Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		2.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.0

A Guy Thing Blu-ray Movie Review

Not a guy thing at all.

Reviewed by Casey Broadwater August 18, 2011

“Gut-busting laughs! A date movie that men can appreciate too!” So says the blurb on the back of A Guy Thing’s Blu-ray case—courtesy of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel—but allow me to present an opposite perspective. Most men won’t appreciate A Guy Thing, but neither will most women. And that’s because the film is a stale, relatively laughless endeavor that seems cobbled together wholesale from bits and pieces of other better, funnier, more heartfelt rom-coms. It’s not an awful movie—it doesn’t inspire outright eye-rolling or hatred—but it is entirely forgettable and not worth revisiting. Or visiting in the first place. Let’s start with the fact that it was directed by Chris Koch, who hasn’t helmed a feature since, and whose only prior film credit was 2000’s Nickelodeon disaster, Snow Day. Not exactly a confidence-inspiring pedigree. “But the cast isn’t bad!” you might say, and there I’d have to agree. Jason Lee’s presence makes the film moderately more tolerable—he is indeed a guy’s guy—and both Selma Blair and Julia Stiles are great performers. The thing is, all three seem wasted here, in the service of a script that tries too hard (and not hard enough) to capture the zany energy and non-stop gags expected of the genre.

Looks like Paul just got lei'd.

A Guy Thing takes place during the hectic week leading up to the nuptials of likeable middle-class average joe Paul Coleman (Jason Lee) and his slightly annoying but far from despicable fiancé, Karen (Selma Blair), who comes from a comparatively rich family. We know Paul’s an upstanding sort of fellow because he’s trying really hard to stay sober and sane at his Hawaiian-themed bachelor’s party, despite being egged on by his friends. The next morning, however, he wakes up with grass-skirted tiki-dancer Becky (Julia Stiles) inexplicably in his bed. Of course, no sooner does he realize his gaffe than his mother-in-law phones to announce that Karen will be at his place any minute. Paul frantically tries to get Becky out the door, but in the rush, she leaves her bikini bottoms behind. And here’s where the movie completely loses me. Instead of burying the underwear in the bottom of the trash can, like a sensible person, or even throwing them out the window of his apartment, Paul stashes the panties in the top tank of his toilet. Later, when Karen inevitably finds them, Paul concocts an off-the-cuff story about how he bought the panties for her out of an “underwear bin,” but realized when he got home that they were, shall we say, soiled. Karen calls the store to see if this story checks out, and the male cashier—knowing this is “a guy thing”—helpfully lies and verifies that yes, they do have an underwear bin, and yes, some pesky kids have been leaving poop-smeared items in it as a joke. Hilarious.

But let’s get back to the film’s key premise. (Or gimmick, if you’re feeling less charitable.) Becky—surprise, surprise—is actually Karen’s cousin, which naturally complicates matters. What if she gets drunk and spills the beans about her night with Paul during Thanksgiving dinner? As if the film needs additional plot machinations, Becky’s maniacally jealous ex-boyfriend Ray (Lochlyn Munro), a corrupt cop, has photos of Paul and Becky together, and the two decide that they should break into Ray’s place to steal the negatives. During the course of this little heist, Paul and Becky—yes, you guessed it—begin to fall in love. Where Karen is staid, conventional, and a little snippy, Becky is the proverbial manic pixie dream girl, freer, happier, directionless but in love with life. I’m not really sure what the film is getting at. Presumably, we’re supposed to see Paul as a guy who needs to learn to loosen up and take some risks, but he just comes across as an ass for sneaking around behind his fiancé’s back. Karen isn’t the kind of shrill, all- controlling bridezilla Paul would actively want to leave; they’re just not good for each other. You kind of feel sorry for her, and as if recognizing this, screenwriter Greg Glienna—who wrote the original 1992 version of Meet the Parents—has contrived a rather unbelievable way for her to get her happy-ever-after moment too. The film’s altercation-at-the-alter climax is dull—save for a few funny, throwaway lines from Larry Miller as the priest—and the predictably sappy dénouement is as cornball as they come.

