REVIEW
WIN A DATE WITH TAD HAMILTON
Starring Kate Bosworth, Topher Grace and Josh Duhamel
Directed by Robert Luketic
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If you find yourself trapped with a tween bent on amusing herself by giving you a make-over, you may escape your fate by suggesting a trip to the cinema.
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton (based on the tiny hands applauding after the screening I attended) is just the thing to get their minds off makeup and onto unattainable (strum harp) love.
Tad Hamilton, played by the appropriately hunky (do they say "hunky" anymore?) Josh Duhamel, is a bad-boy Hollywood star. His agent and managers are keen to make him a more wholesome brand. So they set up a contest for his fans to win a date with him. They pick the freshest, most innocent face to attach to his arm during the next round of paparazzi.
The winner is Rosalee Futch (Futch?), played by Kate Bosworth. She is happy with her life as a grocery clerk and friends Pete (Topher Grace) and Cathy (Ginnifer Goodwin). But she is like, totally in love with the idea of Tad Hamilton. When she wins there is much jumping up and down and squealing.
But on her date with Tad, it is he who falls for her. This is unfortunate for her pal Pete, who has been in love with Rosalee all his life but never had the nerve to tell her. And so, through a series of Cyrano de Bergerac-ian events, Rosalee must figure out what true love really is.
Basically you will enjoy this movie if you like your white chocolate dipped in syrup and rolled in icing sugar. The dialogue is fundamentally Christian in its attempts to avoid sexy talk. "Don’t let him take your carnal treasure." Yes, those words are uttered no fewer than three times by poor old Topher Grace. And the main character says things like, "Swizzle Doo!" Translation: "Wow." Based on my description you may think that the actors are being asked to play 14-year-olds without access to cable, when in fact they are at least 21 (U.S. drinking age) as several scenes have them swilling beer in the local bar.
The only things that will keep you from jamming popcorn into your eye sockets are the actors in this fluffy concoction. They have each decided to completely buy into the script and give strong performances that surpass the crappy writing and predictable plot. Gary Cole gives a funny turn as Rosalee’s Hollywood-smitten father. But overall, if you find yourself at the local Cineplex with your tween charge, at least you’re not sitting at home wearing blue eyeliner and orange lipstick. |
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