Thursday, January 22, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Film: Tad's rad

You could do worse than Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!

By Tammy McMahan

A photogenic cast, a Hollywood vs. wholesome plot and a love triangle with an earnest dork at one end are the ingredients of a boring, formulaic romantic comedy, right? Not always, folks.

While Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! has all the genre conventions, it also offers wonderful surprises in the form of nicely sketched characters and clever dialogue enlivened by retro/modern sensibilities and humor.

The titular event is an attempt to reform the image of Hollywood hero-hunk Tad (Josh Duhamel), who in a Colin Farrellesque moment was photographed driving while drinkin', smokin' and gropin'. Rosalee Futch (Kate Bosworth), a West Virginia Piggly Wiggly checkout girl, wins the contest--to the delight of her Tad-mad friend, Cathy (Ginnifer Goodwin), but the chagrin of her lovelorn store manager, Pete (Topher Grace). The star-struck Rosalee and now "values-seeking" Tad hit it off so well that Tad moves to her hometown. As their friendship becomes a romance, Pete struggles to express his feelings to Rosalee.

Screenwriter Victor Levin, director Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde) and their cast have created a film universe where '50s-era courting meets new millennium cynicism. In lesser hands this could be a fakey oddity, but here it makes for richer characters. Bosworth's Rosalee is as sweet as Doris Day and, at times, seems on the verge of swooning; but she can be level-headed too. Duhamel isn't a one-dimensional bad boy trying to steal the good guy's girl. Instead, his basically good-natured Tad naturally moves in and out of celebrity and soul-searching. Grace has a Tony Randall look with a Jerry Seinfeld mouth. The supporting players aren't filler. Goodwin's lust-laced comments are delightful, not disgusting. Nathan Lane and Sean Hayes are mostly over the top as Tad's agent and manager, respectively, but they provide a few clever Hollywood insider jokes. And with some hilarious industry talk and T-shirts, Gary Cole is right on target as Rosalee's celebrity-worshiping dad, who cares but wants to be cool.

In short, kids, this old-fashioned picture isn't groundbreaking. But, gosh darn it, it sure is swell.