The Good Guy is a 2009 romantic comedy film directed by Julio DePietro starring Alexis Bledel, Scott Porter, and Bryan Greenberg. The story is a loose adaptation of Ford Madox Ford's 1915 novel The Good Soldier, which is referenced several times in the film's plot.

The Good Guy
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJulio DePietro
Written byJulio DePietro
Produced by
  • Linda Moran
  • Rene Bastian
  • Julio DePietro
Starring
Edited byRay Hubley
Music byKurt Oldman and Tomandandy
Production
company
Belladonna Productions Movie Studio[1]
Distributed byRoadside Attractions
Release dates
  • April 26, 2009 (2009-04-26) (Tribeca)
  • February 18, 2010 (2010-02-18)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million[2]
Box office$106,460[2]

Plot

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Tommy Fielding is young, clever, charming, and attractive. He has got a smart, beautiful girlfriend, Beth, a young Manhattanite and urban conservationist. He's also very good at his investment broker job, impressing his ruthless, cynical boss, Cash. When a key member of Tommy's sales team suddenly leaves for a competitor, Tommy needs to fill his spot quickly, and takes a chance on the bumbling Daniel, a former avionics engineer and computer geek who seems a bit naïve about high finance and a bit nervous around women. Tommy takes Daniel under his wing, showing him how to dress, where to socialize, and how to charm attractive women. Their relationship is threatened when Daniel begins spending more time with Beth, joining her book club, and becoming her confidant. Tommy begins to question his decision to share his wisdom with Daniel, while Daniel is forced to decide what success really means to him, and where his loyalties lie in life. The relationship Tommy and Beth share is seemingly perfect, almost too perfect and this is the first indication that there is something not right about this dynamic. This is confirmed later on when Tommy is revealed to be a misogynistic womanizer he is. At the same time this superficial relationship is falling apart, a more organic and beautiful connection starts building between Beth and Daniel. They bond over books and deep conversations, which eventually survives.

Cast

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Soundtracks

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Reception

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On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 35% based on reviews from 26 critics.[3] On Metacritic the film has a score of 47% based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[4]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 3 out of 4 and wrote: "It has smart characters, and is wise about the ones who try to tame their intelligence by acting out."[5]

Andrew Barker of Variety wrote, that "Lacking much of a satirical bite, the pic's quasi-celebration of crude laddishness becomes oppressive."[6]

References

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  1. ^ The Good Guy film info
  2. ^ a b "The Good Guy (2010) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
  3. ^ "The Good Guy (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
  4. ^ "The Good Guy". Metacritic.
  5. ^ Ebert, Roger (March 3, 2010). "Wall Street party animals betting your money; one likes Nabokov". Chicago Sun-Times.
  6. ^ Barker, Andrew (17 February 2010). "The Good Guy". Variety.
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