Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!

This movie is definitely a "chick flick." Both male leads are played pretty well. Josh Duhamel portrays the self-absorbed actor well, but has difficulty being believable when he is supposedly being sincere. Of course, maybe that's the point. Topher Grace, on the other hand, is able to portray an emotion in very subtle ways, and is therefore perfect as the inwardly-tortured old friend.

Kate Bosworth's character seems to be quite one-dimensional, and not always consistently. She is overly naive, even for a small town hick. I get the impression that the Hollywood types who wrote her part have never been to a small town, or at least, not since the 50s. There are sweet, wholesome people in this world, but they are more realistic than this girl. It is difficult to ascertain who the protagonist is. Is it Topher or Kate? His character has more depth than hers, but it appears that the story revolves around her.

Nathan Lane and Sean Hayes provide much-needed comedy and interest to the story. I found myself looking forward to their appearances on-screen. Funny moments and a few good performances make it worthwhile, but I definitely believe it will appeal more to us women than the men.

Okay, I wasn't born last week, so I knew the ending before the opening credits were over. But I still thought this had the chance to be original and maybe even edgy and maybe..everything it wasn't.

Girl has understandable crush on famous movie star. Movie star needs some good press so his agents get the bright idea to set him up on a date with a total stranger. Meanwhile, girls stuttering dweeb of a friend has a crush on her but has never told her, cause as I mentioned, he's a stuttering dweeb. Girl wins date (SURPRISE SURPRISE), goes to LA, and does not have the worse time of her life, and goes back home. She does NOT sleep with the movie star, which impresses him and is the best moment in the movie (when he says "Good for you" to Rosie); its him realizing she may be a person of substance, and explains why he follows her home to East Hell, West Virginia, so 'some of her goodness can rub off on him', or something to that effect. Then movie star BUYS A FARM in West Virginia, meets the girls father, and invites her back to LA to begin shooting a movie he's been dying to get.

Don't have to tell you the rest, except that Bosworth plays Rosalie like she has straw sticking out of the side of her mouth. Josh is, of course, a shallow cigarette-smoking (that's a sure indication of his lack of integrity; in the NEW Hollywood, only bad people smoke) self-absorbed ACTOR, and Topher Grace stutters and hems and haws like he has a nervous tic. He ruined what might have been decent entertainment.

There is an insight or two, as mentioned, nothing memorable or profound. In many ways, the title of the movie is the best thing about it. I like a title that tells it all, what can I say..5/10.

`Win a Date with Tad Hamilton' is a predictable fairy tale romance that skates by on the cleverness of its premise and the charm of its performances. Kate Bosworth stars as Rosalee Futch, a small town girl from West Virginia who has a mad crush on a hot Hollywood stud named Tad Hamilton. One day she enters a contest on the Internet, the prize being an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles to spend an evening with her dreamboat. Rosalee, of course, wins the contest and has her magic fantasy moment, whereupon she flies back home, expecting to file the experience away in her heart as the high point of her life and then continue her humdrum existence working at the local Piggly Wiggly. What Rosalee doesn't anticipate is that Tad will be so smitten with her genuine goodness and unpretentious nature that he will wind up traveling to West Virginia in order to get to know her better. Complicating matters is the fact that Rosalee's long time friend and boss, Pete, is secretly, madly in love with her and isn't about to give her up without a fight to this fancy, flashy dude from Hollywood.

Given the premise, the makers of this film could, with a bit more self-confidence, have made a keen, hard-edged satire about the role celebrity-worship plays in the lives of ordinary folks. Instead, they've opted to take a softer, less abrasive approach, settling for a more conventional love triangle that still manages to win us over despite the formulaic nature of the story. The best part about `Win a Date with Tad Hamilton' is that it doesn't turn Tad into a boorish, self-centered jerk, which would have been so easy to do. As played by Josh Duhamel, Tad is, instead, a decent, well-meaning, good-natured young man who basically just wants the same thing out of life that we all do, namely love and commitment from that one special person. Even though we know how this triangle will most likely be resolved, the film still generates a certain amount of emotional tension because we actually come to like all three of the characters who make it up. We know Rosalee can't end up with both men, but each, in his own way, appears to be a viable alternative. This spirit of equanimity is not always the case with these types of stories.

Bosworth exudes such a healthy, radiant glow that we don't question for a second why both Tad and Pete are drawn to her. Duhamel pours on the celebrity charm without becoming smarmy and unctuous in the process. And Topher Grace nicely underplays the role of Rosalee's erstwhile secret devotee who faces a rival no Ordinary Joe should ever have to go up against.

`Win a Date with Tad Hamilton' isn't as good as it might have been had it opted for a riskier, edgier tone. But it's not bad as romantic comedies go – and in these days of `Along Came Polly,' `Alex and Emma,' `Chasing Liberty' et al., that's saying quite a bit indeed.

I admit it. I saw this movie simply because I wanted to see something light and fluffy. I got what I wanted.

Yes, it's a chick flick. Yes, it's predictable. Yes, it has the typical Hollywood ending. But the film never said it was going to be anything but that, and that's why I liked it. No political agendas. No heavy drama and/or gut-wrenching scenes. In fact, there really wasn't anything in this film that was really negative. It was just a cute, fluffy little film that was intended to make you fill light-hearted when it was over. And for me, that is exactly what it did.

Rank: 8

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.