A Guy Thing (PG-13) ★½

A groom-to-be wakes up with a beautiful stranger in his bed after his bachelor party and, not remembering what happened, proceeds to try to cover up whatever evil deed he thinks he's done. Except this ''deed'' changes his life.

Story

A Guy Thing's premise is standard and remarkably uneventful. Paul (Jason Lee) thinks marrying the sweet and perfect Karen (Selma Blair) and working for his tough soon-to-be father-in-law Ken (James Brolin) is the best thing he's got. Until he meets Becky (Julia Stiles), the girl he wakes up with after his wild bachelor party. Paul can't remember what happened but assumes the worst and tells Karen a little lie to cover it up. His friends tell him it's fine, it's ''a guy thing'' and he shouldn't feel guilty, but in the week before his nuptials, he watches the whole thing blow up in his face. See, Becky is Karen's free-spirited cousin, a girl who lives life to the fullest. Even if Paul wanted to forget Becky and the apparent incident, he can't, especially when he realizes he is beginning to have feelings for Becky and that maybe Karen isn't the right girl for him. Oh boy, he's got some s'plaining to do. This is life, folks--these are the tough choices you've got to make. Or so that's what the film wants us to remember when we walk out of the theater, with our sides splitting from laughing so hard. Right.

Acting

After last year's stinker Stealing Harvard, one would have hoped Jason Lee learned his lesson--but apparently not. The thing is, the guy is talented. He's shown great comedic flair alongside director Kevin Smith (Chasing Amy) but it's obvious his judgment has been impaired somewhere along the way. Lee looks like he is sleepwalking through most of the film, as Paul does nothing more than react to all the craziness around him, typically coming to his senses just in the nick of time. Blair (Legally Blonde) once again plays the country-club princess to a tee, but someone please give this actress something meaty for a change. She can handle it. Yet, it's Stiles who surprises you in A Guy Thing. Venturing into a balls-out comedy for the first time, she just seems so out of place in the romantic comedy milieu. You think it isn't going to work but then suddenly you realize she's grown on you, and Becky's gangly, klutzy style becomes the only refreshing thing in this tired genre movie. Larry Miller also makes a hilarious appearance as Paul's minister neighbor who has seen the whole ''guy thing'' transpire. Funny stuff.

Direction

Someone really needs to tell why these vacuous romantic comedies keep getting made. A Guy Thing portends to be different, claiming the comedy comes from real-life choices, rather than from outlandish, unbelievable situations. OK, then it makes sense Paul would climb out his future in-laws' bathroom window to escape seeing Becky, only to get hung up on a tree limb, then get shot at by big bad daddy Ken, and then have to climb back in the bathroom, and wind up squirting a shampoo bottle into the toilet to make it seem like he was having gastric problems to those listening outside the bathroom door. Sure, that happens, all the time. Comedy works best when it's a tad outrageous, and don't think A Guy Thing is anything but, although it fails most of the time. Still, under the guidance of director Chris Koch (Snow Day), the film has a few laugh-out-loud moments, including the rehearsal dinner scene where a pharmacy technician caters the meal (don't ask) and spikes the gravy with marijuana, resulting in priceless reactions from some veteran actors such as Diana Scarwid and Julie Hagerty playing the two mothers. The actual meaning of ''a guy thing,'' which can ultimately be defined as a guy's inclination to back his buddies up, also gets explained in a few hilarious ways. Overall, though, it's just one formulaic moment after another.

Bottom Line

A Guy Thing is just about as predictable a romantic comedy as you can get, save for a few laughs here and there. Unless you're hard-up for something to see or perhaps on a first date, give it a pass.