Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!

I honestly thought I would like this film. I'm pretty much the target demographic (17 year old girl with a liking for romantic comedies and good looking boys) so I thought this film would be a great way to kill a couple of hours on a boring thursday night.

And to be honest, the plot isn't too bad. It's a predictable love story, but then again predictable love stories are the reason why I fell in love with classics such as Dirty Dancing. This story is sweet and the ending did have me going "awwww...". But let me put it his way: it will only make you "awww" if you are a chick flick fan. If you are not a chick flick fan, you'll probably have had enough sugar by the first forty five minutes. It's definitely what I like to refer to as a "Red Bull". Totally sugary and so perky, at times, it can be disturbing.

However, although I liked the story, I was totally disappointed with the acting. The acting is what shames this movie. Kate Bosworth is terrible. She's the biggest typecast of the wholesome girl next door and her squealing and vacant, wide eyed stares belong on the Bold and the Beautiful. Not on the big screen. And although she tries, Ginnifer Goodwin's character of Cathy is so flat and one dimensional. She should be slutty, but instead of any sort showing of sex appeal (the only character with sex appeal is Angelica the bartender who I truly believe is one of the best actors in the film), Cathy's dialogue is littered with overt, tacky, cringeworthy sexual innuendo. Infact, not even that. It's usually laid out on the table. But instead of laughing, you just feel like slapping her. Such a shame for Goodwin, as I was impressed with her performance in Mona Lisa Smile and this character is well beneath her talent. Josh Duhamel plays the "duh" factor to perfection. His pecs are far more of a star than he is. Enough said.

What really, really surprised me though was that I fell head over heels in love with Topher Grace and his character, Pete. He did a wonderful job conveying his jealous, unrequited love. I truly hope we see more from him, because he was the only actor in this film I didn't feel like slapping. Oh, I liked Angelica too. She was good. And of course, Nathan Lane and Sean Hayes. Always good for a laugh.

I can't really recommend this film for anyone. I think even the tween market will be disappointed with it. Hey, they might enjoy the "awww" factor. Everyone else will just walk out and have forgotten it within 15 minutes.

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.

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

I've heard a lot of mixed reviews for this movie. It occurred to me that I really had no desire to watch this film beforehand but a week ago, there was nothing to watch and suddenly Win a Date with Tad Hamilton popped up. So I watched it. I thought the movie was decent. Nothing special and very forgettable but it was still alright to me. Topher Grace and Josh Duhamel put up some good performances especially Topher. I thought he played a really good role. There were some funny jokes and a couple laughs like the scene when Topher and Josh are cutting wood and Josh takes off his shirt while Topher does same. I thought that scene was the funniest part of the movie. Overall, nothing really special to this film and very forgettable, but still I thought it was a decent romantic comedy Hedeen's Outlook: 6/10 ** C-

`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.