Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (2004)

Director:

Robert Luketic

Writer (WGA):

Victor Levin (written by)

Release Date:

23 January 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

In every love story, there's only room for one leading man.

Plot:

A small-town girl wins a date with a male celebrity through a contest. When the date goes better than expected, a love triangle forms between the girl, the male celebrity, and the girl's best friend.

Plot Keywords:

Date | West Virginia | Best Friend | Contest | Small Town Girl

Awards:

8 nominations

Cast

Kate Bosworth	...	Rosalee Futch
Topher Grace	...	Pete Monash
Josh Duhamel	...	Tad Hamilton
Nathan Lane	...	Richard Levy the Driven
Sean Hayes	...	Richard Levy the Shameless
Gary Cole	...	Henry Futch
Ginnifer Goodwin	...	Cathy Feely
Kathryn Hahn	...	Angelica
Octavia Spencer	...	Janine
Amy Smart	...	Nurse Betty
Ren Trostle	...	Porsche Woman
Wendy Worthington	...	Customer
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	George Ruddy
Moon Bloodgood	...	Gorgeous Woman
Mary Jo Smith	...	Sonja

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, some drug references and language.

Runtime:

USA:95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:K-3 | South Korea:12 | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Australia:PG | Argentina:13 | Canada:PG | Germany:o.Al. | Netherlands:AL | Singapore:PG | UK:PG | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40480)

Filming Locations:

Charleston, West Virginia, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

WILHELM SCREAM: When Pete is watching TV and every channel has Tad Hamilton playing, there is a war movie where a Wilhelm Scream is heard.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When both Richard Levys are talking to Tad about his drinking/driving photo, and Shameless (Hayes) says, "...to remind Jimmy Ing and America that you...", you can see his mouth moving too early before he says "and Armerica."

Quotes:

Pete: [to Tad] Like do you know she has six smiles? One when something really makes her laugh. One when she's making plans. One when she is laughing out of politeness. One when she is uncomfortable. One when she is making fun of herself. And one when... she's talking about her friends.

Movie Connections:

References The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

Soundtrack:

Get Up

Chick Flick, but don't completely scrap it

This movie is definitely a "chick flick." Both male leads are played pretty well. Josh Duhamel portrays the self-absorbed actor well, but has difficulty being believable when he is supposedly being sincere. Of course, maybe that's the point. Topher Grace, on the other hand, is able to portray an emotion in very subtle ways, and is therefore perfect as the inwardly-tortured old friend.

Kate Bosworth's character seems to be quite one-dimensional, and not always consistently. She is overly naive, even for a small town hick. I get the impression that the Hollywood types who wrote her part have never been to a small town, or at least, not since the 50s. There are sweet, wholesome people in this world, but they are more realistic than this girl. It is difficult to ascertain who the protagonist is. Is it Topher or Kate? His character has more depth than hers, but it appears that the story revolves around her.

Nathan Lane and Sean Hayes provide much-needed comedy and interest to the story. I found myself looking forward to their appearances on-screen. Funny moments and a few good performances make it worthwhile, but I definitely believe it will appeal more to us women than the men.