#79 - A Guy Thing - 2003

The 2nd movie I decided to watch this week was the 2003 romantic comedy A Guy Thing. I remember seeing this one for the first time at home on dvd and really enjoying this film. I hadn't heard much of Jason Lee at the time but I did think he was hilarious in Chasing Amy and he has obviously gone on to much bigger things since then, most notable My Name is Earl. This sleeper hit was really good and very enjoyable. Below is my detailed review.

As mentioned above this film's main star is Jason Lee who plays the character Paul. Selma Blair plays his fiancé Karen and her cousin, Paul's eventual love interest in the film, Becky, is played by Julia Stiles. James Brolin, David Koechner, Julie Hagerty, and Thomas Lennon also star in this film. Both Paul and Becky were my favorite characters in this movie however Tomas Lennon always seems to steal the scenes he is in for every movie he is in. That is truly one funny actor. Just the way he carries himself, he is so damn funny!


This movie had a great story and a wonderful cast to fill that story. It was important to have a lively bunch since this film surrounded a wedding and two familiar merging as one. All of the family members were great but my favorite was Buck played by David Koechner. He was Paul's father in the film and his sense of humor and redneck style was just too funny. He is always good in the films he is in and this was no different. One of the funnier scenes was when he was holding a draw contest with Becky and another person at the Rehearsal Dinner and when I say draw I mean an imaginary old western draw contest with fake guns and all. He is just one funny dude!

The beginning of this film had one of my more favorite scenes in the entire film. It was when Becky is part of the hula dancers at Paul's bachelor party. The awkward dancing was so adorable and you could tell she was not quite comfortable being a hula dance. After all it was her first night. I thought right from the beginning she was really cute in this film. Throughout the film I thought it was funny that she had 4 different jobs. A Hula dancer, toll taker, record store employee, and bartender. It all fit well with her character though because she was very independent and free.


The scene where Paul wakes up next to Becky after his bachelor party was every guy's nightmare. I mean can you imagine having this happen to you? On top of that the mother in law calling to notify that his fiancé Karen was on her way over only made matters worse. Paul's behavior during this scene was typical of what you would probably see in real life and you almost feel bad for the guy. Things obviously got worse for him when Becky turned out to be Karen's cousin and he saw her at a family dinner a few nights later. How awkward would that have been? Gotta be honest though there is no way that diarrhea lasts an entire dinner so that was a little stretched. If you saw the movie you know what I mean.


Ray, Becky's ex boyfriend who is a crazed lunatic cop who is obsessed with her was a very funny character as well. Played by Lochlyn Munro this character was perfect for this actor. He played a similar role in Dead Man on Campus and he has that crazed hyperactive personality so this made him a great fit for the role. Larry Miller also had a small role in this film as Paul's neighbor who is a priest. His interactions with Paul's are quite funny and seeing him up there at the altar at the end of the film only added more humor to the end especially considering that he saw Becky come out of Paul's place originally and his son also found pictures of Paul and Becky in a trash bin outside their apartment complex which Ray had gotten from a Private Investigator.


From the incredibly embarrassing "crabs" scene at the drug store to the phone call made to Spinmart about the dirty underwear all the way to the pot laced brownies at the Rehearsal dinner this film had plenty of humor to fill its run time. In probably my favorite sequence of the film Paul describes who mugged him to police officers after Ray had been the actual perpetrator. Paul obviously could not state who it really was so he created someone, a very interesting someone. He states he was about 5'6 or 6'2, not sure. Weird red braided hair, very different looking. Barb wire choker tattoo and a scar over his left eye. In order to complete this fake suspect he said he was both white and black. There's a description for you huh? To his amazement the next day he gets from the cops stating they believe they found the suspect. This guy ended up being the taxi driver at the end of the movie when Paul and Becky get into his Taxi.


Overall I thought this was a very funny movie! Kind of like Employee of the Month in the aspect that this wasn't your typical romantic comedy but still there was enough there to include it in this week's movies. Don't worry though I have some Mathew McConaghy movies on the way so those are true romantic comedy flicks! As for this one, I really like it and would easily give this one a B+!