A Guy Thing is one of those harmless comedies characteristic of a bygone era of feel good films that came along about 10 years too late for its own good. It’s not that it isn’t funny or that it’s poorly acted, but rather its style of humor is a bit too innocent and overt for most audiences these days. The story, what there is of one, is a weak premise serving as nothing more than a skeleton for a chain of gags to hang from, leaving Julia Stiles and Jason Lee to carry the brunt of the weight from start to finish. Sadly, A Guy Thing desperately needs the duo as without it the film would have almost nothing go in its favor, making it ultimately another footnote in the legacy of mediocre comedies.
Sick of the attention his bachelor party brings him, Paul (Lee) hands off the title to his best friend for the night (Shawn Hatosy) and makes friends with ill-suited tiki-stripper girl Becky (Stiles), waking up with her the next morning. A scramble ensues as Paul attempts to cover up his one-night fling and get his marriage to outspoken Karen (Selma Blair) started with the wedding just on the horizon. The plan would have gone off without a hitch except Becky turns up just about everywhere, including Karen’s parents’ house as her cousin. Panic grips Paul and Becky as they realize their one-night stand could now have lasting repercussions amidst a series of misadventures and run-ins with Becky’s control freak, jealous boyfriend. Things spin further and further out of control as the wedding approaches and Paul begins to wonder if he’s made a mistake, with each hour spent with Becky showing him just how uptight his bride-to-be is by comparison.
For whatever reason, that Becky is Karen’s cousin is supposed to be meaningful even though virtually every consequence stemming from their “knowledge” of one another has to do with that first night. What’s more, the writers could have made the familial link between Becky and Karen count in other ways, but for whatever reason they write in exceptions that force encounters between Becky and Paul making that link moot once again. So why bother? Isn’t it enough to have the girl he connected with at his bachelor party pop up over and over again? It turns out that having her related to Paul’s fiancée makes no difference whatsoever, and yet the writers wasted so much time milking that for anything they could get.
To make matters worse, the comedy the film does cram into its bloated runtime has little to do with the subject at hand and feels more like the writers using any excuse to write in some bit gags and embarrassing situations that would have no place in any other story. The only reason A Guy Thing doesn’t crash and burn entirely is because it has a rather capable cast to keep it skimming just above the ground. Jason Lee has always been good at portraying the irritated and ever-so-slightly desperate funny man that A Guy Thing depends on to keep its series of near-misses comical. It’s pretty clear that Stiles’s presence here is a piece of typecasting, using her knack for sarcasm yet again. It works, true, but it doesn’t feel like anything new for Stiles. The rest of the cast is filled with comedy veterans like David Koechner, Thomas Lennon, and James Brolin playing to their strengths but who, like Stiles, don’t show us anything new.
The HD transfer is respectable, but it adds nothing to the film as it has nothing visually interesting up its sleeve. Similarly, the audio is good, but nothing special for a Blu-ray release.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
For a comedy aiming for par, the extras on the disc are plentiful including a rather funny audio commentary with Director Chris Koch, Lee, Stiles, Blair, and Lennon, a general behind-the-scenes featurette, a scene analysis, deleted scenes, and a gag reel.
"A Guy Thing" is on sale July 5, 2011 and is rated PG13. Comedy. Directed by Chris Koch. Written by Greg Gilenna. Starring David Koechner, Jason Lee, Julia Stiles, Selma Blair, Thomas Lennon.
