Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!

Win a Date with Tad Hamilton (2004)

**** (out of 4)

Rosalee (Kate Bosworth) is your typical girl living in a small town where nothing much really happens. After work she hangs out with her two friends and they usually wind up at the movies watching her favorite actor Tad Hamilton. Pete (Topher Grace) has been her best friend since childhood and even he is embarrassed by the way the girls act towards the silver screen. Rosalee often says she bets Tad is just as caring and romantic in real life as he is on the screen. Pete, being the wise one knows that an actor can sell anything and especially sell romance to a young girl.

Out in Hollywood the media has broken a story about Tad (Josh Duhamel), which could ruin his career. Tad was caught drunk driving with a female fan and this here certainly goes against his romantic image. Fearing some sort of public backlash, Tad's manager (Nathan Lane) decides to hold a contest where one lucky fan could win a date with the handsome actor. As it turns out Rosalee wins the contest and to her shock, the date goes better than expected and soon Tad finds himself in West Virginia trying to take the date to the next level. All of this doesn't sit too well with Pete because he sees Tad as a fraud and he's also keeping the secret that he loves Rosalee.

There's all sorts of things going on in the film but director Robert Luketic is smart enough to know how many times this type of story has been told. Not only in the past ten years but the past hundred years of cinema. The screenplay makes a very wise choice and it appears the writer was sick to death of the current romantic comedy and decided to set the film as if it were being made back in the 1930's. The film plays out more like Bringing Up Baby or Adam's Rib instead of something watered down like How to Deal or even Crossroads for that matter. I doubt this film will become a legendary classic but it's pretty darn close to perfection for what it is.

Another good thing working for the film is that is appears to have been made for adults. Perhaps that's why the film didn't do too well at the box office because the characters involved have experienced life and they know life well. Instead of countless scenes where the viewer is ten times smarter than the character, this film here gives us smart characters who are talking about serious issues and by doing this the film adds some very tender moments that aren't usually seen in a movie like this. The film is smart enough to stay away from any clichés and it's smart enough to treat all the characters with a bit of respect. Even the "rednecks" are never made out to be stereotypes and Hollywood is given a bit of respect as well.

Going into the film we expect to go down the same road and we know how this Cinderella story will turn out. The film goes down that same road but there are many bumps here and there that throws things off course and keeps the drama high because we truly don't know who the young girl will pick. We know there's only two choices but there isn't a clear cut winner and in the end we are rather shocked at how things play out. There are plenty of funny moments here as well and once again the screenplay seems to be sticking its tongue out at us. The biggest spoof is the current romantic comedies in theaters. As we're watching the film we are seeing something we've seen countless times yet the film then sticks its tongue out at us and says we know that's what you're thinking but we're going to give you something else instead. That slyness in the writing is what makes the movie such a charm.

For a great screenplay to work however you need a cast that can bring it to life. Once again, I've been very harsh on today's so-called actors but the performances gathered here is something really refreshing. Kate Bosworth is probably the freshest and most charming actresses to grace a romantic comedy since Meg Ryan way back in When Harry Met Sally. That incredible smile will put a smile on the viewers face just like it does her friends in the movie. Just the way Bosworth's characters jumps off the screen makes it very easy to see why these two men would fall in love with her. In fact, the viewer themselves might find their hearts slipping into the competition. Josh Duhamel does a wonderful job at showing the high class Hollywood hero who tries coming down to Earth. Once again the actor's charm really wins over on the viewer and seeing the two together will remind you of the best date of your life. Then there's Topher Grace who probably has the toughest role to sell yet he pulls it off without any problems. There are many instances where Grace could have gone over the top or his jealousy could have rubbed the viewer the wrong way but the actor manages to show off the good with the bad without it looking forced or faked.