The Rough Cut
Written by Kevin Terpstra
Written by Kevin Terpstra
I have to admit, Take Me Home Tonight is a very enjoyable movie. It had just the right amount of comedy, but balanced the laughs well with a heart-felt (if not totally cliche) love story. Now, I am by no means advocating for cliches, but with a story like this, they're near impossible to avoid. With that said, this film's greatest triumph is its ability to avoid making the love story too sappy (a sign that the comedic aspects are doing their job).
I went into this film expecting it to be a throwback to a 1980s John Hughes flick a la Sixteen Candles (with the roles reversed. To my [pleasant] surprise it also contained elements found in the 90s teen romp comedies (think Can't Hardly Wait). I know what you're thinking, and yes, I appreciated those 90s teen films. What can I say? Guilty pleasure.
What sets this film apart from its predecessors is that it's a teen romp comedy where all of the main characters are college graduates in their mid-twenties. This is both a positive and negative quality.
First, the positive side. By making the characters college graduates, the writers have taken an old mold and shaped it into something that isn't quite new, but different. You know you're watching something that you've seen before, but there's an unfamiliar quality to it that manages to keep you interested.
Now, on the other hand by making the characters older than the story calls for it promotes a sense of ridiculousness that (while adds to the comedy) detracts from the story. It's just sad to see 25-year-old college graduates going to a high school modeled party and acting like total idiots. Though, I guess there are people like that out there (the gentlemen sitting a few seats down from me in the theater will no doubt fit this model) so I can't fault the filmmakers too much there.
Star Topher Grace is continuing his rise to stardom (and subsequently escaping the image he developed on That '70s Show) and even contributed to the story. In fact, parts of the film are straight from Grace's life. Apparently, he did work at Suncoast Video after college before being cast in That '70s Show.
He is joined by Dan Fogler (Fanboys) as his oaf of a best friend, Teresa Palmer (I Am Number Four) as his love interest, and Anna Faris (Scary Movie) as his sister. Faris's husband Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) is even in the film as Faris's boyfriend (quite the stretch of character).
Take Me Home Tonight isn't necessarily a great film, and 'good' is pushing it, but as I said it's enjoyable and for the kind of film that it is, well, that's good enough. Enjoy it for the laughs, and for those of you who were around for both the '80s and the '90s, enjoy the nostalgia that it is sure to induce.
Take Me Home Tonight - 2.5/5 stars
I went into this film expecting it to be a throwback to a 1980s John Hughes flick a la Sixteen Candles (with the roles reversed. To my [pleasant] surprise it also contained elements found in the 90s teen romp comedies (think Can't Hardly Wait). I know what you're thinking, and yes, I appreciated those 90s teen films. What can I say? Guilty pleasure.
What sets this film apart from its predecessors is that it's a teen romp comedy where all of the main characters are college graduates in their mid-twenties. This is both a positive and negative quality.
First, the positive side. By making the characters college graduates, the writers have taken an old mold and shaped it into something that isn't quite new, but different. You know you're watching something that you've seen before, but there's an unfamiliar quality to it that manages to keep you interested.
Now, on the other hand by making the characters older than the story calls for it promotes a sense of ridiculousness that (while adds to the comedy) detracts from the story. It's just sad to see 25-year-old college graduates going to a high school modeled party and acting like total idiots. Though, I guess there are people like that out there (the gentlemen sitting a few seats down from me in the theater will no doubt fit this model) so I can't fault the filmmakers too much there.
Star Topher Grace is continuing his rise to stardom (and subsequently escaping the image he developed on That '70s Show) and even contributed to the story. In fact, parts of the film are straight from Grace's life. Apparently, he did work at Suncoast Video after college before being cast in That '70s Show.
He is joined by Dan Fogler (Fanboys) as his oaf of a best friend, Teresa Palmer (I Am Number Four) as his love interest, and Anna Faris (Scary Movie) as his sister. Faris's husband Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) is even in the film as Faris's boyfriend (quite the stretch of character).
Take Me Home Tonight isn't necessarily a great film, and 'good' is pushing it, but as I said it's enjoyable and for the kind of film that it is, well, that's good enough. Enjoy it for the laughs, and for those of you who were around for both the '80s and the '90s, enjoy the nostalgia that it is sure to induce.
Take Me Home Tonight - 2.5/5 stars
