January 9, 2009
Movie review
'My Best Friend's Girl'
Rating: 
Now that Judd Apatow's twin blockbusters "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up" have changed the rules of romantic comedy, mixing crude-dude humor with girly love-stuff to bring both genders to the box-office, the R-rated imitation "My Best Friend's Girl" probably won't be the last of its ilk. The movie spends a lot of time trying to be cute, vulgar and cutely vulgar. But it forgets about character, plot and believability.
Mostly it's banking that you'll turn out to see the stars, and they are an appealing group. Kate Hudson plays Alexis, a feisty blonde who's half-heartedly dating her smitten co-worker, Dustin (Jason Biggs). Desperate to shine brighter in her eyes, Dustin turns to Tank (Dane Cook), a professional jerk who gets paid to take women on lousy dates -- the idea being that Dustin, by comparison, will look like the catch of the century. As you might guess, things don't turn out that way.
The whole concept rests on the idea that women generally have limited intelligence: Alexis is apparently the first to realize that she has more than just two options. The self-satisfied script sounds like it was written by one of the swingin' stags in "Entourage," or perhaps by Vince Vaughn's character in "Wedding Crashers," rather than by a real person who presumably has met real women. (Jordan Cahan gets the credit.)
Occasionally, director Howard Deutsch taps into the natural charm of his actors: Cook makes a fairly convincing and likeable rake, while Biggs is as loveable as a puppy. Alec Baldwin makes an amusing appearance as Tank's womanizing father. And Hudson gives off her usual golden glow. Still, there's no rising above the material, which manages the double trick of insulting your intelligence while also grossing you out.
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PLOT A professional cad who gets paid to mistreat women unexpectedly falls in love.
CAST Kate Hudson, Dane Cook, Jason Biggs.
LENGTH 1:43.
PLAYING AT Area theaters.
BOTTOM LINE A typically clunky and jarringly vulgar romantic comedy that repeatedly squashes the few signs of life in its appealing cast. (Rated R; nudity, sexuality, profanity, vulgarity)
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