How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

Could Hollywood have inadvertently stumbled upon the definitive, gender-dividing, no-middle-ground chick flick? There's no question that the film's target audience is female, since its heroine is a sparkly columnist (played by Kate Hudson) for a Cosmopolitan-like magazine who accepts an assignment to catch herself some handsome rube and then deliberately drive him away within 10 days by committing "all the classic dating mistakes." But only a guy who has just bet that he can make any woman fall in love with him in--you guessed it, 10 days--could stomach even five minutes with her, let alone fall in love as Matthew McConaughey does here. The problem (besides the pathetically gimmicky setup) is that in the process of putting on an act as the world's most annoyingly clingy, jealous, baby-talking, cutesy-nicknaming, territory-marking, marriage-obsessed, insecure, neurotic girlfriend, Hudson becomes excruciatingly, agonizingly, insufferably irritating for most of the movie. If you want to lose a guy in one day, pop this unfunny, unholy mess into the VCR/DVD player. Not recommended. [Note: Available in widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include audio commentary by director Donald Petrie, a “Mapping Out the Perfect Mate” section with 15 featurettes (each about three to six minutes in length, on topics such as characters, insights, and production info), five deleted scenes (including an alternate opening sequence) with optional director commentary, a “Mapping Out the Perfect Location” section with an interactive NYC map that links to brief details about 10 set locations, the music video “Somebody Like You” by Keith Urban, and previews. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing film.] (R. Blackwelder)[DVD/Blu-ray Review—Aug. 18, 2009—Paramount, 115 min., PG-13, DVD: $14.98, Blu-ray: $29.99—Making its debut on Blu-ray and second appearance on DVD, 2003's How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days sports a nice transfer with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound on the Blu-ray and Dolby Digital 5.1 on the DVD. Bonus features on this release include audio commentary by director Donald Petrie, a “How to Make a Movie in 2 Years” featurette (17 min.), deleted scenes w/optional commentary (10 min.), the production featurettes “Why the Sexes Battle” (5 min.) and “Girls Night Out” (5 min.), and the music video “Somebody Like You” by Keith Urban. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a lame romcom.]