MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL (MA) Starring Kate Hudson, Dane Cook
Directed by Howard Deutch

Tank is a complete arsehole. He celebrates his capacity – “emotional terrorism, it’s what I’m good at” – and has turned his obnoxious skill-set into a revenue stream.

Jilted men hire Tank to give their ex-girlfriends such an outrageously bad time, they’ll come running back to their jilted men. Springing as it does from a deeply misogynistic layer of disquiet, there’s small wonder that Howard Deutch’s comedy elicits so few laughs. When Tank’s flatmate books him to win back the affection of a colleague, the expected happens.

And therein Deutch’s secondary problem: how to generate freshness from such a familiar story, and one that idiotically signposts its intentions from the title. There are no winners, just more bad ideas. As the relationship inevitably falters, Tank turns to a repugnantly foul-mouthed tutor of women’s studies for guidance. It gives Alec Baldwin some fun chewing scenery while swearing; so at least someone’s having a good time.

It’s pretty hard to tell what My Best Friend’s Girl aims to say about couples in general, and arseholes in particular. Something about women needing an emotional savaging to realise their place in the world. One thing is certain, steer well clear of screenwriter Jordan Cahan’s nasty ideas about relationships and how they work.

- Colin Fraser