Movie Commentaries you have to hear:
How to Lose a Guy in 10 days
Not everyone enjoys the romantic comedy. Perhaps no other genre has given us so many cliches, or produced so many mediocre or bad movies (The Bounty Hunter, The Ugly Truth, Fool's Gold, Maid in Manhattan, Nine Months, Forces of Nature). What's that Sci-Fi/Fantasy Genre? You have something to say? Zardoz, Krull, Conan the Destroyer, Ice Pirates, Eragon, The Brother's Grimm. Excellent rebuttal.
It seems that all you need are two attractive, likable actors on the screen at the same time, a few cliched obstacles (she's a movie star, he works too hard, he's a prince she's a scullery maid), and a wise-crackin' sidekick and BOOM! RomCom.
Basically execs think that this:
Plus this:
With a bit of this:
MUST equal this:
When in fact it usually equals this:
(Ahh, Gigli, 8 years later and there are still jokes to be made. You've given so much joy... unintentionally, but still)
Perhaps more than any other genre, the RomCom is truly about capturing lightning in a bottle, and that's what Donald Petrie, director of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days seems to emphasize.
By all standards this is a good commentary. A good commentary does not simply describe what's happening onscreen (most commentaries do this). It offers a mix of personal anecdotes, insider information, and a justification of technical or design choices.
Petrie never seems to think he's making Citizen Kane, and while he can come across a bit egotistical (He specifically had his directing credit card come on-screen with the words "ultimate orgasm.") it appears to be done in self-deprecating style. He points out the gaffes and editing flubs himself (at one point McConaughey and Goldberg magically switch coffee mugs).
One of the great things about him is that he always gives credit where credit is due. He specifically venerates the wonderful New York Extras that come in with their own characters prepped and ready to go. It's true. Watch the elevator or lobby scenes in 10 Days and you'll see that no one is phoning it in. Well, there's that guy on the phone but...
However he does have pension for bad puns (at one moment he points out the "Gratuitous Sax" in the film...it's a saxophone player on a boat.), but then I just made a phone pun so I guess I shouldn't throw stones.
I realized that I might actual learn something from this commentary when Petrie, immediately after the credits, began talking about the set design. I love set design. I think it's so important to the world of the film. A half-hearted or cheap set design can destroy a film, as much as a well made set design makes it. Would Blade Runner be the icon of American sci-fi without the sets and art direction? I don't think so. While it's easy to notice, and be impressed by, set design in fantasy and even action fare (c'mon Ken Adams' Volcano set in the Bond film You Only Live Twice is the epitome of iconic), how often do you think about it in the RomCom? But the spaces in which we meet our Boy and Girl tell us exactly what we're getting in for: a battle of the sexes. There are soft lights, plants, and tissues all over the offices round curves of the magazine offices Andy (Kate Hudson) works at...
...while Ben's (Matthew McConaughey) advertising firm is a myriad of cool greens with hard corners and sports gear.
The big thing that Petrie does on a shoot is letting his actors act. He rarely says cut, sometimes to their chagrin, but as professionals, they keep acting. Many of the moments in this film that are "sweet" happen when Kate Hudson is acting off the cuff. The banter between Adam Goldberg and Thomas Lennon (Matthew McConaughey's buddies) is mostly their own on-set improvising. Often times, food was flicked at actors without their being told it was coming. He would tell one actor one thing and the other would be kept in the dark. But, Petrie always let his actors work, within the framework of the script, which is probably why How to Lose a Guy in 10 days is a better than average RomCom.
Overall, I'd say 3 lightning strikes out of 5.
Thanks for watching,
The Giant
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