Le tao de Steve

no wonder this thing snagged donal logue top acting honors at the 2000 sundance festival, but i don't know what the better script could've been. this thing has it all: guy talk, girl talk, echoes and resonance, love and respect for all its characters, wit, poignancy, politics, uplift, a tremendous depth and breath of literary allusion, and a substantial dose of digestible philosophy from some of the greatest minds of world thought. seriously, this may be the first movie to quote Kirkegaard and george jetson in the same scene and make them both look wise. it's a movie about love, about wisdom, about fun, but mostly it's about learning real values and gaining all the rest through learning to be the best person you can be. that's a big load for such a funny film, but this one handles it all and then some. this doesn't mention the beautiful sets, the music (original, appropriate, and inventive, though probably the film's weakest suit)the cute kids and the celebration of contemporary gentle-souled hipster lifestyles. AND it's only 82 minutes long, you can almost fit it in on a lunch break but it will last you far longer than that. thanks so much to Greer and Jenniphr Goodman for their script and direction. from all us steve wannabes, but actual duncan north's of the world, thank you!

"The Tao of Steve" tells of a fat slob of a guy who seems to have unusually good fortune in bedding chicks thanks to his Taoist philosophy. Although the flick smells like a young indie, it is fresh, creative, and unique enough to take on a seemingly endless parade of second rate romantic comedies sans the 24 carat glamour and other trappings of Hollywood. "The Tao..." is a great watch for anyone interested in what independent films are about and an enjoyable watch for most. Kudos to the Goodmans.

This is a somewhat endearing indie flick, but it suffers from an amateurish script and inexperienced directing. For a movie that has the potential to be pretty funny, it takes itself far too seriously. The protagonist's 'stoner wittiness' becomes pretty monotonous and annoying preachy. If the movie concentrated less on being hip and ironic, and more on the characters, the film would be better.

Dex, the leading male character, has told Syd that he's falling in love with her, and she asks why he doesn't stop seeing other women. He responds, "Why? So I can bask in the warmth of your annihilating contempt?" The story of this film meanders much like its good-for-nothing hero, Dex, as we follow him through a slacker routine that allows him to do virtually nothing but pick up women and play games with his male friends.

He believes that he has the key to life in the "Tao of Steve," which is essentially a guide to fooling women into having sex with a fat loser--himself. He exclaims, "Why does the American Slacker get so little respect?" The clever dialog and the sweetness of Dex's discovery that he actually loves Syd and doesn't really want to be a professional cad all his life makes the movie worth watching.

Also fun is the truth in the "Tao of Steve" with its three edicts: 1) suppress your desire--and your agenda of getting her into bed 2) be excellent in her presence and 3) retreat. It's true that going into a relationship with nothing else in mind but sleeping with a woman is a huge mistake, and Dex recognizes the wisdom of being cool rather than needy, but then he uses it the wrong way (or the right way, depending on your perspective). We watch him explain his philosophy, use it to manipulate women, and then have to violate it as he finally figures out that while the "Tao of Steve" may get him women, it won't get him the one woman he really wants.

Dex is a ladies man who has a Zen-like art of seduction under his belt. So despite the fact that his belt has expanded since his best days in high school, he generally still has that going for him even if he has generally underachieved in everything else. Basing his rules around the approach of Steve (Steve being the embodiment of American male cool) Dex has managed to get into more beds than his looks really should have allowed him to and generally he is happy despite being a slacker in his late twenties. When he meets Syd though he finds himself feeling a bit more than normal (which is nothing) and genuinely liking her as a friend. Will she make him look again at his approach to life?

The title should at least give you some idea of the type of film this is going to be because it manages to sound cool and interesting and a bit hip without really doing a lot – which pretty much sums up the appeal of this as a film. The story is essentially quite a nice romance but it is set in a post-modern word of slackers who have relaxed jobs, relaxed morals, relaxed approaches to life, relaxed houses and generally just shoot the breeze about nothing. I suppose it will depend a bit on your age but, as some in his late twenties (at least, at the time of writing I am) I suppose I am target audience and I must admit it quite won me over. The story doesn't really go to any depth and, at the end of the day it does just what you expect it to do in terms of how it ends but it manages to get passed all this by having the same relaxed attitude of the characters.

I'm sure it was not as easy to put together as it appeared but the film moves nicely along with a lot of pop culture references, slacker humour and a touch of genuine humanity in the romance. It wasn't the most convincing story or scenario but I was so happy to just buy into the cool nature of the world within the film that I forgave it perhaps a bit too easily for this. The direction helps because it all looks sunny and chilled, while the use of music is cool without being too obvious. The cast also help and, in particular, sterling work from Logue who manages to take a fat, sexist womaniser and make him into a character who has those characteristics but still managed to make me like him and care where his story went. Goodman gave a good performance and, like Logue, she came over very natural (probably helped by being the writer). Although these two carry the majority of the film the support cast are still pretty good and enjoyably fill in the film and match the mood.

Overall a chilled and enjoyable little comedy that drew me in despite being slight and not having that much to it. Probably best watched by older members of the slacker generation or those that have grown up but still look back affectionately, this is quite fun and quite charming even if these qualities are covering up a multitude of sins in the background.