Directed by Donald Petrie and premiering in 2003, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days features a categorically ambitious Kate Hudson and her reluctantly loving costar Matthew McConaughey.  Andie Anderson and Benjamin Barry complete each other-- rather, they are the perfect pawns in one another’s career ploys.  In just 116 minutes, the duo grows from complete strangers to inadvertent soulmates as they traverse the extremes of authenticity and manipulation.

 

An expert in the “How to” field of magazine journalism, Andie feels stuck in the mud of stereotypically female topics.  Spreads of “How to Get the Perfect Winged Eyeliner” and “How to Score the Best Fashion Deals” seem to bore her, and she wishes desperately to branch into politics, religion, and society.  As the Composure editor repeatedly rebuffs her requests to rise up the ranks, the two of them strike a deal.  Andie must prove that she’s ready to move on by pulling off the ultimate “How to” article: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

 

On the other side of town, Ben Barry works as a precious stone publicist-- his Mount Everest?  Landing the coveted diamond marketing profile.  Ben flippantly suggests to his boss that he can make any girl fall head over heels for him in a matter of days, a bet that manifests itself later that afternoon.  Ben’s boss affirms that, if his claims hold true and if he can successfully make a woman fall in love with him before their jewelry benefit 10 days later, he will earn the lead on his dream case.

 

The trouble ensues when Ben and Andie lock eyes in a bar on the first night of their 10-day quests.  While McConaughey’s character gears up for a week and a half of charm and persuasion, an oppositely motivated Kate Hudson reels through all the ways she can make a mess of their relationship.  Andie drives Ben insane by inciting a punch thrown in his face at the movies, soiling his guys’ night, moving her things into his apartment prematurely, and dragging him to a Celine Dion concert instead of the Knicks game of the year.  All the while, Ben endures Andie’s clingy, selfish, and overly sensitive efforts in draining maintenance of the bet with his boss.

 

At the end of the week, he brings her to meet the family in a last-ditch attempt (beyond temporary couples counseling) to save their threadbare connection.  A match seemingly made in heaven, Andie fits right in with the Barrys and the two finally see each other for who they are.  Refreshed and ready to pursue a real relationship, Andie tells her publisher that she can’t possibly finish the article, that she can’t break Ben’s heart, but nevertheless she persisted.

 

All of the plans unravel at the diamond event when Ben’s marketing competition seeks to ruin his chances.  They lie to Ben’s boss saying that Andie was helping him all along, and eventually both ends of betrayal are exposed.  Tears are shed, drunken songs are embarrassingly sung, and the Andie-Ben tether disintegrates.  

 

The film resolves as Ben’s friend shows him Andie’s article.  She writes of him as “the only person she’s ever fallen for,” whom she unfortunately lost in a wave of pettiness.  He realizes that their feelings were true and catches up to her airport-bound taxicab and stops her from travelling to Washington.  They kiss and make up in a picture-esque screen shot of New York City.

 

Despite the predictable and somewhat stereotypical scripting, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is an oddball depiction of a talented, enterprising woman who wants more out of her career.  The star-studded cast and classic early-2000s aesthetic makes for a great Saturday-night flick, and is definitely worth the watch.