Did I mention that the film’s idea of comedy is Paul catching crabs off a men’s room toilet seat and frantically scratching his crotch during a board meeting? I suppose that one’s for the guys. The film feels burdened by an obligation to deliver these kinds of hijinks as a way to string the fellas along from one otherwise boring scene to the next. The cook spikes the rehearsal dinner gravy with marijuana. Paul gets accidentally shot at by his gun-happy future father-in-law (James Brolin) and hides from Becky at a family party by pretending to have explosive diarrhea. (Sound effect provided by Lee squeezing the contents of a shampoo bottle into the toilet.) None of this is very funny. It’s not so much that the actors have bad timing and can’t sell the jokes, it’s that we’ve all seen these same sight gags done numerous times before. And done better. I pity the actors. After memorable turns in several Kevin Smith films, plus supporting roles in Vanilla Sky and Almost Famous, Jason Lee’s career has been wildly inconsistent. (I don’t think I need to mention his role as Dave Seville in the Alvin and Chipmunks movies.) A Guy Thing seemed like his shot at leading man status, and while he’s likeable here—mugging and smirking as usual—the material just isn’t any good. Likewise, Blaire’s substantial comedic talents are underused, while Stiles seems as though she were teleported in from some better romantic comedy. She’s the only one who comes out of this mess looking composed. Or bankable.

A Guy Thing Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

A Guy Thing's 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer looks to me like it was sourced from an old master, which was itself taken from a less-than-ideal print. The image is perpetually dull and murky and noticeably soft, and this—combined with the specks and flecks that dot the picture—make the film look much older than it actually is. 2003 wasn't that long ago. Film grain is extremely heavy—suggesting what we have here is a copy of a copy —and though there are no signs of DNR or excessive edge enhancement, the image doesn't really look natural. Overall clarity is barely improved over standard definition quality. Even in close-ups, truly fine detail in facial and clothing textures is obscured by pervasive softness. Color has a flat, lifeless appearance as well. Contrast seems shifted too far towards black, with detail crushed in shadows and an overly dim quality in most scenes. There are no compression issues besides some light noise—which is hard to spot amid the chunky grain structure—but you get the sense that this is hardly an ideal presentation of the film.

A Guy Thing Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The film's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track fares better, if only because we don't really expect much from rom-com sound design. As is usual for the genre, A Guy Thing is heavy on dialogue, accompanied by occasional pop numbers, a "whimsical" score, and some obligatory ambient effects. Outside of the music, which is lightly bled into the surrounds and has a pleasant dynamic presence, the rear channels are limited to quiet city traffic, bar noise, crickets, birds, and other similar environmental sounds. It's hardly immersive, but it works in the context of the film. Most importantly, the vocals are always unmuffled and easy to understand. In short, the track does what it needs to do and little more. Optional English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles are available.

A Guy Thing Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary: If you'd like to watch the film again—for whatever reason—and you're worried you might not have the patience, you could always flip over to this better-than-the-movie-itself commentary track, which features director Chris Koch, Jason Lee, Julia Stiles, Selma Blair, and Thomas Lennon.
• Inside A Guy Thing (SD, 18:38): A longish making-of featurette, comprised of interviews with all the major players.
• Bachelor Party Confidential (SD, 9:14): The film's cast and crew talk about the bachelor party tradition.
• Groovy Gravy: Making the Scene in A Guy Thing (SD, 5:25): A short making-of piece about the shooting of the pot-laced gravy scene.
• Deleted Scenes (SD, 17:02): Includes seven deleted scenes, with an optional introduction from the director.
• Alternate Endings (SD, 8:14): Three, count 'em, three alternate endings, none of them any good.
• Gag Reel (SD, 11:49): You read that right, a nearly 12-minute gag reel.
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:21)

A Guy Thing Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A Guy Thing is yet another entry into the stop-the-guy-from-marrying-the-wrong-girl subset of romantic comedy, and it's a dull one at that. Unless you're some kind of serial collector of rom-coms the world should've forgotten by now, I'd stay away and look elsewhere for love and laughs. If it helps, know that the film just doesn't look very good on Blu-ray; if you've already got the DVD, I see no real reason to upgrade.