Double Feature

August 2009 - As we move toward the dog days of summer, it's way too hot to be watching movies that require you to ponder underlying points. No, it's best to just play it safe and watch movies that don’t require any thinking at all.

A PG-13 flick called Down to You fits that formula perfectly. First love gets a second chance in this romantic comedy from 2000 starring Julia Stiles and Freddie Prinze Jr. Henry Winkler also stars. And, look for a brief appearance from Ashton Kutcher.

Prinze plays Al, a college student in New York who hangs out with friends named Monk and Eddie. Stiles is a freshman named Imogen. They get together one night and everything is great until the end of the school year. Imogen spends the summer abroad and comes back to school filled with thoughts of marriage. But, then there's a pregnancy scare that pretty much seals the deal for a break-up. They meet again a few years later when Imogen's job brings her back to NY.

Overall review: Ehhh, it was OK. The story is told by Al and Imogen in separate flashbacks so you don’t really know until the end, except that you do know from the very beginning, how it's going to end. Still, Prinze and Stiles had me invested in their characters. And, there’s a pretty neat parody of COPS involving Al and his dad.

If you want slightly more emotional depth, look to How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. It's a PG-13 RomCom from 2003 in which Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey play lovers with ulterior motives.

Hudson is Andie Anderson, a serious journalist who's paying her dues by writing a "how to" column for a fashion magazine. Inspired by a romantically challenged co-worker, she agrees to devote her next column to showing women the sure-fire ways to drive away potential suitors.

McConaughey is Benjamin Barry, an ad man whose niche is coming up with campaigns for manly products. But, the big money is in diamonds. Ben's boss says he can have a shot at the account if he can get a woman to fall in love with him in 10 days.

The middle of the movie is taken up with Andie doing everything she can to make Ben crazy. At a basketball playoff game, she asks him to get her a drink with only seconds left on the clock; she buys him a plant; she interrupts poker night with the guys. Ben puts up with it because he wants the diamond account - and because he really likes Andie. She's also falling for Ben, especially after a trip home to meet his family.

Overall review: Liked it. Hudson and McConaughey are easy to watch. And, the movie is entertaining up until the last 20 minutes or so. That's when Andie and Ben have the obligatory break-up followed by the obligatory make-up. But, up to that point, the film is laugh-out-loud funny in spots as Andie pulls out all the stops to drive Ben away.