A Guy Thing (Special Edition) [Import]

Great fun movie to watch.

I usually watch the trailer on Youtube to see if I like it before purchasing. Everyone's taste is different and this is why I watch the "movie trailer" rather than go by reviews.

Paul Colman (Jason Lee) is reluctantly having a bachelor party. He innocently buys a bear for an inept hula girl (Julia Stiles) that was part of the entertainment. He wakes up to find her in his bead and is fianc' on the way. From there it is one situation after another and snowballs. Will he ever straiten it out with his fianc'? And what is to become of the hula girl?

Yes the first thing you will notice is that this is formula. The whole reason we pick a genera is because we like to see variations on a formula; who can do it better and what different twist can be placed in the story and keep it on track. If this had been played with some actor that had to rely on past films reputations like Adam Sandler the film would not work.

My favorite scene was the one where Paul (with a strait face) tells Karen that the panties (obviously used) she is holding came from a bin at a discount store. She dials up the store for verification.

One added plus to the movie is Larry Miller as Minister Ferris who knew or suspected everything and could not tell. See him again when he can really branch out in "Radioland Murders" (1994) and "Undercover Blues" (1993).

"A Guy Thing" is more of a formula than a story. It increases more on the rules of romantic comedy, and it decreases on originality. It stars Jason Lee, Julia Stiles, and Selma Blair. None of the actors I had a problem with, but the storyline could have had alot of work done to it. The movie could have been much better if it ignored the standard features of a romantic comedy. If this movie dared to be original, it would have been so much better. The movie did have some funny moments, and good characters, but I have seen this kind of movie before, and I want to see it done better. The movie could be described by the movie's tagline. "Boy Meets Girl, Boy Meets Girl's Cousin." It's pretty obvious what the movie is about, and how the movie is going to end.
The movie is about Paul. Paul is an ad salesmen who is getting ready to be married in one week to Karen. He works for her father, Ken, and he is ready for his bachlor party which is being thrown by his brother Pete, and his friend Jim. The entertainment for the party are hula girls, and among them is Becky. Paul gives his groom hat to Jim, and the next mourning he finds himself in bed with Becky, because she doesn't know that he is the groom to be. Paul doesn't remember what happened between the two, rushes Becky out, and then finds Karen coming in seconds later. This begins a seris of lies that start by Jim telling him never to tell Karen what happened between him and Becky. The problem really starts at a dinner party with Paul's parents, Karen's parents, her Aunt Budge, and Karen's cousin who happens to be Becky. Paul has to have Becky assure him that she will never tell anybody anything about what may or may not have happened between them, but the situations gets complicated when Becky's crazy cop ex-boyfriend and gets jealous of him. As Paul's wedding day comes closer and closer, he tries to cover up everything that he lied about, so that this whole thing could end.
"A Guy Thing" is a pretty good movie, but has the ability to make it be better. It follows the three rules for a romantic comedy.
1)The main characters best friend needs to be the dumbest person in the cast.
2)There always has to be one character that knows everything that is going on.
3)The main character's othr half is always clueless until the end.
Those three things are in every romantic comedy including "A Guy Thing." It is alright for movies to be different. I enjoyed the movie and it was a great way to spead an hour and a half. It was funny, smart, it was well acted, and it had some original material, but other than that it was the same old thing. "A Guy Thing" was in the theatre, and I saw it there, but this movie is better to watch on DVD.
ENJOY!
Rated PG-13 for language, crude humor, some sexual content and drug references.

I'm a fan of Julia Stiles, so getting this DVD at the bargain price of £8.99, when every other website was selling it for £11.99, £13.99 and £19.99 was, well, a bargain! But all the laughs fall rather flat I'm afraid. You're predicting what's going to happen to poor old Paul before it even happens!
Jason Lee and Julia Stiles both played their parts well, although it seemed like they were struggling to hold the film up by themselves. Selma Blair was just wrong for her part. Courtney Cox Arquette could have done it much better, as basically, all Selma was doing was playing Monica from Friends. Controlling, annoyingly tidy, very organised, all those kind of things. You know what I mean if you're a fan of Friends. Most of her scenes seemed awkward and dumb, and don't show off any of Selma that we know and love. She's grown up, and is unrecognisable as the gawky girl she was in Cruel Intentions, but she still carries some of that gawkiness around with her in her acting.
The extras and the fact that Paul starts to "forsee" what COULD happen if he tells the truth are the good things about this movie. The forseeing happens intermittantly, not so much that it starts to bug you, but appears without warning, and you think it's happening - but it's not. The extras are hilarious. Especially the interviews with the cast. It has to be seen to be believed, as they start making up how stories about each other (the Jason Lee playing the "diva" and attacking an intern is so funny)
Otherwise, this movie is just a less successful Forces of Nature. Did anyone notice the similarities? I'm sure there's other films like this one, but I can't think of them. I've seen them though.