A Guy Thing
MGM Distribution | Release Date: January 17, 2003 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
27
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
8
Negative:
18
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
Film ThreatKevin Carr
Gets off to a rocky start as you try to rationalize Lee’s place in the plot, but it soon has enough surprises and funny moments to keep you watching to the end. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Actually is a bit of a hoot. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Never going to be remembered as a tying-the-knot screwball classic (it probably won't be remembered past March), but one could do worse. Read full review
60
Village VoiceAnya Kamenetz
In her role as Becky the half-assed tiki girl, Stiles's left-footedness can finally be named, only one of the many pleasures tugging this girl-snatches-guy-from-altar comedy a notch above standard. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
While it displays precious little originality or ingenuity, A Guy Thing is less graceless than most of its ilk and benefits from a likable cast. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Sometimes funny, often strained comedy. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The formulaic mechanical plot machinations benefit greatly from the presence of the vivacious Stiles, gravely beautiful Blair and personable Lee, who radiates fundamental decency without seeming like a sap. Read full review
50
New York PostLou Lumenick
You could do far worse in the current marketplace. Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyHazel-Dawn Dumpert
Transcends its video-box-shelf-filler pedigree only when it's actually indulging in guy stuff, mostly of the frat-boy, beer-commercial variety. Read full review
40
VarietyDennis Harvey
Does get slightly better as it goes along. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderStaff (Not credited)
I didn't buy half of the movie's scattershot gags, but the leads are sharp and the supporting cast sturdy. Read full review
38
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
You might believe that a movie comedy requires no visual rhythm, and that entire scenes -- especially those big set-pieces -- benefit greatly from a shooting style devoid of imagination and unremittingly flat. If so, A Guy Thing is surely your thing. Enjoy. Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
The stars have little opportunity to engage their characters. The gang-written screenplay and Chris Koch's artless direction turn their scenes into a series of broad, overplayed comic sketches. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeTy Burr
A pleasant, thin, hammerlocked movie about the pleasures of breaking free - it's the Cliff Notes version of anarchic classics like ''Bringing Up Baby'' or ''What's Up, Doc?'' Should you want to take the graduate course, you'll find those films at your video store. Read full review
30
SalonStephanie Zacharek
Stumbles along laboriously, its jokes following one after another in a sloppy, flat-footed walk. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
As middling comedies go, this is neither as smart as it ought to be nor as dumb as you'd expect. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesManohla Dargis
The three leads go through the motions with goofy geniality, and director Chris Koch has enlisted some consummate character actors -- to help hold up the sagging jokes and story line. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
A childish, empty effort. Read full review
25
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The bad thing about A Guy Thing isn't the talent of its stars but the warmed-over triteness of the material they're forced to work with. Read full review
25
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
There is humor in the familiar just waiting to be rehashed for new generations, and A Guy Thing surely isn't the last stupid leave-'em-at-the-altar film we're likely to see. Read full review
25
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Jason Lee seems to have been bitten by a vampire who sucked out all his prickly charisma. You see the promise of stardom dribbling through his fingers. Read full review
25
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
If ever a romantic comedy is going to fail at the box office, this is it. The movie isn't a guy's thing, a girl's thing, or anybody else's thing. Read full review
25
Rolling StonePeter Travers
If you ever admired Julia Stiles, Selma Blair and Jason Lee -- and who didn't? -- don't watch them crush their careers in this laugh-free romantic comedy. Read full review
20
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Perhaps Lee took a look at the script -- saw all the jokes about diarrhea, pubic lice, drunk old ladies, and drugged gravy, and thought, "Why bother?" Looking at the final results, it's hard to feel any other way. Read full review
20
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Most of the meager charms of the chaotic romantic farce A Guy Thing spring from the deft comic contortions of Hollywood's ultimate nerdy sidekick, Jason Lee. Read full review
16
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
Chris Koch exhibits little flair for comedic direction and, though this isn't saying much, you'd be better served watching his previous film, "Snow Day." Ouch. Read full review
10
Washington PostDesson Thomson
For about 10 minutes, it works. Read full review
10
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Tries desperately to lower the bar for scatological gags, rank sexual humor and cheap physical shots. Read full review
0
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Designed as a disposable commodity, it's a film I'd dispose of with no further ado, except for what it says about minimum standards in a certain tacky niche of the movie business, as well as for what it suggests, in its lunkheaded way, about the perils that marriage may pose.
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