Life > February 13, 2003

By Natalie Bonomo

Old Gold and Black Reviewer

If you have been fortunate enough to avoid firsthand experience with dating horror stories, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days will provide you with enough for multiple lifetimes and then some.

Director Donald Retrie has had his share of experience with romantic comedies, having directed past hits Mystic Pizza and Miss Congeniality. Based on the book, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, the Universal Don’ts of Dating, the film offers an exclusive look into what it’s like to date a girl that, at times, resembles a deranged Kathie Lee Gifford clone. 

Set in New York City, the premise, although improbable, is promisingly riotous. 

Andie Anderson, played by Kate Hudson, is a how-to columnist for Composure magazine — think Cosmopolitan with fewer letters. Stuck writing about cuticle care and diet pills, she longs to write about issues that truly matter to her, such as the starving children of Tajikistan.  And you thought no one cared. 

Inspired by her friend’s floundering love life and hoping that she can prove to her editor that she is good enough to write articles about political issues, Andie decides to write a column on, you guessed it, how to lose a guy in 10 days. 

Matthew McConaughey plays Benjamin Barry, advertising executive who yearns to leave behind his days of sports equipment and beer commercials so he can move on to more prestigious items