Rendez-vous avec une star

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 felt like this movie could have been a lot better if there had been some real chemistry between both Tad (Josh Duhamel) and Rosalee (Kate Bosworth) and Pete (Topher Grace) and Rosalee would have had just a little bit of chemistry. Rosalee was so ditzy and had no personality or substance in the film, although both of the men chasing after her claimed that she did. I didn't root for either couple to stay with her, because I couldn't believe that either character would have been interested in her. Her first scenes when she met Tad were extremely cheesy, and her annoying accent when conversing with Pete was too much to handle. Too bad since Topher Grace is fabulous in any role and the hotness of Josh Duhamel cancels out any flaws in his acting.

A grocery store checkout girl (Kate Bosworth) wins a contest to win a date with hot young "bad boy" actor, Tad Hamilton, played by Josh Duhamel. When he ends up falling in love, her life is turned upside down when he comes to her small hometown, and gets into a competition with her best friend (Topher Grace), who is also in love with her.

Generic story aside, the film is actually pretty decent. It isn't great or original but fans of the genre should enjoy it. The film works better than it should thanks to its young and charming cast. They all play likable characters and you will be rooting for them. Kate Bosworth is very charming and beautiful as Rosalee. Her character is very sweet and its hard to hate her though she may be a little too pretty for the role. Josh Duhamel plays Tad and he gives a decent performance. Topher Grace is very funny and entertaining as Pete. His sarcastic sense of humor starts getting old near the end of the film though. The supporting actors are also pretty good. Nathan Lane and Sean Hayes play Tad's agents and they both give funny performances.

Besides for the impressive cast, there isn't much more to recommend. The story is pretty stale and predictable. You can predict what will happen just by watching the trailer. The music is very annoying and corny. The dialog is very cheesy and lame. The film is also kind of dull because you know where things are going and they add a bunch of pointless scenes. Robert Luketic brought us the very enjoyable Legally Blonde but he doesn't quite score a win with this film. His direction is uneven and a bit clumsy. I'm being a little too harsh on this film. It really is a harmless romantic comedy that teenage girls should enjoy. It's also better than Chasing Liberty and the Prince and Me. In the end, fans of the genre should check this film out, everyone else should skip it. Rating 5/10

I honestly thought I would like this film. I'm pretty much the target demographic (17 year old girl with a liking for romantic comedies and good looking boys) so I thought this film would be a great way to kill a couple of hours on a boring thursday night.

And to be honest, the plot isn't too bad. It's a predictable love story, but then again predictable love stories are the reason why I fell in love with classics such as Dirty Dancing. This story is sweet and the ending did have me going "awwww...". But let me put it his way: it will only make you "awww" if you are a chick flick fan. If you are not a chick flick fan, you'll probably have had enough sugar by the first forty five minutes. It's definitely what I like to refer to as a "Red Bull". Totally sugary and so perky, at times, it can be disturbing.

However, although I liked the story, I was totally disappointed with the acting. The acting is what shames this movie. Kate Bosworth is terrible. She's the biggest typecast of the wholesome girl next door and her squealing and vacant, wide eyed stares belong on the Bold and the Beautiful. Not on the big screen. And although she tries, Ginnifer Goodwin's character of Cathy is so flat and one dimensional. She should be slutty, but instead of any sort showing of sex appeal (the only character with sex appeal is Angelica the bartender who I truly believe is one of the best actors in the film), Cathy's dialogue is littered with overt, tacky, cringeworthy sexual innuendo. Infact, not even that. It's usually laid out on the table. But instead of laughing, you just feel like slapping her. Such a shame for Goodwin, as I was impressed with her performance in Mona Lisa Smile and this character is well beneath her talent. Josh Duhamel plays the "duh" factor to perfection. His pecs are far more of a star than he is. Enough said.

What really, really surprised me though was that I fell head over heels in love with Topher Grace and his character, Pete. He did a wonderful job conveying his jealous, unrequited love. I truly hope we see more from him, because he was the only actor in this film I didn't feel like slapping. Oh, I liked Angelica too. She was good. And of course, Nathan Lane and Sean Hayes. Always good for a laugh.

I can't really recommend this film for anyone. I think even the tween market will be disappointed with it. Hey, they might enjoy the "awww" factor. Everyone else will just walk out and have forgotten it within 15 minutes.

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