Oh, the timeless love triangle: It's pretty much the setup for every human story ever told since Homer's time, and we bear witness to it again in Julio DePietro's directorial debut, "The Good Guy." In this post−recession glimpse into the dating world of twenty−somethings in Manhattan, Tommy Fielding (Scott Porter) is a cocky, charming Wall Street suit engaging in a budding romance with Beth Vest (Alexis Bledel), another young urban professional.
It's clear from the start that things somehow will go awry, as Tommy is first pictured begging for help outside Beth's apartment as she enjoys the company of another man. Enter Daniel (Bryan Greenberg), an all−around sensitive soul whose favorite book is Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" (1813). Daniel happens to be Tommy's protégé both in the Wall Street office and in life. Tommy begins to narrate his story from the start of the romance, which gives "The Good Guy" somewhat of a unique edge: It's a romantic dramedy from the male's point of view.
Half of the film is set in the high−powered sales office of a Wall Street bank. Tommy is a successful salesman and juggler of million−dollar clients. The environment is cutthroat and full of bluffs and lies — a mirror to the romantic side of the film. When one of his team's underlings leaves the office, Tommy promotes Daniel, an ex−military computer techie, and takes him under his wing. Soon the two are out on the streets of Manhattan, exploring the nightlife, hopping bars and trying to pick up women.
Much of the attempted humor is derived from this "makeover" portion of the film. Tommy has a certain amount of pity for Daniel and tries to mold him in the image of a proper Wall Street hotshot. He tells Danny at one point, "I'm not telling you the way things should be, but the way they are," and proceeds to impart the wisdom of what clothes to wear and what women like to hear. Tommy is joined by his Wall Street posse of similarly minded men. They're condescending and misogynistic to everyone around them, reminiscent of the banter in a high school locker room.
On Beth's side of Manhattan, however, her clique of female friends meets in the back rooms of chic Soho coffee shops and discusses their latest book club picks. Much of their conversations are about the men in their lives, and here the source of comedy comes in the form of cynical, man−hating friends.
Overall, "The Good Guy" is filled to the brim with one−liner quips about the nature of dating. The characters, especially the protagonists, are not bland and archetypal; on the other hand, they do not say anything particularly thought−provoking or original. Audiences have seen shadows of these characters in every romantic comedy that has come out in the last five years, and thus will likely feel emotionally disconnected from the film.
DePietro tries to paint an honest picture of the dating landscape of Manhattan, especially the lifestyles of ambitious Wall Street professionals. The contrast, however, between the lives of young men and women as depicted in the film is unsettlingly clichéd. The men frequent stripper clubs and bars and find entertainment in breaking piñatas full of prescription drugs. Meanwhile, the women eat designer desserts and provide endless support for each other when faced with cheating boyfriends and loveless lives. The so−called comedy portion of the movie draws solely from commentary on these typical gender roles.
"The Good Guy" eventually takes a twist that gives the entirety of the film a different meaning, but it's nothing that will neither shock nor awe an audience. The characters meet their deserved endings, and the audience can safely exit this 102−minute slice of life unscathed and unimpressed. All in all, Beth, Tommy and Danny are people the audience will not likely remember. Their story is like the gossip one hears from a friend of a friend — interesting for a while, but quickly forgotten.
