Matthew McConaughey on the red carpetImage via David Parry/PA Images/INSTARimages
By
Chris McPherson
Published Feb 22, 2026, 7:40 PM EST
Chris is a Senior News Writer for Collider. He can be found in an IMAX screen, with his eyes watering and his ears bleeding for his own pleasure. He joined the news team in 2022 and accidentally fell upwards into a senior position despite his best efforts.
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Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents:
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One of the most iconic 2000s romantic comedies is once again lighting up streaming platforms, currently available on Paramount+ and Peacock, where it’s quickly become a comfort-watch favorite all over again. Twenty-three years later, Matthew McConaughey’s peak rom-com era is clearly undefeated.
Directed by Donald Petrie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days stars Kate Hudson as Andie Anderson, a magazine writer tasked with creating a column about driving a man away in (you guessed it) ten days. Unfortunately for her, the man she chooses — charming ad executive Ben Barry, played by McConaughey — is simultaneously betting he can make any woman fall in love with him in the same timeframe. Chaos, yellow dresses, and one very stressed-out love fern ensue. The supporting cast includes Kathryn Hahn, Annie Parisse, Adam Goldberg, Thomas Lennon, and Michael Michele.
Back in 2003, critics weren’t exactly swooning. The film holds a 42% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. But audiences? A much warmer 77%. More importantly, fans showed up. With a reported $50 million budget, the film grossed $178 million worldwide, becoming the 25th highest-grossing movie of 2003 and one of the most successful rom-coms of its era.
So, Is 'How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days' Worth Seeing?
The iconic Roger Ebert skewered the movie with a 1.5 star review. He felt that How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days rests on a rom-com premise that feels fundamentally flawed — asking audiences to root for two people who are knowingly deceiving each other — and never quite overcomes that built-in emotional hurdle. The review argued that this structure undermines the romance at its core. Instead of inviting viewers to invest in two people falling naturally in love, the film asks them to sympathize with characters who are lying, misdirecting, and intentionally hurting each other.
"These characters descend from the moribund fictional ideas of earlier decades, and must react in horror, run away in grief, prepare to leave town, etc., while we in the audience make our own bets, about their IQs. Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson star. I neglected to mention that, maybe because I was trying to place them in this review’s version of the Witness Protection Program. If I were taken off the movie beat and assigned to cover the interior design of bowling alleys, I would have some idea of how they must have felt as they made this film."
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is streaming now.
How to Lose A Guy In 10 Days
Like PG-13 Comedy Romance Release Date February 7, 2003 Runtime 116 minutes Director Donald Petrie Writers Michele Alexander, Jeannie Long, Kristen BuckleyCast
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Kate Hudson
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Matthew McConaughey
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Matthew McConaughey
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