Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!

1.5/4

Starring: Kate Bosworth, Topher Grace, Josh Duhamel, Ginnifer Goodwin, Nathan Lane, Sean Hayes

Rated PG-13 for Sexual Content, Some Drug References and Language

Romantic comedies are supposed to be light entertainment that will lift your spirits and make you want to cuddle with the one you love.  "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!" doesn't accomplish this feat.  Not only is it a trial, none of the three central characters are especially likable.

Tad Hamilton (Duhamel) is the world's biggest movie star.  He's the equivalent of Brad Pitt in his heyday.  Every woman wants him.  But he's got an image problem after the paparazzi snapped an unsavory picture of him.  So, his agent and manager (Lane and Hayes) decide to hold a contest where the winner gets a date with Tad.  The winner is his biggest fan, Rosalee (Bosworth), a small town girl from West Virginia.  He thinks Rosalee will be just another entry on his list of female conquests until she points out how shallow his life is.  That's when he starts to fall for her.  That's good news for Rosalee, but bad news for her best friend, Pete (Grace), who has loved her from afar.

I felt almost nothing for any of the three lead characters.  Josh Duhamel, in his first film role, is good, but I always thought there was going to be a betrayal from him (maybe I took Pete's warning to heart).  Kate Bosworth is bland.  She's done good work before ("Blue Crush"), but here, she's stiff and boring.  The role of Pete was probably tailor-made for Topher Grace, and he does what he can, but the script gives him nothing to work with.  Grace is as adept at drama as he is at comedy, and while technically he's given the opportunity to do both, the script is so weak that there's little that he can do.  Nathan Lane and Sean Hayes are completely wasted as a comic duo while Ginnifer Goodwin and Katharine Hahn are horrible in supporting roles.

The script is a disaster.  The jokes, what few there are, are lame.  The plot plays it safe at every turn, and I mean every turn.  Character development is nil.  The direction by Robert Luketic, a filmmaker with a weak resume (he directed "Legally Blonde" and two Katherine Heigl flicks) is weak.  He defines the term pedestrian and knows nothing of the word "pacing."  This movie crawls.

There are many other, much better romantic comedies.  Rent one of them instead.


Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 8, 2012 at 7:03 PM

    Hmm I strongly disagree. Grace's charisma is undeniable (this kid has a future in the business that isn't based solely on looks) and the script, while unambitious, is touching and heartfelt. There is no antagonist here - and that's really what makes the emotional material work in the last act. Both Tad and Pete are just people with different mindsets, and while played relatively broadly, are believable as human beings. Luketic's best film by far - ***/****

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