Terry's Movie Reviews

“MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL” (Dane Cook, Kate Hudson & Jason Biggs)
Seen for $3 at East Valley, this one was ‘almost’ worth the reduced price of admission.
It has a few good laughs, but as far as character’s & storylines go – it’s a complete failure. First, it tries so hard to be like Wedding Crashers, it’s embarrassing at times, yet because it rips off a very funny movie some of the best lines/scenes are from the sister’s wedding segment.
Premise; Dane Cook plays Tank, a total scumbag whose regular job is being a telemarketer (Don’t you hate him already?) his hobby/sideline job is going out on dates with women who have recently broken up with their boyfriends & being such an a—hole that they come to appreciate what they had & go back to the lamoid they dumped. The lamoids in question pay Tank to provide this service.
Tank’s best friend Dustin (Jason Biggs) is in love with co-worker Alexis (Kate Hidson) but can’t seem to make it past the ‘buddy’ stage; when he finally blurts out ‘I love you’ during a casual dinner with Alexis, she ‘suggests’ they take a break from their friendship. Desperate, Dustin implores Tank to ‘work his magic’ on Alexis. Tank reluctantly agrees.
He ‘arranges’ a chance encounter with Alexis, gets her phone number & takes her out.
For some unknown reason Alexis decides to get roaring drunk prior to being picked up for her date with Tank. So when he plays obnoxious, women degrading rap songs & takes her to a strip club & forces her to watch him receive a topless table dance, she thinks he’s a fun guy... Until she invites him to have sex with her & he turns her down (because she’s Dustin’s girl) So Alexis is upset because Tank DIDN’T use & degrade her in bed the same way he did on their date... HUH?
Alexis gives Tank a second chance & they end up in bed together & become... bed partners – they rarely go out on dates, they just get together &... copulate.
Dustin catches them together, quits his job & disappears (& Alexis can’t put 2 + 2 together to figure out what’s been going on)
When Alec Baldwin appears as Tank’s father, Professor Turner, I thought there would be a redemption period, but no, Prof. Turner is even more shallow & degrading toward women than Tank could ever dream of being. Plus, this time Alec’s character just isn’t given any zingers to spout.
The movie then goes into ‘Wedding Crashers’ mode when Alexis’ sister Rachel gets married (Rachel Getting Married? I should have known this wasn’t going to work!)
& Tank goes to extremes to get EVERYONE at the wedding to despise him. Although these scenes made me laugh out loud, they were still ‘stolen’ from Wedding Crashers –
Tank talks dirty to a table full of children; Tank comes on to Alexis’ mother in a very crude manner; Tank gets drunk & drops Grandma during a dance & Tank eats the top layer of the wedding cake before its presented... You get the idea – overkill.
The word a—hole is used repeatedly to describe Tank – He proved it on their first date - & still, Alexis wants to be with this jerk? So why do we care if these shallow & stupid people end up ‘happily ever after’ or not? Answer – We Don’t. & that’s what makes this film POINTLESS. Characters that are void of having any ‘character’ outweighs the fact that there are some laughs sprinkled throughout the script. So, sorry, Cars fans – let’s hope the next song title of theirs that is made into a movie fares a whole lot better than this one... Hmm, “Shake It Up” doesn’t sound very promising; “Tonight She Comes” could be a porno; so I guess that leaves “Good Times Roll”... No wait, wasn’t that the title of Sonny & Cher’s failed attempt to become movie stars? All right, “Since You’re Gone” it is; the story of a guy that gets fed up with his job & runs the company truck into a horse statue to keep it from being towed & then has his longtime girlfriend break up with him right after he proposes to her... Uh-oh, I think I might be stealing this idea, I’ve heard that plot before somewhere...