. On the whole this is very average; neither the best nor the worst of what DVD has to offer, the film just passes.
Audio
The films English Dolby Digital 5.1 track is also a middling, averaging experience. Dynamics, dialogue and separation across the front are above average, but the mix is almost completely devoid of rear activity (there is some occasional ambience, but not much) and never, ever really wows on any level. Whatever music there is, is funneled through the soundtrack and remains engrossing and fills the soundstage, but that’s about as far as one’s gonna get with what might be considered encompassing, full-bodied sound on this film. As far as romantic comedies go, “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” actually sounds pretty good, greatly benefiting from the fact that it was mixed post-Millennium, but when compared to the full range of DVD audio, this is nothing to get excited about. Dolby Digital 5.1 surround dubs in French and Spanish are also offered, with optional English, French and Spanish subtitles.
Extras
Unfortunately, although this new Deluxe Edition of “How to Lose and Guy in 10 Days” contains some newly created material (shared with a concurrent Blu-ray release) and some of the supplements from the previous release, not everything from the older DVD makes the transition. Missing from this release are the two “Mapping Out…” featurettes and some out of date bonus trailers for other films. These extras are replaced with three newer featurettes, a music video (ported from the older disc), deleted scenes (also ported) and an audio commentary (also ported). The newly produced video-based material is presented in 16x9-enchanced widescreen. More details on the special features are below. An audio commentary with director Donald Petrie is so completely inconsistent. At times Petrie is a rambling buffoon who merely describes action on screen, but occasionally he offers real insight into the characters, anecdotes on the production and is informative. As solo commentaries go, this is decent but the disjointed nature makes it difficult to listen to. Perhaps a second participant would have helped smooth this over and make it more coherent. “How to Make a Movie in 2 Years,” the longest of the behind-the-scenes featurettes on the disc, has authors Michelle Alexander and Jeannie Long talk about the origins of the project, while the producers talk about what drew them to the material, the director talks visual style… in the end this is all very dry and EPKish. The film is “bubbly” and “fun” so it’s surprising that this feature is unequivocally not. Runs 16 minutes 53 seconds. “Why the Sexes Battle” featurette has two “experts” discussing why it seems, at times, that males and females are at war with each another. I couldn’t help but laugh at the seriousness of this featurette – this is “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” not some Master Thesis or serious, debate inspiring film that would warrant this type of discussion. 5 minutes 1 second. Bleh. The last of the new featurettes, “Girls Night Out” is by far one of the most flat, self-important things I’ve ever watched. The two authors again make an appearance (the footage looks to be from the same bar night as the “Making of”). This time they’re a little tipsy, talking about how much everyone wanted them after the book and films success, their own dating histories and how closely they follow their own advice. 5 minutes 17 seconds. A music video for Keith Urban’s “Somebody Like You” is included. It’s one of those crummy trailer videos where most of the time is taken up by clips from the film. Quality is mediocre, noisy and windowboxed 1.78:1 widescreen. Runs 3 minutes 53 seconds. Lastly, a series of 5 deleted scenes (with optional audio commentary with director Donald Petrie) finishes off the package. Video is windowboxed 1.78:1. Excised material includes: - An alternate opening sequence. After a long steadicam shot at a fashion show, Andie interviews a model. 2 minutes 40 seconds. - Andie and a friend talk while looking in pet shop windows at puppies. 49 seconds. - Andie tries to decide on appropriate dress wear for her visit to Staten Island. 1 minute 40 seconds. - Andie and Ben talk in his parents’ garage and then Ben takes Andie on a motorcycle ride. 1 minutes 40 seconds. - A book ended scene; Andie gets dumped. 2 minutes 40 seconds.
Packaging
Paramount adds a slip-cover for this deluxe re-issue the front exterior of which has a foldout panel listing Andie’s top 10 tips on how to lose a guy in 10 days.
Overall
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