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MOVIE REVIEW

My Best Friend’s Girl

MPA Rating: R-Rating (MPA) for strong language and sexual content throughout, including graphic dialogue and some nudity.

Reviewed by: Cindy Taylor Clark
CONTRIBUTORfirst-time reviewer

Moral Rating: Extremely Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Adults
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Length: 1 hr. 41 min.
Year of Release: 2008
USA Release: September 19, 2008 (2,500 theaters)
DVD: January 13, 2009
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Featuring Kate Hudson, Dane Cook, Alec Baldwin, Chris Brown, Andrew Caldwell, Lizzy Caplan, Diora Baird, Jason Biggs, Nate Torrence, Jenny Mollen, Kate Albrecht, Mini Anden, Taran Killam, Riki Lindhome, Amanda Brooks, Andria Blackman, Malcolm Barrett, Rakefet Abergel, Sophya Gudelman, Mark Adair-Rios, Roger Dillingham Jr., Tom Kemp, Kevin DeCoste, Melina Lizette, Paul Azarian, Whitney Avalon, Taylor Hannah, Michael O'Toole, Eamon Brooks, Jaqueline Goldhagen, Tony V., Alexander Fagan, Hilary Pingle, Kal Thompson, Mike O'Toole, Scott Winters, Michele Proude, Nadine Preston, Patrick Canty, Maureen Keiller, Kimmie Johnson, Giovanni Pantaleo, Josh Alexander, Sean Paul Cormier, Alberto Bonilla, Richard DeAgazio, Adam Lopez, Cassandre Fiering, Steve Flynn, Ben Skinner, Rob Rota, Jaime De La Rosa, Christopher Tranchina, Mike Wendt, Michael Kelly, Dean Kreyling, Michael Tarshi, Ryan Spevak, Steve Scarfo, Douglass Bowen Flynn, Jimmy F. Wilson, Fraser Townley, Michael J. Peluso, Susan Gross, Rob Lavin, Fethi Bendida, Jack Burke, Robert Masiello, Frank Hsieh, Frankie Imbergamo, Jonathan Mattarocchia, Edmund J. Janas, Michael J. Wyatt II, Vincent J. Earnshaw, Christopher Rocha, Darren Tow, Grant Elliott, John P. Russo, Matt Witek, Lawrence Hollie, Katie Thiroux, Mika Nishimura, Sam Dechenne, John Replogle, Toshi Richardson, Robert Stringer, Robert Fennessy II
Director Howard Deutch
“The Replacements,” “Pretty in Pink,” “The Whole Ten Yards,” “Grumpier Old Men”
Producer Guymon Casady, Dane Cook, Mike Elliott, Adam Herz, Jerry P. Jacobs, Doug Johnson, Barry Katz, Gregory Lessans, Michael Paseornek, Josh Shader, Brian Volk-Weiss
Distributor Distributor: Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. Trademark logo.Lionsgate (Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.)

EDITOR'S NOTE: The reviewer was not able to obtain a rated copy of this film, therefore she watched the unrated DVD version.

“My Best Friend's Girl” is just another representation of all the movies about a love triangle gone wrong. I has it all, betrayed friendships, poor views on love, and plenty of profanities. There are some scenes that can draw a chuckle, but most of the content is just too crude to be funny.

This story revolves around Tank (Dane Cook), who is a sex-seeking, controversial bachelor with a hobby of being the worst date ever, for a price. Many ex-boyfriends hire Tank to deliberately make their ex-girlfriends miserable, offended and shocked for a first date. In doing so, the men hope that their ex-girlfriends will come crawling back to them.

All goes well in this eventful film until Tank's best friend, Dustin (Jason Biggs), has to hire Tank because his girlfriend Alexis (Kate Hudson) breaks it off with him. Unfortunately, things do not go according to the plan. This adds a corky twist to the otherwise uncharming situation.

This film is well put together, and the actors are great, but this story is too heavily lathered in crude situations and vulgar language. In one scene, there is an adult joke that is told to children. In another, there is a very poor tasted joke about a priest, rabbi and a little boy (you get the picture). This film would be a fun and entertaining story, if it did not contain all of the very inappropriate material. Overall, I cannot recomend this film.

Violence: minor Profanity: extreme Sex/Nudity: extreme

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Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive
Positive—This movie is for adults. Period. But I think with the negativity this film has seen on this page I should shed some light on the subject. I work in the industry and study film and entertainment. I think that the problem most people have today with films such as this one is that they focus on the negatives without looking into the positives that a film such as this has. Granted it is not a Speilberg epic with unforgettable cinematography or a Woody Allen masterpiece with groundbreaking technique; it is a romantic comedy and it's purpose is entertainment and escapism. I believe that in our current culture, in order to get people thinking about positive ideas, messages, and beliefs, a film may need to begin at the same place most Americans are in today. The language and vulgarity present in the movie is obviously not something that I could recommend to any children. However, if adults can stomach it and look into the good of the message this film portrays, they will see a story of redemption and hope. If you are sensitive to crude language, I would steer clear of this movie. Only you can know how you would react to a “crude comedy.” But, if hilarious awkward situations and positive messages are a must, I can strongly recommend this film. It's hilarious.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Mike, age 19 (USA)
Negative
Negative—First of all, I laughed out loud fairly often. And then felt a bit like I needed a shower for having done so. Mostly, I think it was from shock that the actors said something or did something so unacceptable it was hard to believe. And let me assure you, this is NOT a movie for kids, even teens. The language is as raunchy and pornographic as the movie “Super Bad,” and the adolescent sexual humor is about the same. I only wanted to see the movie because I like Kate Hudson and hadn't seen her do anything along this line, so figured it couldn't be that bad.

…She and Dane Cook have good chemistry. Their “witty banter” is portrayed as an old school style of one-up-manship that is supposed to emphasize the characters underlying love for one another.

But, the insults they sling at each other in the end scene, supposedly to parody their first drunken date and meant to clue each other in that they each really want each other, are so insulting and sexually disgusting that it just doesn't play. Nor does it fly that the other diners in the restaurant are enjoying and playing along with the language and sexual slurs. Dane Cook's manner of trying to be honorable in the end crisis does not make sense at all, nor seem the steps his character would take given the emotional changes he has gone through. One scene that really disturbed me and made me pray that my teens don't ever see this, involved Kate Hudson's character's attitude toward dating and sex. Her boyfriend takes her out to dinner to say he loves her, and she responds, 'We haven't even had sex yet—how can you know you love me?!'

He asserts that he wants to take it to that next level, i.e., sex. She retorts, “Sex isn't a level, moving in is a level.” In other words, sex is a given when you're dating casually. Yikes! She then breaks up with him so she can get more experience with sex with other guys, before she commits to the guy she knows is Mr. Right. Overall, this was simply an avenue for Dane Cook, to be Dane Cook. BTW, no condoms or other birth or disease control measures were shown, but you'll get abundant examples of drunken infidelity.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 4
Karen, age 43 (USA)
Movie Critics
…Romcoms don’t get more toxic than this depressing stew…
Stephen Garrett, Time Out Chicago
…raunchy… A funny, high-concept idea that goes downhill fast…
The Hollywood Reporter
…This Boston-set romantic comedy is an extension of Cook’s crass stage routine. … vulgar frat boy antics…
Tenley Woodman, Boston Herald
…an ugly, strictly-for-meatheads comedy that can only be recommended to couples who wear matching Tie Domi Toronto Maple Leafs jerseys out on a date. …
Stephen Cole, The Globe and Mail
…a racy comedy, which aims to be tasteless (it often is) and romantic (it mostly isn’t). …
Laura Kern, The New York Times