Win a Date With Tad Hamilton!

Dreamworks | minutes | | | Standard DVD reviewed by: Matt Brighton

Fans of the romantic comedy genre will undoubtedly be drawn to this movie. It seems, like action and drama movies alike, the desire to see two people end up happy is one of the great pleasures of the silver screen. “Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!” is yet another example in the light-hearted romantic comedy genre. And though it’s something we’ve all seen before, I have to admit that I got some pleasure out of watching it. Directed by Robert Luketic, best known for his hit “Legally Blonde”, the cast is powered by some young talent and backed up with some supporting players who nearly steal the show. I have to admit, though, that movies are now coming out faster and faster on DVD. I was in a mall the other day and saw this movie poster still displayed in the shopping area. The movie combines the talents of Topher Grace, best known for his role on television’s “That 70’s Show” and a relative newcomer in Kate Bosworth. These are backed by Nathan Lane, Sean Hayes (from TV’s “Will & Grace”) and Gary Cole (best known for his role as Bill Lumberg in “Office Space”). Is it formulaic and rather predictable? Yes. But here’s why…

Rosalee (Kate Bosworth) works at a Piggly Wiggly grocery store in West Virginia. Her boss and friend since childhood, Pete (Topher Grace), has eyes for only her but he’s never managed to convey that to her. Mega movie star Tad Hamilton has managed to get into a bit of trouble in that the press has a picture of him not being “Mr. All American”. His agent and manager, both named Richard Levy (Sean Hayes and Nathan Lane, Lane is the agent, Hayes the manager) cook up a scheme to purify the star’s image. And so it is that for a donation of $100 to “Save the Children”, you can be entered into a contest to win a date with Tad Hamilton. It just so happens that Rosalee is a huge fan of Tad and as luck would have it, she wins the contest. Pete tries to scare her and warns her that he’s just after sex, but the date goes well and all appears to be back to normal. This is until Tad shows up in West Virginia to pursue her (presumably because she wouldn’t sleep with him) and the two start to date. Pete, naturally, has still yet to make his feelings known to her and with Tad in the picture, it becomes that much more complicated. It turns out that the PR stunt (winning a date) has worked and the role that Tad was wanting is now his to play. But what of his feelings for Rosalee?

As mentioned earlier, this is fairly predictable; like last year’s “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” (though I liked this one much better). There’s a scene early on in which Rosalee, Pete and Cathy (Ginnifer Goodwin) are watching one of Tad’s movies and Pete leans over and sarcastically says “Gee, I wonder if these two will end up together”? That’s kind of how we feel, but even though we know the ending, it’s fun to get there. Gary Cole plays Rosalee’s father and turns into Mr. Hollywood while trying to get to know Tad. Sean Hayes and Nathan Lane have smaller parts, but make the most of them. And Topher Grace, well, he’s got that natural insecurity about him (like Ben Stiller) that makes him the perfect choice for this role. Tad Hamilton (Josh Duhamel) himself is perfect for the part too, as Duhamel has graduated to movies since his days on soap operas. While the movie wasn’t a huge hit for Dreamworks, it’ll most likely find new life on home video and is sure to please many who watch it. In much of the same tone as “Legally Blonde”, this has all the right elements for a perfect date movie.

Dreamworks presents “Win a Date With Tad Hamilton!” in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio that is anamorphically enhanced. There is also a full-frame version available, but not included on this disc. For the most part, the image is very clear, though some spots had a bit of artifacting and a bit of grain on the print. The majority of the movie takes place in West Virginia and the outdoor scenes look particularly bright and vivid. Only on a few occasions did flesh tones seem to be a bit oversaturated and burnt out. Given the somewhat wider scope of the movie, I was impressed with the way it was presented and Dreamworks has done yet another fine job with their transfer.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is rather good at times, though it’s not the sort of movie we’d expect for dynamic sound. There are several times when the soundtrack takes over, but never going overboard. Dialogue is clean and clear and only a few times did I catch the surrounds kicking in. What surprised me was the lack of a DTS track, which Dreamworks usually includes in most all of their releases. It’s of little consequence, though, as I’m sure it would have sounded better, but there’s certainly nothing wrong with the included track. All in all, this delivers and I doubt anyone will be too terribly upset with how this sounds.

“Win a Date With Tad Hamilton!” comes to us with a few features, though they’re lacking in substance. First off are some sixteen deleted scenes, all shown in non-anamorphic widescreen. Though they don’t add a lot to the movie, there are a few that contain, you guessed it, Paris Hilton. I don’t know how she slinked her way into the movie, but I applaud whoever it was for leaving her on the cutting room floor. We see her parachute into Tad’s pool (presumably just so she can sleep with him) and at a party scene asking if he remembered who she was. An alternate ending is also included, though I prefer the ending of the film the way it was. A gag reel is just that, outtakes and funny mouth movements of the cast during the shoot. Some cast bios and production notes are included as well. All in all, the movie was rather enjoyable, but it certainly won’t go down as one of the year’s best, either. My advice: get a bag of popcorn, grab the guy or gal next to you and enjoy the show!