Jason Lee is a prime example of a very talented actor who has the chops to make primo movies yet consistently star in cinematic fecal matter such as “A Guy Thing”. Lee continues starring in half-baked terrible films like “Dreamcatcher” and “Stealing Harvard” and continues to waste the talents he presents in his past films. “A Guy Thing” has the plot of a sitcom with a storyline done to death and is inevitably doomed to the fate of posing as an hour and a half long big screen commercial sitcom and is just as bland. Lee has shown promise in films like “Chasing Amy”, “Dogma” and the excellent “Almost Famous” in which he managed to steal most of the scenes he was in, but Lee has proved that though he’s excellent as a supporting actor, he just can’t hack it as a leading man yet.
He always has this sly, intelligent demeanor which gives him the appearance that he’s always one step ahead of the other characters, such presented in “Almost Famous” and nearly every Kevin Smith films he’s been in, but if he continues the range of lemons and half-assed films, he’ll just have to fire his agent, or have someone else choose his roles.
“Stealing Harvard”, a film I approached optimistically, disappointed me on every note, and I expected this to be at least watchable, and even that didn’t hold up. Sure, I’m not blaming Lee for this terrible film, I’m just distraught at his poor career choices being a fan of him, I’m blaming the writers who developed such a hackneyed plot, and the director who creates a fluffy and mindless decorum, but we’ll get to that.
In Lee’s latest lemon, he stars as Paul Coleman, an uptight guy who is about to get married to his fiancé Karen. The week before (usually a bachelor party is held a couple of nights before, but hey, where would the plot be?) he has a bachelor party and befriends one of the restaurant’s dancers Becky; but the next morning he awakes to find himself in bed next to Becky, unsure about whether the two engaged in sexual activity the night before considering he never really does take a drink of alcohol in the club, and doesn’t have a hangover the next morning. So, in a desperate scramble he attempts to conceal his late night encounter and pulls it off well up until the wedding rehearsal dinner and discovers Becky is his fiancé’s cousin! Oh, don’t tell the Roeper’s! That Jack Tripper! Now, Paul must conceal his late night escapade and attempt to dodge Becky’s psychotic cop boyfriend who is stricken with jealousy and intends on make his life miserable.
This has the right cast of actors, all a talented bunch ‘o folks but this fails miserably. Somehow Paul manages to conceal his escapade while never really finding out if he and Becky had sex or not; but keeps on running into a series of wacky mis-adventures in an attempt to cover up his little rendezvous including a desperate scene in which he attempts to hide Becky’s panties, and when he tries to dispose of nasty pictures of himself taken by Becky’s psychotic boyfriend which keep on turning up after constantly being discovered by his next door neighbor’s son. By the way, his next door neighbor his a minister, an obvious gag that is thankfully preserved by the always hilarious Larry Miller. Then when he notices that Becky, the girl he was with is his fiancé’s cousin, the script has the character Paul engage in more “Three’s Company” gags including faking diarrhea, and climbing out the window, hiding in a tree, and being shot at by his father in law played by the under-used James Brolin.
The entire film and all of the gags felt so much like a sitcom it was hard to actually enjoy the decent acting by the decent cast who just don’t deliver their lines with much enthusiasm. Everyone looks simply bored, which is sad and just a waste of damn good talent in the film. As would be required, Paul begins growing fond of Becky as they team up together to take on her psychotic ex by sneaking into his house and retrieving the pictures he has of Paul; but there’s barely any focus on her character, that we never really understand why Paul likes her other than her sheer attitude for adventure.
She’s merely a one-dimensional character with a one dimensional personality, and their relationship and chemistry are so artificial and forced. The antics continue and more actors are put to waste including Selma Blair who is reduced to a shrill caricature, and Thomas Lennon who plays Paul’s brother. The ending is as predictable as the film, and sums up the sensibility of the plot: forced, artificial, and bland. Yet another terrible “comedy” under Hollywood’s belt by wasting a cast of great actors, this poorly script, sloppily directed film never draws a laugh within its sappy happy ending, and obvious gags and plotline that is suitable for a sitcom.