Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!
There really should be something positive to say about truth in advertising, correct? I’ve written in past reviews about going to see a film expecting one thing and getting quite another. Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! never pretends to be anything more than its advertising would lead you to believe—a slight yet peppy romantic comedy. Yet, there’s something missing here that left me unsatisfied.
WADWTH! tells the story of Rosalee (Kate Bosworth), a small town grocery store clerk who wins a date with Hollywood movie star Tad Hamilton (Josh Duhamel). After one date, Tad falls in love with Rosalee and chases her all the way back to her West Virginia home to woo her. Complications ensue when Rosalee’s friend Pete (Topher Grace) decides he’s in love with her as well. Which one will she choose?
All of this is pretty standard stuff, which may account for why I didn’t like it as much as I expected. Director Robert Luketic, who directed the far superior and bubbly Legally Blonde, fails to make lightening strike twice here. This could be the lack of any real unpredictability in the film. We all know how it’s going to end, but the script doesn’t provide any real tension or action. The biggest disappointment could be that the film was more concerned about Rosalee and Tad than it was about Rosalee and Pete. It’s obvious the filmmakers prefer Tad over Pete in the amount of screen time they devote to each character, so why should audiences be expected to believe that Pete would ever be a better choice for Rosalee than Tad?
The film is not a total loss. While she doesn’t yet have the presence of Reese Witherspoon, Ms. Bosworth, of Blue Crush fame, works hard to make Rosalee endearing and entertaining. As Pete, Mr. Grace has to contend with the fact that the film seems to favor Tad more than Pete, so he doesn’t have a chance to make a big impression. In the end, he does what he is able to do with the part. Mr. Duhamel, whose biggest credit so far has been the lead role on the TV show Las Vegas, is a dead ringer for Johnny Knoxville, which I admit was distracting to me. Duhamel’s character undergoes the most obvious personality shift in the film and he makes the transformation believable. Adding able comic support are Gennifer Goodwin, as Rosalee’s trashy best friend, and Gary Cole, as Rosalee’s dad and the person in town most misguidedly affected by Tad’s presence in town.
Overall, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, is the cinematic equivalent of a cream puff—it’s good enough to satisfy a craving, but it doesn’t provide much more beyond that. Hardcore romantic comedy fans should enjoy it, but the rest of you should consider yourself warned.
Submitted 04 February 04. Posted 10 April 04.
