Andrew McMurtryREVIEW: My Best Friend's Girl (2008)
October 25th 2008 08:47
"My Best Fiend's Girl" is a funny film. It is yet another RomCom for Dane Cook, who seems to enjoy these roles. Cook plays Tank Turner, the professional jerk. He is basically hired by guys to date ex-girlfriends who have broken up with them recently, taking them on the worst dates of their lives so that they go running back to the guys. This is a pretty simple thing to do for Tank as it's one of the only things he is good at. But when his cousin Dustin, played by Jason Biggs hires him to win back the girl, Alexis (Kate Hudson), he thinks he is dating, it all goes pear-shaped and Tank begins to fall in love with Alexis, and vice-versa, behind Dustin's back. As you can see already, there are plenty of opportunity for off-colour jokes and gags. But one of the main things that disappointed me about this film after all the things I have heard about it is that there were long periods where the story is established that there are not many laughs. It wasn't a comedy where you just laugh all the way through, which I enjoy the most.
The actors in this film are pretty well known. Alec Baldwin shows just how good and funny he is as the womanising, role model father of Tank. Kate Hudson is the girl that everyone seems to want. By the way she looks amazing in this movie. Lizzy Caplan's Ami is the sex obsessed roommate of Alexis who is good for comic relief but is used very sparingly. Jason Biggs is Dustin and he is very confused and jealous. He also seems a bit clingy. He seems to be the male version of Ami and plays the role of comic relief as well. And of course Dane Cook's Tank is the focal point of the story. All of them play their roles well.
The one thing I felt this story showed was after Tank had been on the date. All the guys he was doing this for were much worse than he was. They mistreated their women and expected that that would be enough to stay with them. Tank learns through the course of the movie, even very early on in the movie when a guy who's girlfriend comes running back to him comes out of a bar with a random chick, that these guys are jerks and don't deserve their women. Eventually the question falls to Tank and he is forced to ask, "Am I good enough for her? Am I the best that she can do?"
I enjoyed this film but I've felt like I've seen it all before. The Romantic Comedy genre is falling a little bit flat with countless films being released every year and just too many to name. What sets this film apart is that it tries to approach it from a little bit of a smutty comedic way with plenty of off-colour jokes. This made it enjoyable for me because I am a bit of a child when it comes to that kind of comedy. Also Alec Baldwin shows just what a great actor he is in a small roles as Tanks dad. I'd give this film 2.5 out of 5.
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