Total verknallt in Tad Hamilton

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-

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 enjoyed "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton". It's a brainless, cutesy little romantic comedy -- but that's okay since it doesn't try to be anything deep or uber meaningful. Topher Grace does a good job playing the sort of nerdy-uber romantic-always crushing on cheerleaders but never having one as a girlfriend guy. It seems to be a really natural performance, possible too natural? ;) Just kidding. But honestly, he does as good of a job as any guy can do in a movie that is totally geared towards the female population. Needless to say, the moral of this story is pretty obvious and it's one we've seen at least a gazillion times before. But I liked it and it's perfect if you're looking for something that requires no brain power at all.

`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.

Okay, I wasn't born last week, so I knew the ending before the opening credits were over. But I still thought this had the chance to be original and maybe even edgy and maybe..everything it wasn't.

Girl has understandable crush on famous movie star. Movie star needs some good press so his agents get the bright idea to set him up on a date with a total stranger. Meanwhile, girls stuttering dweeb of a friend has a crush on her but has never told her, cause as I mentioned, he's a stuttering dweeb. Girl wins date (SURPRISE SURPRISE), goes to LA, and does not have the worse time of her life, and goes back home. She does NOT sleep with the movie star, which impresses him and is the best moment in the movie (when he says "Good for you" to Rosie); its him realizing she may be a person of substance, and explains why he follows her home to East Hell, West Virginia, so 'some of her goodness can rub off on him', or something to that effect. Then movie star BUYS A FARM in West Virginia, meets the girls father, and invites her back to LA to begin shooting a movie he's been dying to get.

Don't have to tell you the rest, except that Bosworth plays Rosalie like she has straw sticking out of the side of her mouth. Josh is, of course, a shallow cigarette-smoking (that's a sure indication of his lack of integrity; in the NEW Hollywood, only bad people smoke) self-absorbed ACTOR, and Topher Grace stutters and hems and haws like he has a nervous tic. He ruined what might have been decent entertainment.

There is an insight or two, as mentioned, nothing memorable or profound. In many ways, the title of the movie is the best thing about it. I like a title that tells it all, what can I say..5/10.