How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Donald Petrie
Produced by Robert Evans
Christine Forsyth-Peters
Lynda Obst
Written by Brian Regan
Burr Steers
Based on How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days 
by Kristen Buckley
Brian Regan
Starring Kate Hudson
Matthew McConaughey
Adam Goldberg
Bebe Neuwirth
Music by David Newman
Cinematography John Bailey
Edited by Debra Neil-Fisher
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release dates
  • February 7, 2003 (2003-02-07)
Running time
 116 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $50 million
Box office $177.4 million[1]

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is a 2003 romantic comedy film directed by Donald Petrie, starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. It is based on a short cartoon book of the same name by Michele Alexander and Jeannie Long.

Plot

Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) is a writer who works for a magazine called Composure as the "How to..." girl. She is bored and wishes she could write more about important things, such as politics, economics, religion, poverty; stuff she actually cares about. She soon finds herself writing an article called "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days". The idea comes about when Andie's friend, Michelle (Kathryn Hahn), experiences a minor breakdown after yet another break-up. Using her friend as inspiration, Andie reveals how she will actually start dating a guy and drive him away but "only using the classic mistakes women make".

At the same time, advertising executive Benjamin Barry (Matthew McConaughey) is striving for a pitch to advertise diamonds. When they question Ben's knowledge about love, Ben bets he could make any woman fall in love with him if he wanted to. If he can make any woman fall in love with him before the upcoming company ball, in just 10 days, he can head the advertising for the new diamond company.

Ben's rival co-workers, Judy Spears (Michael Michele) and Judy Green (Shalom Harlow), who were at Composure magazine earlier and are aware of Andie's new assignment, conspire to have Andie and Ben meet that night and start their quests. Fortunately, that night Andie and Ben happen to be in the same place and as Judy and Judy refer to Andie as "the blonde with the pretty smile", Ben thinks it is a done deal.

Neither Andie nor Ben reveals their true intentions. Andie works hard to make Ben break up with her in order to complete her article. However, Ben continues to stick around in hopes of making her fall in love with him. Andie goes on to get Ben knocked out at a chick flick, rapidly moves her things into his apartment, acts overly possessive and sensitive at all times, ruins boys' poker night for him and his friends, and takes him to a Celine Dion concert when he was under the assumption he was going to see a New York Knicks basketball game.

Ben stays with her despite everything, and after coming very close to breaking up they attend couples counseling, led by Andie's friend Michelle. They agree, as a solution to their "problems", to visit Ben's family in Staten Island for the weekend. While holidaying together, Ben and Andie begin to form a genuine bond, playing card games with the family, learning to ride Ben's motorcycle. Upon arrival home Ben even refers to Andie as "his girlfriend".

Andie tries to explain to boss Lana (Bebe Neuwirth) that she cannot continue writing and publishing this article as she has "really got to know this guy", but Lana remains insistent upon it. Around the same time, Andie and Ben go to the company ball together where Ben's boss, Phillip (Robert Klein), meets Andie and tells Ben that he "met her, she loves you, you win". Seeing Ben's good news, Judy and Judy are instantly envious and set about to ruin it for their co-worker. They tell his close colleagues, Tony (Adam Goldberg) and Thayer (Thomas Lennon), Andie knew about the bet all along and was playing along to help Ben win. Almost instantly, Tony and Thayer rush to Andie's side and beg her to keep quiet, when they do not realize she is still blissfully unaware. Almost simultaneously, Lana—who is unaware of Ben's role in Andie's "How To" article—reveals Andie's true intentions to Ben.

Upon learning of Ben's bet, Andie attempts to humiliate Ben by getting on stage and telling all he has prepared a "special treat": to sing a song. In an attempt to leave, Ben reveals they have prepared a "duet" and instructs his friends not to let her leave the room. They go on to sing a poor version of Carly Simon's "You're So Vain", which they describe as "one of their personal favourites".

They go their separate ways before Ben is shown Andie's article and encouraged to read it. She explains in it how she "lost the one person she ever fell for", and when he hears she quit her job at Composure and is on her way to Washington, D.C. for an interview, he chases her taxi and stops her. Once he accuses her of running away, they reveal their true feelings for each other and the film ends with Ben instructing the taxi driver to return Andie's belongings to her home, and then they kiss.

Cast

Production

Gwyneth Paltrow was originally going to star as Andie Anderson but later pulled out before pre-production began, and Kate Hudson replaced her.

The yellow gown Kate Hudson wore in the movie was designed by celebrity designer Dina Bar-El.[2] The necklace she wears with the yellow gown is called, in the film, the "Isadora Diamond" named after Isadora Duncan. The 80-carat yellow diamond in the necklace was designed by Harry Winston and is worth $6 million.[3]

Release

Critical response

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rating of 42%, based on 161 reviews, with an average rating of 5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson are charming together, but they can't overcome How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days' silly premise and predictable script."[4] Metacritic gave the film a score of 45 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[5]

Box office

The film was released on February 7, 2003 and earned $23,774,850 in its first weekend. Its final gross is $105,813,373 in the US and $71,558,068 overseas.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Box Office Mojo. 2003. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
  2. ↑ Laura Vecsey. "Fashion designer Dina Bar-El looks for fresh start". Today; NBC News. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  3. ↑ Marc S. Malkin; Deborah Schoeneman. "Model Home Gets a Makeover". New York Magazine; New York Media. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  4. ↑ "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days Movie Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
  5. ↑ "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days Reviews, Ratings, Credits". Metacritic. Retrieved 2011-01-11.

External links


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