In quite a strange parallel, the film quality of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days follows its own plotline: just as magazine writer Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) uses clichéd dating faux pas to "lose" advertiser boyfriend Benjamin Barry (Matthew McConaughey), the film uses every single romantic comedy cliché. And just as Ben loves her despite her huge dating blunders, the film is likeable despite the trite plot line.

Insofar as such a film can be likeable. Granting accolades to it is a bit hard to stomach since the entire production felt like one massive cop-out by director, producer, cast, and crew. How to Lose A Guy could perhaps have had some merit as a film (besides basic entertainment value) if only anyone had cared enough to put forth a little originality, a little effort, rather than following the simple plot prescription used for every single romantic comedy shelled out by formulized Hollywood.

Do producers really believe an imaginative new film involves two cute actors falling in love, falling out of love, then falling back in through an unbelievably sickening make-up scene? Apparently so, judging by this latest effort, which centers around above-mentioned main characters Andie and Ben.

Andie writes a How-to column for the fastest-rising women’s trash magazine around. Of course, what Andie really wants to do is write about politics… she just somehow got sidetracked into the glitzy glamour shoes and make-up. Uh-huh. And Britney Spears wishes she was a Senator.

Anyhow, Andie’s latest column is, well, the film title. But there’s a twist! When she heads out that evening on her manhunt, advertiser Ben just happens to be at her chosen hunting grounds. Even better, his boss and two female coworkers have just bet him an advertising campaign that he can’t make a girl fall in love with him in ten days.

Boy meets girl, girl acts like a crazed lunatic, boy stays with girl for monetary reasons while both are surprised by the depth of their actual feelings. Okay, maybe the film does have a bit of a cynical take on the traditional love story. Only, however, for a few brief moments as director Donald Petrie, Jr. ponders his own money versus actual worth scenario (again, life mirrors art). Money wins, he takes the easy way out, and we’re left with one of the most unsatisfying endings in film history.

More disappointment stems from the rather mediocre performances of magnetic stars Hudson and McConaughey. Physically, both are endearingly attractive, but their acting lacks a certain sincerity and more importantly, quality. Yet their performances gain a little ground when chemistry practically explodes out of the scene during the only real romantic scene.

But the ending. Ack, the ending. It’s Notting Hill, it’s Sweet Home Alabama, it’s Two Weeks Notice, it’s everything any moviegoer has seen at least a million times before. It’s far-fetched, unrealistic, and seriously nauseating. White as snow, light as a feather, all that glitters is not gold, scared stiff— all are the verbal equivalents to this unforgivably hackneyed ending.

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is rated MPAA PG-13 for some sex related material.