“It’s a Guy Thing” is a classic tale of guy meets tiki girl, acquires pubic lice and falls out of a tree while feigning diarrhea.
The movie is centered around the events that transpire on the night of Paul’s (Jason Lee) bachelor party. A tiki dancer named Becky, masterfully botched by Julia Stiles, engages him in conversation, which brings us to the next morning when Paul rolls over in bed to find the naked entertainer sleeping peacefully.
A comedy of errors ensues as Paul must hide this episode from his fiancée, Karen (Selma Blair), and his soon-to-be in-laws. The problem — Becky happens to be the cousin of Paul’s fiancée.
The romantic comedy, although often stale and formulaic, has certain criteria upon which success can be judged. “A Guy Thing” comes up short in every regard.
Jason Lee and Julia Stiles recite their lines before the camera in a satisfactory way, but to call it acting is an insult to the art. Close-ups of Stiles’ pretty face are pleasing to the eye, but her vacant stares transmit nothing to the audience. While Lee’s style was well-suited for the dialogue-driven films of Kevin Smith, he isn’t capable of conveying a character of any emotional depth. The result is awkward and forced.
The main problem with the movie was the weakness of the script itself. The film hinges on making a believable romantic connection between Paul and Becky. The connection is muddled in recycled fart jokes and clumsy acting. On top of this, Paul’s fiancée is actually likable. Yes, she is prissy, and yes, a little overbearing, but at every turn she remains loyal and affectionate to her bumbling husband-to-be. The audience is compelled to sympathize with her. The whole plot implodes because Paul’s affection for Becky appears more like childish infatuation than the actualization of fate.
Most of the humor doesn’t work because the acting doesn’t allow the audience to form any bond with the characters. The audience doesn’t squirm in gleeful discomfort when Paul’s future mother-in-law almost catches him buying crabs medication at the pharmacy, because he fails to connect.
The movie’s most ambitious, and possibly, most ridiculous goal, is to tell the audience something about life and the nature of risk. Paul’s fiancée is supposed to represent the sure thing, a life of boring comfort. Free-spirited Becky is a risk with a potentially high payoff. She is exotic in a non-threatening way. She also speaks Chinese and has no qualms about exposing her navel. It was a noble effort, but in the absence of a script or acting, such a task is simply impossible. The film spreads itself thin by trying to do too much.
The film had some good points. There were a few surprisingly funny lines, delivered mainly through peripheral characters. There is also a bad cover of “Lust for Life” in the soundtrack. Unfortunately, it just isn’t enough to carry a weak script and poor acting.
