''The Good Guy'' is a 2009

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

film directed by Julio DePietro starring

Alexis Bledel Kimberly Alexis Bledel ( ; born September 16, 1981) is an American Actor, actress and Model (person), model. She is best known for her roles as Rory Gilmore on the television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007) and Emily Malek in ''The Handm ...

, Scott Porter, and

Bryan Greenberg Bryan Greenberg (born May 24, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for his starring role as Ben Epstein in the HBO original series '' How to Make It in America'' as well as a recurring role in ''The Mindy Project''. He also had a recurring rol ...

. The story is a loose adaptation of

Ford Madox Ford Ford Madox Ford (né Joseph Leopold Ford Hermann Madox Hueffer ( ); 17 December 1873 – 26 June 1939) was an English novelist, poet, critic and editor whose journals ''The English Review'' and ''The Transatlantic Review (1924), The Transatlant ...

's 1915 novel ''

The Good Soldier ''The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion'' is a 1915 novel by the British writer Ford Madox Ford. It is set just before World War I, and chronicles the tragedy of Edward Ashburnham and his seemingly perfect marriage, along with that of his two A ...

'', which is referenced several times in the film's plot.

Plot

The film explores the complexity of modern relationships set against the backdrop of Wall Street's high stakes environment. Beth, played by Alexis Bledel, is a young Manhattanite and urban conservationist looking for a fulfilling life, including a good job, good friends, and importantly, a good guy to share her life with. She falls for Tommy Fielding, portrayed by Scott Porter, a charismatic and successful investment broker who seems to have everything going for him. Tommy is charming, clever, and very good at his job, impressing his ruthless boss, Cash. The plot thickens when Tommy decides to mentor Daniel, played by Bryan Greenberg, a former avionics engineer and computer geek, who is new to the cutthroat world of finance. Tommy takes Daniel under his wing, teaching him the ways of high finance and how to navigate social situations, including how to charm women. Daniel, who is somewhat naive and nervous, begins to adapt to this new lifestyle, transforming under Tommy's guidance. However, complications arise when Daniel meets Beth, not knowing she's Tommy's girlfriend. As Daniel becomes more integrated into Tommy's life, he inadvertently becomes part of Beth's social circle, joining her women's book club, which leads to romantic tension and shifts in their relationships. As the story unfolds, Beth's relationship with Tommy is put to the test with the introduction of Daniel, who brings a different, more sensitive perspective to the table. The film plays with the idea of perception and reality, drawing parallels to Ford Madox Ford's novel "The Good Soldier," which is referenced in the movie. Tommy's character is revealed to be less than the "good guy" he initially appears, engaging in behaviors that challenge Beth's trust and affection. Meanwhile, Daniel's genuine nature and developing bond with Beth create a love triangle that questions the authenticity of relationships in a world driven by ambition and superficiality. The narrative explores themes of honesty, integrity, and the search for true connection amidst the chaos of city life and corporate culture.

Cast

as Beth Vest * Scott Porter as Tommy Fielding *

as Daniel Seaver *

Anna Chlumsky Anna Maria Chlumsky ( ; born December 3, 1980) is an American actress. She began acting as a child, and first became known for playing Vada Sultenfuss in the film '' My Girl'' (1991) and its sequel, '' My Girl 2''. Following her early roles, she ...

as Lisa * Andrew McCarthy as Cash *

Aaron Yoo Aaron Yoo (born May 12, 1979) is an American actor. He is best known for appearing in the films ''Disturbia (film), Disturbia'' (2007), ''21 (2008 film), 21'' (2008), and ''Friday the 13th (2009 film), Friday the 13th'' (2009), as well as playin ...

as Steve-O * Andrew Stewart-Jones as Shakespeare * Denise Vasi as Suki *

Jessalyn Wanlim Jessalyn Wanlim (born September 3, 1982) is a Canadians, Canadian-American actress and model. She played Evie Cho on the science fiction television series ''Orphan Black'', as well as Jenny Matthews on the sitcom ''Workin' Moms''. She had a recur ...

as Jordan * Eric Thal as Stephens *

Kate Nauta Kate Lynn Nauta (born April 30, 1982) is an American fashion model, actress and singer. One of her major roles in feature films was Lola in '' Transporter 2''. She previously used the name Katie professionally. Biography Nauta was born in Salem, ...

as Cynthia * Colin Egglesfield as Baker *

Adam LeFevre Adam LeFevre (born August 11, 1950) is an American character actor, poet, and playwright who works in cinema, television, theater and commercials. Biography LeFevre was born in Albany, New York, the son of Helen (née Rhodes), a hospital patient ...

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 White Denim is an American rock band from Austin, Texas, United States. Their music is influenced by dub, psychedelic rock, blues, punk rock, progressive rock, soul, jazz, experimental rock with home-based recording, jamming approach, intense ...

- Let's Talk About It *

Born Ruffians Born Ruffians are a Canadian indie rock band based in Toronto. Officially founded in 2004 in the Georgian Bay town of Midland, Ontario, the band is composed of frontman Luke Lalonde, bassist Mitch DeRosier, drummer Steve Hamelin, and keyboardis ...

- I Need a Life *

Atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

- Party Over Here * Wang Chung - Everybody Have Fun Tonight * The Helio Sequence - Don't Look Away * The Cliks - Oh Yeah *

Ra Ra Riot Ra Ra Riot is an American indie rock band consisting of vocalist Wes Miles, bassist Mathieu Santos, guitarist Milo Bonacci, violinist Rebecca Zeller and drummer Kenny Bernard. History Ra Ra Riot formed in January 2006, playing at houses and ve ...

- Can You Tell *

Plushgun Plushgun is an American indie rock/New wave music, new wave/synthpop band founded by Dan Ingala located in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York, United States. The current lineup of the band is Ingala, Taylor Armstrong on guitar and Matt Bogdanow on dr ...

- Just Impolite * Mancino - Lavender Lake * Copperpot - The Art of Rap * Sam Champion - Be Mine Everyone *

Rachel Platten Rachel Ashley Platten (born May 20, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter and author. After releasing two albums independently in 2003 and 2011, she signed with Columbia Records in 2015 and released her mainstream debut single, "Fight Song (Ra ...

- Seven Weeks *

Stars A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by self-gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night; their immense distances from Earth make them appear as fixed points of ...

Your Ex-Lover Is Dead Your Ex-Lover Is Dead was the sixth single released by the Canadian indie pop group Stars. It is the opening track on their album ''Set Yourself on Fire''. The track begins with the voice of lead singer Torquil's father Douglas Campbell saying, ...

Say Hi Say Hi (previously known as Say Hi to Your Mom) is a Seattle-based indie rock band formed in Brooklyn in 2002 by Eric Elbogen. Say Hi's albums are recorded at Elbogen's home, with him playing all of the instruments & providing vocals. Backgro ...

- Hallie and Henry

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

the film has an approval rating of 33% based on reviews from 24 critics. The website's critics consensus, "''The Good Guy'' has an attractive cast, but they aren't done any favors by the film's cardboard characters and cliched plot." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

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 The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' 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."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Good Guy 2009 films American romantic comedy films 2009 romantic comedy films Films scored by Tomandandy 2000s English-language films 2000s American films English-language romantic comedy films