How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)

Every relationship in this movie is a con, including the one you’re supposed to root for. She’s dating him for a magazine article, he’s dating her to win a work bet, and nobody comes clean until the plot needs them to. The middle section is a checklist of cringe moves. Andie makes him a photo album of their imaginary future kids, names a fern after their love, and turns a basketball night into a disaster, and some of it plays more mean than funny. At 116 minutes, it runs well past its own joke. But Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey are charming enough to cover a lot of sins. Her version of You’re So Vain on a club stage is a perfect bit of chaos, and the weekend with his big, loud family on Staten Island is the warmest stretch. It made $177.6 million worldwide on a reported $50M. A 6.2 because the setup is rotten and the leads sell it anyway. $213 says you see a fern at somebody’s house this week and ask whether it’s being watered properly.

What works: Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey have real chemistry, and the trip to his family’s house gives the movie some actual warmth.

What doesn’t: The whole romance is built on two lies, the sabotage bits sometimes feel more cruel than funny, and the movie runs long.

Who it’s for: Anyone who wants a cozy, low-stakes date night and can forgive two leads for lying through the whole thing.