Romcoms ain't what they used to be. Oh, sure, the formula has remained constant - odd circumstances force together a couple of, on the surface are unsuited to each other, and amusing friction ensues. The audience, however, can see that they are made for each other, and events gradually cause them to realise this themselves - cue happy ending. But the difference these days is that romcoms often come with a diligent application of crudeness and coarseness as opposed to the frothy confections they used to be.
My Best Friend's Girl is a case in point. Tank has an unusual occupation - young men who have been dumped by their girlfriends pay tank to take the girls on a Date From Hell, following which they come screaming back, having realised the value of what they had earlier rejected. Tank's best friend and flatmate Dustin has fallen for Alexis, who dumps him on the grounds that he's moving to fast for her, and they both need to play the field a bit more. Dustin gets Tank to do his worst, but Alexis doesn't so much see through him as find herself enormously attracted to him despite his uncouth facade. A steamy relationship ensues in the course of which Tank begins to fall for Alexis. Various developments involving Dustin, Tank's father, and Hilary (a prim Christian who Tank "charms" by taking her to specialist pizza joint Cheeses Crust, which serves crucifix shaped pizzas) convince Tank that Alexis deserves someone better than him, so he provokes her into dumping him by some spectacular misbehaviour at her sister's wedding. But, of course, he realises that this was a mistake on his part, and a happy ending eventually ensues.
Tank's Date From Hell routines are, of course, the source for much of the film's crudeness but, as is usual with a certain type of film, a wholly unnecessary amount of bad language runs right the way through.
I'm easily pleased with films. This one made me laugh a fair amount - always helpful in a comedy, I find - and I walked out of the cinema satisfied, but it really isn't a very good film - almost everything is wrong with it. The plot doesn't bear any sort of sensible examination, the motivations don't work, people don't react in any way realistically (there is no way Alexis would take Tank back following his behaviour at the wedding, for instance), Tank's character is inconsistent (the film wants to have its cake and eat it, but if Tank was fundamentally decent then he simply wouldn't be able to behave as he does), and the ending is bolted in so blatantly that the nuts haven't been tightened. And Dane Cook (as Tank, not an actor I had encountered before) doesn't have an ounce of endearingness in his body.
But there are two big strengths. Alec Baldwin puts in a terrific turn as Tank's selfish, shallow Jack-the-lad father, and Kate Hudson lights up the screen every second she's on it. Looking and sounding more like her mother than ever (and, without giving too much away, 16-year old me fell big time for Goldie Hawn in Laugh-in back in 1968), she has a luminescent smile, and an ability to make even the most improbably dialogue or action believable.
I have to be honest and say that, to my enormous surprise, I choked up when the happy ending arrived. I think this is more a comment on me than on the movie, though.
So I enjoyed this movie despite it not being very good. But then, I could sit and look at a photograph of Miss Hudson and be fairly pleased!
My Best Friend's Girl is a case in point. Tank has an unusual occupation - young men who have been dumped by their girlfriends pay tank to take the girls on a Date From Hell, following which they come screaming back, having realised the value of what they had earlier rejected. Tank's best friend and flatmate Dustin has fallen for Alexis, who dumps him on the grounds that he's moving to fast for her, and they both need to play the field a bit more. Dustin gets Tank to do his worst, but Alexis doesn't so much see through him as find herself enormously attracted to him despite his uncouth facade. A steamy relationship ensues in the course of which Tank begins to fall for Alexis. Various developments involving Dustin, Tank's father, and Hilary (a prim Christian who Tank "charms" by taking her to specialist pizza joint Cheeses Crust, which serves crucifix shaped pizzas) convince Tank that Alexis deserves someone better than him, so he provokes her into dumping him by some spectacular misbehaviour at her sister's wedding. But, of course, he realises that this was a mistake on his part, and a happy ending eventually ensues.
Tank's Date From Hell routines are, of course, the source for much of the film's crudeness but, as is usual with a certain type of film, a wholly unnecessary amount of bad language runs right the way through.
I'm easily pleased with films. This one made me laugh a fair amount - always helpful in a comedy, I find - and I walked out of the cinema satisfied, but it really isn't a very good film - almost everything is wrong with it. The plot doesn't bear any sort of sensible examination, the motivations don't work, people don't react in any way realistically (there is no way Alexis would take Tank back following his behaviour at the wedding, for instance), Tank's character is inconsistent (the film wants to have its cake and eat it, but if Tank was fundamentally decent then he simply wouldn't be able to behave as he does), and the ending is bolted in so blatantly that the nuts haven't been tightened. And Dane Cook (as Tank, not an actor I had encountered before) doesn't have an ounce of endearingness in his body.
But there are two big strengths. Alec Baldwin puts in a terrific turn as Tank's selfish, shallow Jack-the-lad father, and Kate Hudson lights up the screen every second she's on it. Looking and sounding more like her mother than ever (and, without giving too much away, 16-year old me fell big time for Goldie Hawn in Laugh-in back in 1968), she has a luminescent smile, and an ability to make even the most improbably dialogue or action believable.
I have to be honest and say that, to my enormous surprise, I choked up when the happy ending arrived. I think this is more a comment on me than on the movie, though.
So I enjoyed this movie despite it not being very good. But then, I could sit and look at a photograph of Miss Hudson and be fairly pleased!