Magazine columnist Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) has a very unusual assignment and a rapidly approaching deadline.

She has to write a first-hand account of all the things that women do to inadvertently drive men awayand she's got to do it in 10 days.

Now she's on a mission to find a guy, get him to fall in love with her, then make all the classic dating mistakes so he'll dump her. Too bad Andie's target is ad agency hunk Benjamin Barry (Matthew McConaughey), who has just made a high-stakes bet with his boss that he can make a woman fall in love with him in 10 days.

Does a faux relationship based on deception stand a chance in a world where everyone says they are looking for honesty? You can bet on it!

At its core, the new romantic comedy How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is a metaphor for the games people play in their unconscious efforts to protect themselves from genuine intimacy.

Revolving around two very charismatic individuals who look like they belong together but who are in a situation that has disaster written all over it, the film is full of surprises.

Director Donald Petrie says that besides the on-screen appeal of the two main stars, what he finds most endearing about How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is its unpredictability.

"My initial barometer for a funny script is, did it make me laugh out loud, and this one did," says Petrie. "It's filled with flip-flops and unexpected curves which really make it stand out from other films in the romantic comedy genre."

Kate Hudson believes her character, Andie Anderson, is someone both men and women will be rooting for. "Andie is a savvy New York working girl who has bigger aspirations than writing about mascara and laser treatments," says Hudson.

"She's the girl that everyone wants to be and the kind of woman every guy wants to date. Of course, while she appears to be perfect, she's not. She's afraid to be vulnerable just like most of us. After all, there's so much more to risk when you let down your guard."

McConaughey believes that his character, Benjamin Barry, is very similar to Andie.

"Women are going to just love Ben," says McConaughey. "He shows amazing patience under extreme duress. And men are going to totally relate to how Andie tests this poor guy to the max. I mean, she rearranges his bathroom, she changes his music, she redoes his apartment and she even invades his poker game.

"Still, I found myself actually rooting for them to get together," admits the actor. "They both have walls up, and when they finally let down the barriers and for a moment become real with one another it's very gratifying."

Adam Goldberg, who has had supporting roles in such films as A Beautiful Mind, says that he was proud to play one of McConaughey's sidekicks (Tony) in a film "as cleverly written" as How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

"This film definitely isn't just a chick flick," the actor points out. "A lot of guys are going to know exactly what Matthew's character is going through. Besides that, it's a smart picture."

April 16, 2003 15:00