January 17, 2003 | A Guy Thing is a good movie that occasionally appears poised to turn into something better, or at least edgier. Here and there amid the lightly amusing fluff, you will find an unexpected quirk, a perversely amusing flourish, or a totally twisted supporting character. Indeed, there are times when you may almost wish the producers has entrusted the project to co-directors Bobby and Peter Farrelly, to fully maximize the mondo-bizarro subtext.
Even so, there’s no denying that the guy who was hired, director Chris Koch (Snow Day), gets appealing performance from his leads, and colorful turns from his supporting players. Just as important, Koch also hits almost all of the right notes, and very few of the wrong ones, while maneuvering through the tricky stretches where his largely traditional romantic comedy briefly detours into oddball absurdity.
If you’re looking for an actor who looks like a standard-issue romantic lead, but often hints at inner wild-and-craziness, you can’t do much better than Jason Lee. The appealingly off-centered actor is exceptionally well cast as Paul, an advertising executive who’s ready to marry his boss’ daughter in just a few days. But on the night of his bachelor party at a Hawaii-themed lounge, Becky (Julia Stiles), a novice hula dancer, literally stumbles into him at the bar. One thing leads to another – but maybe not as many others as we might think – and Paul wakes up the next morning with Becky lying asleep in his bed next to him.
Paul panics, and with good reason: Karen (Selma Blair), his beautiful yet hopelessly conventional fiancée, is moments away from dropping by to discuss their wedding arrangements. So Paul unceremoniously shoos Becky out of his apartment – who, all things considered, is a good sport about being shooed – and assumes that will be the last he ever hears of this one-night stand.
Of course, there would be no movie if he were right, so he’s wrong.
Sure enough, Paul can’t keep from running into Becky. First, he spots her on the highway, working as a toll collector. (In the world according to romantic comedies, one’s inability to keep any job for very long is empirical proof of free-spirited nonconformity.) Then he sees her, and she sees him, in the elegant home of Karen’s parents. That’s because – yes, you guessed it! – Becky just happens to be Karen’s cousin.
So far, so predictable – right? Truth to tell, A Guy Thing earns relatively few points for the originality of its plot. But it amply increases the amusement quotient by periodically adding new characters to the mix. For instance, there’s Ray (Lochlyn Monro), Becky’s psychotically possessive ex-boyfriend, a steroid-raging supercop who’s willing to plant evidence on romantic rivals. There’s Buck (David Koechner), Paul’s rowdy stepfather, a good-ol’-boy who worships John Wayne almost as much as he loves Paul’s mom (Julie Haggerty). And there’s Pete (Thomas Lennon), Paul’s brother, who does a lousy job of disguising his longtime crush on Karen.
But wait, there’s more: A boozy grand-aunt, a suspected mugger, a sympathetic salesclerk, a rotund yet graceful dance instructor, a pharmacist who uses a very special secret ingredient when he moonlights as a caterer – and a disapproving minister (an unbilled, scene-stealing Larry Miller) with little regard for his neighbor, a suspicious young man who shoos novice hula dancers out of his apartment.
There’s so much going on with so many people – the supporting cast also includes James Brolin and Diana Scarwid as Karen’s uptight parents, and Shawn Hatosy as Pete’s best friend – that, inevitably, a few folks get lost in the shuffle. Blair doesn’t have much opportunity to flesh out a thinly written role. And even Stiles, one of the most promising actresses of her generation, is seriously short-changed. The movie is supposed to pivot on Becky’s irresistibly kooky charm, and her ability to lure dutiful Paul away from the sane and sane path. But we have to take that irresistible largely charm on faith, because the movie certainly doesn’t give Stiles sufficient time to work her magic on screen.
Still, the movie does manage to offer some clever variations on its central running gag: Guys will instinctively cover for other guys, and forgive a guy for acting like a guy, because every guy knows every other guy can’t help acting like a guy. That may not make A Guy Thing a good date movie, however. Perhaps it’s best appreciated by groups of guys who wants to celebrate their guyness, and groups of gals who want to know how guys really behave.
