Movie Review: My Best Friend's Girl

Kim Brown - Tulsa World

Sep 24, 2008

My Best Friend's Girl - **1/2

Here's a shocker: "My Best Friend's Girl" isn't at all what it's advertised to be.

In the trailer, it looks like the typical R-rated romantic comedy of late. Filled with dirty jokes and preposterous situations, it often takes a lot of movie magic to make these films worthwhile.

But thanks to a good cast and consistently funny material by screenwriter Jordan Cahan, "My Best Friend's Girl" actually works despite its gimmicky setup.

Comedian Dane Cook is finally in his element here. He's not the nice, earnest guy whose bad behavior is tolerable, as in last year's awful "Good Luck Chuck." He's the bad-to-the-bone sleazy guy who seems to have zero redeemable qualities.

The very "blue" comedian has finally found a role that suits him perfectly -- he's the anti-leading man, if you will.

Appropriately nicknamed Tank, Cook is so foul that friends pay him to date their exes so that he can subject them to "emotional terrorism." He takes these women on the worst dates of their lives, only to make them realize how wonderful their exes are by comparison.

Tank is so good at being bad that his best friend, Dustin (Jason Biggs), hires him to horrify his potential girl, Alexis (Kate Hudson). Like most of the characters she plays, Hudson is the dream girl -- funny, smart, athletic. She's a "serial monogamist" and her roommate encourages her to play the field for a change.

But this time, Tank's game plan backfires: instead of being horrified by all his tricks, Alexis plays it cool and goes along with this date from Hades. Alexis then gives Dustin the "just friends" speech and decides to casually date Tank, who is no doubt falling for her.

Cook's bawdy performance redeems him as a comic leading man to be reckoned with, and after all this horrible behavior, it might seem impossible for him woo the sunny Hudson. But "My Best Friend's Girl" is one to be reckoned with.

MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL

two and a half stars

Starring: Kate Hudson, Dane Cook

Running time: 1 hour, 43 minutes

Rated: R (strong language and sexual content throughout, including graphic dialogue and some nudity)

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