<\/strong><\/p>\n Directed By: Michael Dowse<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Starring: Topher Grace, Anna Faris, Dan Fogler, Teresa Palmer, Chris Pratt, Michael Biehn, Lucy Punch, Michelle Trachtenberg, Demetri Martin, Michael Ian Black<\/strong><\/p>\n \n What’s going on with the comedy genre? Why can’t anyone come up with something original? At least Take Me Home Tonight<\/em> manages to create a pleasurable atmosphere. The plot’s predictable, the gags are unoriginal, the 80’s look is cartoonishly clich\u00e9 and, overall, the film isn’t all that entertaining, but thanks to some pleasant characters, it\u2019s surprisingly hard to flat out dislike. Now is that a backhanded compliment or what?<\/p>\n \n At the close of the summer of 1988, Matt Franklin (Topher Grace) is at a loss. He just graduated from MIT, but opted to work at a mall video store rather than a Fortune 500 company. His buddy, Barry (Dan Fogler), took a pass on college all together to work for a local car dealership. Unfortunately for him, his shady sales tactics catch up to him and he gets the boot. Then there\u2019s Matt\u2019s twin sister, Wendy (Anna Faris), who\u2019s torn between her dream of going to graduate school and her boyfriend Kyle\u2019s (Chris Pratt) dream of starting his own model family.<\/p>\n \n However, tonight everything changes because tonight is the night the trio takes their first baby steps forward and reunites with their high school class to get wasted, share success stories and witness someone ride \u201cthe ball\u201d at a massive Labor Day party. For Matt that means finally talking to his high school crush, Tori Frederking (Teresa Palmer), for Barry it means washing away his jobless sorrows in cocaine and ladies and for Wendy, deciding whose goals are more important, hers or Kyle\u2019s.<\/p>\n \n You know what you\u2019re in for just ten minutes into Take Me Home Tonight<\/em>. The film opens up in a music store where Matt and Wendy watch as Barry makes a fool of himself hitting on an employee, knocking over a stand of CDs, which, of course, kicks off a domino effect practically demolishing the whole store. Where else does that happen but in a movie? Nowhere and that\u2019s exactly where the filmmakers went wrong; the whole thing is just nonsensical. Of course, sometimes going with the absurd can work in a comedy\u2019s favor, but if that\u2019s the case, it\u2019s got to be all or nothing. Here, writer-director Michael Dowse and his co-writers, Jackie and Jeff Filgo, don\u2019t seem to quite know what they want, the ridiculous or the endearing, causing both sentiments to clash and ultimately become ineffectual.<\/p>\n \n First off, the endearing. Matt is a role designed for Grace and that might have something to do with the fact that Grace came up with this story. He\u2019s a little awkward and geeky, but overall a super nice person that gets trampled all over by the powerful and popular guys. Yes, Grace is natural in the role and his performance works. The problem is, he simply stays within the usual confines relying on his boyish good looks and innocent charm to earn your sympathy. There\u2019s nothing special about him.<\/p>\n \n The same is true for Fogler\u2019s character. Every nice guy needs his crazy sidekick, right? This is a comedy; of course! Sure enough, that\u2019s the exact position Barry fills. He\u2019s absolutely out of control and while that sounds like it might be appropriate, in this case, it\u2019s just way over the top. The things Barry does aren\u2019t only wildly reckless, but potentially deadly, too. The amount of booze and cocaine this guy consumes would land any real person in the hospital, if not a coffin. Even worse, most of the things he does just aren\u2019t funny. Kudos to Fogler for making due with what he was given. The guy really knows how to work a punch line and his comedic timing is spot on, but sadly, that\u2019s not enough to fix the lame material.<\/p>\n \n Guess what? It\u2019s the same situation for Faris. While Wendy isn\u2019t Faris\u2019 typical bimbo of a character, she\u2019s still brilliant in the role. But, again, that role isn\u2019t all that interesting. In fact, at one point of the film, we lose sight of Wendy entirely and by the time we get back to what could have been a very intriguing dilemma, we\u2019ve forgotten all about it and no longer care. Palmer\u2019s character, on the other hand, gets a bit too much screen time. It\u2019s not that Palmer\u2019s performance doesn\u2019t warrant it, it\u2019s that her character doesn\u2019t. If Tori is supposed to be that magical girl Matt just can\u2019t land, she\u2019s got to be even the slightest bit elusive. Instead, we get a girl that shows signs of being into the guy right from the start.<\/p>\n \n This brings us to another issue with Take Me Home Tonight<\/em>; it\u2019s painfully predicable. You know how twins can finish each other\u2019s sentences? Well, if you don\u2019t, this movie will tell you they do. But, wait; you did know that, didn\u2019t you? The same goes for just about every gag and story progression throughout the entire film. From the moment you meet Matt\u2019s father you know the fact that he\u2019s a cop is either going to come back around to get him or help him out of a jam. The second Barry drives that Mercedes convertible off the lot, you know it isn\u2019t returning in one piece. When Matt pretends to be a Goldman Sachs employee, you know he\u2019ll have to eventually tell Tori the truth and it\u2019ll hurt.<\/p>\n \n Things don\u2019t get much better on the technical side. This film is packed with continuity errors galore. Are Grace\u2019s sleeves up or down? Apparently the guy has a tough time committing to either. Even worse, the set dressing is horrible. This isn\u2019t the real 80\u2019s; it\u2019s Hollywood 80\u2019s. The set is fake and you know it from beginning to end. Why even set this film in the 80\u2019s to begin with? Oh, so you can have an excuse to release a nostalgic soundtrack.<\/p>\n \n
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