The Good Guy (film)

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.

Plot
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

 * Alexis Bledel as Beth Vest
 * Scott Porter as Tommy Fielding
 * Bryan Greenberg as Daniel Seaver
 * Anna Chlumsky as Lisa
 * Andrew McCarthy as Cash
 * Aaron Yoo as Steve-O
 * Andrew Stewart-Jones as Shakespeare
 * Denise Vasi as Suki
 * Jessalyn Wanlim as Jordan
 * Eric Thal as Stephens
 * Kate Nauta as Cynthia
 * Colin Egglesfield as Baker
 * Adam LeFevre as Billy
 * Jackie Stewart as Sofia
 * Monica Steuer as Florist
 * Darrin Baker as Bobby
 * Adrian Martinez as Larry

Soundtracks

 * The Helio Sequence - Lately
 * Let's Go Sailing - Sideways
 * Sam Champion - Like a Secret
 * White Denim - Let's Talk About It
 * Born Ruffians - I Need a Life
 * Atmosphere - Party Over Here
 * Wang Chung - Everybody Have Fun Tonight
 * The Helio Sequence - Don't Look Away
 * The Cliks - Oh Yeah
 * Ra Ra Riot - Can You Tell
 * Plushgun - Just Impolite
 * Mancino - Lavender Lake
 * Copperpot - The Art of Rap
 * Sam Champion - Be Mine Everyone
 * Rachel Platten - Seven Weeks
 * Stars - Your Ex-Lover Is Dead
 * Say Hi - Hallie and Henry

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

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."

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