Movie Analysis

I chose to analyze the movie “How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days” starring Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson. Both Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson are famous in many movies therefore making people want to see the movie even before they know anything about it. There are many different lenses of rhetorical analysis that apply to this movie; but the one I feel is the most important is gender. The cast of the film is all women except for Matthew McConaughey, and the main theme is mistakes women make in dating situations. The genre of the film is that it is a classic “chick-flick” type of movie that is geared specifically toward women. It like all other "chick-flick" movies is very formulaic and predictable, yet so many women still like to see it.

The movie focuses on a woman that is trying to win over a guy she wants to date in 10 days as a project for Cosmo, the magazine company she works for. There are many themes throughout the movie. The themes all which pertain to women which is most likely what makes the movie so comedic for the women watching it. Some themes throughout the movie are dating, love, fashion, and the magazine Cosmo. The movie also is very stereotypical of women in that it assumes all women are really emotional and easily become attached to men. It also assumes all the different mistakes women make in relationships.

Pathos is one of the rhetorical strategies that most applies to this movie. There is a lot of emotional appeal throughout the movie to try to intrigue the audience to want to see more. Generally when trying to persuade an audience of all women pathos can be very effective because it has been proven that women think of things very analytically.

Overall this movie was effective at targeting the audience and gender of women that like romantic comedies. Other audiences would most likely not find this movie very interesting or entertaining.