”
A Guy Thing
”
is just the kind of
”
feel good
”
romantic comedy that Hollywood gives us about 10 times a
year.
”
Forces of Nature
”
and
”
Meet the Parents
”
immediately come to mind, but there are countless others that
explore, or exploit the same plot, retread over and over: good guy,
about to be married to good girl, meets bad girl, only to have to
make the choice between them.
“A Guy Thing” is just the kind of “feel good” romantic comedy that Hollywood gives us about 10 times a year. “Forces of Nature” and “Meet the Parents” immediately come to mind, but there are countless others that explore, or exploit the same plot, retread over and over: good guy, about to be married to good girl, meets bad girl, only to have to make the choice between them.
Not only does this usually make for numbingly bad movies, it also gives credence that Hollywood is mostly about product, preferring to rehash familiar themes for quick cash than to make intelligent films about relationships and love. Jason Lee, Julia Stiles and Selma Blair try their best with the tired, cliched material, but it eventually does them in; the movie wears thin almost immediately and becomes a chore about 30 minutes in, which is never a good sign.
In a ridiculous opening, a soon-to-be-married Paul Morse (Jason Lee) wakes up after his bachelor party only to find a nude beauty named Becky (Julia Stiles) lying in his bed next to him. Having no memory of the night before, Paul comes to the conclusion that he must have slept with Becky, for why else would she be there? My question is why can’t he remember, but that’s too logical, one of the many times the script suffers because of these lapses of logic.
Anyway, he’s devastated, and fears he has cheated on his bride-to-be, Karen (Selma Blair). The guilt, which is brought on by sex that may or may not have happened drives Paul crazy, and he ponders whether he should tell his fiancee about his transgression. His friends tell him to forget about it and to go ahead with the marriage to Karen.
Paul tries to do just that, but the beautiful, free-spirited Becky (similar to Sandra Bullock’s character in the dreadfully-similar “Forces of Nature”) keeps bumping into him. The coincidences never cease in this contrived mess disguising itself as a romantic comedy, a film that has very little romance and even fewer laughs.
Of course, Paul’s connection with Becky causes him to come into conflict with his feelings about Karen, forcing him to look at his life in a new light. Should he be safe and marry Karen, or should he take life by the horns and choose the more adventurous Becky?
Besides the awkward story and stilted script, the principal actors do their best to inject some spirit into the picture. Jason Lee plays an average Joe, which is a departure from the darker characters he has portrayed in Kevin Smith’s films, as well as his demonized rock-star in Cameron Crowe’s “Almost Famous.” We thus see a lighter side of Lee, which is nice.
Selma Blair and Julia Stiles also are good, each displaying a natural way of behaving on screen, and their performances are understated in a way that the film is not. Given the poor quality of the script, their performances are worth noting and may give logical support to those audiences who enjoy the film, thinking they have seen something new.
So “A Guy Thing” is a bad film with some good performances, which doesn’t mean we should just go see it willingly. We should demand more from films that disguise themselves as romantic comedies; they should actually be funny and romantic.
Love is such a wonderful emotion, and the love story, although universal, doesn’t have to be the same every time around. Every good love story is unique to its characters, and great romantic comedies reflect this fact.
A GUY THING. Directed by Chris Koch. Screenplay by Glen Glienna. With Jason Lee, Julia Stiles and Selma Blair. Rated PG-13 (language), 100 minutes. Now playing at Bay Area theaters.
