A Guy Thing

A GUY THING is one of those rare romantic comedies that is romantic and cute without being overly sappy. At the same time, it manages to provide every scene with the kind great lines and witty humor that just aren't found in very many movies these days. Despite the mediocre trailer, every scene of this movie is absolutely hilarious [and judging by the amount of laughter in the audience, I'm not the only one that thinks so]. Even though the plot may be predictable and the movie starts off a little slow, but overall it's still a great movie that will hopefully be successful at the box office. However, box office success doesn't seem likely for this film because let's face it, movies released in January are only in theaters for a few weeks. And although it is only January, A GUY THING is going to end up on my list of the best movies of 2003 at the end of the year. Highly recommended.

I happened to watch this movie by chance some days ago while flipping channels. My expectations were not very high but it was an interesting movie.In 'A Guy Thing', Jason Lee plays Paul, a straight-laced, Seattle-based fellow who is about to marry his fiancée Karen (Selma Blair) and settle down to an unchallenging life of middle-class domesticity. We first meet Paul at his bachelor party, where he professes no desire to engage in any of the normal bachelor party type activities his (surprisingly few) buddies encourage, in case he's a bit naughty and gets into hot bother with his soon to be trouble and strife. Of course, the next thing Paul knows, it's the morning after the night before, he's in bed with a naked hula dancer, and his mother-in-law phones to inform him that Karen is on her way over. Oh, and the hula dancer is Karen's cousin Becky (Julia Stiles).

From this small acorn of potential trouble grows a mighty oak of frenetic misfortune, as Paul scrabbles from misadventure to misadventure, trying to cover up what he's done whilst keeping up the appearance of being a dutiful, family-oriented good guy, who's super-excited about his forthcoming nuptials. His efforts to ensure Karen remains none the wiser about any potential wrong-doing on his part ironically forces Paul closer and closer to the fun-loving Becky, forcing him to question whether he really wants the life that seems to have been mapped out for him. The movie contains the right mix of comedy and romance. Definitely worth a watch.

Paul Coleman is a week away from marrying Karen when he wakes up next to a dancer he met at his stag do. He quickly ushers her out of the flat and hopes never to see her again. Sadly it is a matter of hours before he is introduced to her again as Karen's cousin Becky. Paul tries to make it to his wedding day without Karen finding out – an aim that is made more difficult by Becky's crazy ex-boyfriend, overzealous police and the complex web of lies Paul spins to cover himself.

On paper this film sounds awful and indeed almost every second of it is teetering on the edge of being an awful romantic comedy that goes just where you expect it to. The plot is simply daft – one contrived set piece after another that is increasingly stretched as the film goes on. It ends in just the way you know it will (despite how much I hoped it wouldn't or failed to see how it could) and it will infuriate many in regards just how silly it is.

However it is funny enough to cover the cracks. Much of the humour is instantly recognisable and made up of well known routines (Paul climbing out of the bathroom window) or physical comedy (some pratfalls along the way). Happily there is plenty of slightly off the wall humour that, although not new, is quite good. An example would be the `fantasy sequences' but my favourite bit is Paul sweet memories of a male dance teacher. The whole thing is very silly and you should prepare yourself for that, but it does just about have enough silly laughs to keep it going.

For me the number one reason I enjoyed this film was the performance of Jason Lee. At no point does he suggest that this is a serious film, in fact many times a silly scene was saved by the `what the f is going on' look on his face – a hint to us that he is in the film and he can't believe what's happening, so the audience should go with him. For the rest of the time he lends himself really easily to the type of humour and is able to raise the material a bit. He is a good lead here and keeps bits of his `Brody' from Mallrats to good effect. Stiles is awful in my opinion. She doesn't really act and seems to be trying too hard to do `kooky' – it doesn't work. She has so little screentime that I found it very hard to accept that Paul would get anything from her. Blair has a thankless role and she doesn't quite carry it off – like Stiles I felt that she was trying too hard and almost came across as a caricature. Maybe they were both led by Lee's knowing performance and responded in a bad way. Larry Miller is quite funny (but predictable) as the minister next door and Brolin is a surprising find as the father in law.

Overall this is a very silly film, based on one daft scene after another that leads to a predictable ending that simply doesn't make sense even using the logic of this type of film. However it is funny and a great performance by Jason Lee makes it more enjoyable than it probably should be.

When it comes to mainstream romantic comedies, I try to avoid them as much as I can, but sometimes they are done so well, or dumb that they deserve a viewing. This is the case with the A Guy Thing (I guess it would be called Bro Thing nowadays) directed by Chris Koch ( Scrubs, My Name Is Earl, Snow Day) and starring Jason Lee and Julia Stiles. At its core this is a classic love story where guy realizes that he loves someone else and that besides her he can be himself (wait 'till you start living together and we'll see how that turns out for ya), but there are enough gags and jokes to keep things interesting. Granted there isn't enough R-rated humor or nudity but still Jason Lee makes any movie work. And the fact that they didn't resort to any tricks or overly sappy scenes only works to their benefit.

Paul is getting married and we meet up with him on his bachelor party where he's quite bored and in love with his future wife. Even when the exotic dancers show up he doesn't seem excited, but he will be when he wakes up the next morning with one of them in his bed. Dazed and confused he chucks her out of the apartment since his future wife is arriving in a few minutes, and he's not in the mood for threesome. Thinking that that's that he carries on with his life trying to forget the whole thing but he keeps bumping into that girl. But what is really gonna rock his world is when he finds out that she is Karen's very close cousin and that she's attending the wedding…

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Typical chick flick that should be enjoyed only by teens. There is not much to comment about this effort that could easily pass as a b-movie effort.

The plot tries to be different from some other efforts of it's time but to be honest I didn't think it was a genre definer or a movie that should be kept in order to show it to anyone else!.

The acting by Julia Stiles is wooden but it helps that she's pretty. Selma Blair is sexy as always but her character didn't help that much. Jason Lee always works for these kind of movies but the plot didn't help him either.

So there you go, this is a mildly-entertaining, not clever or witty, but "ok-time killer" for those who enjoy regular almost mediocre romantic comedies.

Watch it only if it airs on cable. I did that! I didn't spend a single dollar on it and I'm proud about it.