Release Date: 3/4/11
Take Me Home Tonight, directed by Michael Dowse and written by Jackie and Jeff Filgo (That 70’s Show), is a comedy set in 1988 that takes place during one day in the life of a college graduate who now works at Suncoast Video. This film was delayed several years and it’s a shame because it’s very similar to a very good 2009 film, Adventureland, and oddly enough even stars an actress who looks almost identical to Kristen Stewart. Take Me Home Tonight centers on a party in the vein of Dazed and Confused, which was the 70s or Can’t Hardly Wait, which was the 90s. Even though it doesn’t break any new ground, it’s still a very realistic look at the 80s, and should be somewhat of a guilty pleasure for movie fans. The film itself holds a lot of entertainment value with some good comedic performances and an amazing soundtrack to boot.
The story follows an aimless college grad and now Suncoast Video employee named Matt Franklin, played by Topher Grace, who pursues his high school dream-girl Tori Frederking, played by Teresa Palmer, at his sister’s boyfriend’s annual Labor Day party. He, his twin sister Wendy, played by Anna Faris, and his best friend Barry, played by Dan Fogler, all get themselves into different complicated situations. Barry steals a car to roll in style, Matt pretends to be a banker to impress the girl and Wendy contemplates over a surprise marriage proposal as they all struggle with their escalating adulthoods over the course of one wild night.
According to IMDB the heavy drug use in the film caused it to be delayed four years before this weekend’s release. Topher Grace and director Michael Dowse wanted to “do something that felt like it was literally made in the ’80s” and not a parody of that generation. The film ended up sitting on the shelf until Ron Howard and Brian Grazer of Imagine Entertainment came to the rescue. I give Grace, who also doubles as Executive Producer of the film, and Dowse credit for not giving up on the original vision they intended audiences to see. The drug use is a large part of the film and is the result for a handful of the really big laughs. This movie wouldn’t of been as funny with a PG-13 rating which is probably what the studios wanted because they only care about making money and don’t really care about entertainment value. The delay definitely hurt the film in a couple ways, it would have been released before Adventureland which is a far superior film and Hot Tub Time Machine which is a much funnier film, both released in the past 3 years and both set in the 80s. There is also a scene that stood out that is almost identical to 500 Days of Summer that, if I were in charge, would most definitely cut because it’s doesn’t do anything for the film except have people in the theater saying “didn’t I just see this scene 2 years ago”.
All the negatives aside though, this film is still extremely fun to watch. Topher Grace plays the awkward guy just as he did in That 70’s Show, and he’s really good at it, especially in a scene about wind surfing. “Fuck wind”. Dan Fogler, who I can’t stand in movies like Good Luck Chuck or Fanboys, finally puts in his first great comedic performance. He had me cracking up throughout the whole movie mostly because he’s high on coke. Anna Faris was a disappointment and so was her boyfriend played by Chris Pratt from NBC’s Parks and Recreation. Every time Pratt was on screen I got excited but was let down because he only really had one laugh out loud moment. Teresa Palmer aka “The Poor Man’s Kristen Stewart” actually showed some promise and I look forward to see how her career goes in the next couple of years, also she’s pretty hot. In addition, this movie has a couple good cameos that aren’t the biggest names but still I wouldn’t want to ruin them and we get to see the return of Kyle Reese, Michael Biehn, in a solid role as Matt’s Dad.
It was unfortunate this movie was delayed four years because of all the comparisons it is now sure to get, but it still deserves to be seen. It’s a fun movie, not quite MADE, but is good for several laughs, great tunes and the anticipation to see if someone really does RIDE THE BALL!
IMDB: N/A
Rotten Tomatoes: 50%
Moviewiseguys: 7.5/10