Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • 3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)
    • 3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)
    • 3625. Ode To Joy (2019)
    • 3624. One Chance (2013)
    • 3623. Falling For Figaro (2020)
    • 3622. The Polka King (2017)
    • 3621. Spies In Disguise (2019)
    • 3620. Friendzone (2021)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»2258. My Best Friend’s Girl (2008)

    2258. My Best Friend’s Girl (2008)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on August 24, 2018 100-109 mins, 2008, 6 - 7.9, Comedy, Drama, Movies Of 2018, Review, Romance, United States
    7.0 Fun at times, but a little confused
    • Acting 7.4
    • Directing 6.6
    • Story 6.9
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: Dane Cook, Kate Hudson, Jason Biggs

    Director: Howard Deutch

    Running Time: 101 mins


    My Best Friend’s Girl is an American film about a man who makes a hobby out of taking women on deliberately awful dates to show them how good their ex-partners are, however when he takes his best friend’s ex out, he starts to feel something different for her.

    This film was a bit of a mixed bag for me. Although it is in truth a funnier and somewhat more interesting film than your fair share of romantic comedies, it takes a bit of a hardline approach to the genre, with its brand of comedy a little too heavy and rude at times for what seems like a simple rom-com. On the other hand, when things do go a bit sappy and cutesy, they’re just as jarring, meaning the film as a whole, while enjoyable, is a little all over the place when it comes to really finding your feet with it.

    Let’s start off on the bright side, however, with the fact that this film is pretty funny for the most part. Although not a comedic masterpiece, the jokes here were far more consistent than I expected, and the range of very entertaining performances from Dane Cook, Kate Hudson, and especially Alec Baldwin in a surprise supporting role, who’s pretty much golden every time he appears on screen.

    Secondly, the film does a really good job at establishing its characters effectively throughout the story, giving you a good idea of each of the players’ personalities in a way that’s more interesting than the typical guy and girl from the genre.

    Of course, I’m not going to suggest that the story is in any way particularly original, however the fact remains that thanks to an effective and entertaining opening act where you see Dane Cook acting as much of a rude idiot as possible, there’s an impressive clarity and swiftness to the way the story pans out here.

    Unfortunately, that clarity and swiftness isn’t quite the same across the whole movie. I won’t deny that I actually had some good fun with My Best Friend’s Girl, and it’s a film that exceeded my expectations, but its unavoidable biggest problem is the fact that it doesn’t know just how out there, or just how generic it wants to be.

    The big difference between this film and your average rom-com is the fact that its comedy is a lot less fluffy. In that, there’s more swearing, more nudity etc, meaning that the film loses the potential to be a simple throwaway comedy that you can just smile along to throughout.

    Fortunately, that harder comedy works well in the story’s context, given that it centres around a man who acts deliberately rude for a hobby/job. Unfortunately, it really doesn’t sit well with the moments that crop up by formula in the rom-com genre.

    At times, you move from this rather hard and dark sense of humour to something very fluffy in the space of an instant. Particularly in the final act, when more formulaic rom-com service is resumed, the movie really struggles to balance its two distinct characteristics, meaning it’s a bit of a confused and jarring watch, and doesn’t quite provide the entertainment possible with a good base across the board.

    Overall, I was surprised by My Best Friend’s Girl. It’s a generally enjoyable watch with some good laughs and a different approach to the rom-com genre, however it fails to establish itself perfecctly due to a bit of a mixed and confused atmosphere between harder comedy and lighter generic romance, which is why I’m giving it a 7.0.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. Since January 1st, 2013, he has watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    7.1

    3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)

    5.8

    3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)

    7.9

    3625. Ode To Joy (2019)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    5.3
    January 17, 2022

    3620. Friendzone (2021)

    7.1
    January 10, 2022

    3612. The Lost Daughter (2021)

    8.0
    January 7, 2022

    3609. Licorice Pizza (2021)

    7.2
    January 7, 2022

    3608. Lamb (2021)

    7.4
    December 30, 2021

    3599. The King’s Man (2021)

    6.3
    December 29, 2021

    3598. The Matrix Resurrections (2021)

    8.4
    December 28, 2021

    3597. West Side Story (2021)

    6.3
    December 27, 2021

    3596. Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)

    Recommended Movies
    8.8
    Review
    March 26, 20190

    2500. American History X (1998)

    8.2
    Review
    October 23, 20140

    728. Fury (2014)

    8.0
    Review
    November 11, 20150

    1148. Exit Through The Gift Shop (2010)

    8.4
    Review
    January 22, 20140

    427. This Is England (2006)

    8.5
    Review
    August 31, 20160

    1471. Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

    Popular Posts
    7.1
    January 24, 2022

    3627. I Believe In Miracles (2015)

    5.8
    January 23, 2022

    3626. The Man With One Red Shoe (1985)

    7.9
    January 22, 2022

    3625. Ode To Joy (2019)

    7.4
    January 21, 2022

    3624. One Chance (2013)

    6.3
    January 20, 2022

    3623. Falling For Figaro (2020)

    7.5
    January 19, 2022

    3622. The Polka King (2017)

    6.0
    January 18, 2022

    3621. Spies In Disguise (2019)

    © 2022 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.