"How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" is another lightweight, cookie-cutter romantic comedy in which the two leads, seemingly at odds with each other, manage to find love. Though it has almost nothing you haven't seen before, the movie was a big hit, and still manages to be pretty entertaining in spite of itself, coasting a long way on the appeal of its stars.

Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) is a magazine columnist who writes a lot of fluff, but would much rather tackle more serious issues. After her best friend, Michelle (Kathryn Hahn), gets dumped by her boyfriend, Andie gets an idea for the column, and sets out to write about things women do to drive men away. As evidence, she plans to find some schmuck, completely insinuate herself on his life, and drive him away within ten days. As her subject, she selects Benjamin Barry (Matthew McConaughey), a single and successful ad agent, who's currently hoping to land a lucrative jewelry account. Unbeknownst to Andie, however, is that Benjamin has taken a bet that he can find a woman to fall in love with him in the same amount of time. If any viewer is surprised at the outcome of this movie, then they obviously don't watch very many movies. But, as they say, getting there is half the fun, and there's quite a bit of fun to be had watching these two plot and scheme (in the meantime, truly falling for each other - duh). There's a great scene in which Benjamin and Andie attend an NBA playoff game; during the last few seconds of the game, Andie insists he go gets her a soda, figuring it would irritate the crap out of him. Not wanting to do anything to lose his wager, Benjamin obeys, missing the last crucial seconds. Another related (and funny) scene is when Andie informs Benjamin she has tickets, which he assumes are for the next playoff game, but turn out to be for a Celine Dion concert. Also funny is when she disrupts is ritual poker games with his buddies, and her "cute" nickname for is, uh, wanky. Aside from the humor, there are some surprisingly good tender moments, like when Benjamin brings Andie to meet his family. Again, the film gets a lot of mileage on the charm of the two stars, both of whom manage to be endearing despite the fact the both spend most of the film deceiving each other. Not all of the movie works, though. It IS phenomenally predictable, and neither McConaughey or Hudson, considering their terrific performances in such films as "Frailty" and "Almost Famous," exactly stretch themselves here. Worst of all is the climactic verbal sparring match the two engage in, on stage, during a crucial social event that could impact Benjamin's career; it's clumsy, embarrassing, and threatens to undermine the whole picture.

Paramount presents a great DVD transfer, with a crystal clear picture, free of grain or scratches. Colors tones are accurate and the black levels are sharp. As for the soundtrack...this is pretty much a dialogue-driven film, so the sound, while suitably adequate, isn't going to knock anyone's socks off. There's not much creativity with the film's sound....there probably doesn't really need to be, either.

There's a pretty decent smattering of extras on this disc. Director Donald Petrie offers a sometimes interesting audio commentary, which should please die-hard fans of the film. Also included are several deleted scenes, with commentary by Petrie. There's a couple of short features which include cast & crew interviews, and the use of various New York locations. Keith Urban's video for the song, "Somebody Like You," is also here.

Movies like this are like going to McDonald's for lunch; it's nothing special or surprising, but at least you know what you're going to get, much like renting or buying the latest James Bond epic. "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" is a decent variation of a familiar recipe, and fans of McConaughey or Hudson are sure to love it.