Movie Review - Take Me Home Tonight

Take Me Home Tonight (2011)

Starring Topher Grace, Anna Faris, Dan Folger, Teresa Palmer, and Chris Pratt

Directed by Michael Dowse

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

Since I saw The Sorcerer's Apprentice last year, I've admittedly harbored a slight crush on the Australian actress Teresa Palmer.  Despite that, my opinion of Take Me Home Tonight, a 1980s-set film that sat on the shelf for a few years, was not swayed by the presence of Ms. Palmer.  Although both she and Topher Grace are actually quite good, this supposed comedy which takes place over one long summer night failed to produce a laugh once and that's simply unacceptable.

Ms. Palmer is Tori, the beautiful gal whom Matt (Grace) has crushed on since high school.  Years have gone by and both have graduated from prestigious universities, but Tori has gone on to be a successful investment banker while Matt isn't exactly using his engineering degree to its fullest potential by working at the Suncoast Video at the mall.  The two meet up at a party held by Kyle (Chris Pratt), Matt's twin sister Wendy's boyfriend.  Wendy (Anna Faris) finds herself in her own predicament -- head off to grad school or stay with Kyle.  While she debates what to do with her life, Matt is focused solely on the night at hand, trying to impress Tori by concocting lies to make himself sound more impressive.  Of course, it should be no surprise that this scheming will backfire.

As I mentioned, there's actually quite a bit of chemistry between Topher Grace and Teresa Palmer and they're certainly pleasant to watch.  However, they're certainly not "funny" characters, so the film feels the need to surround them with quirkiness, including Matt's best friend Barry (Dan Folger) who, having just been fired from his job that morning goes on a raucous rampage complete with hefty drug use, alcohol consumption, and wild sex.  Unfortunately, the character of Barry, like many of the other roles thrown in simply to garner a laugh or two, don't produce chuckles.  Instead, they often conjure up eye rolls more than anything else while also padding the running time.  And the aforementioned character of Wendy -- completely and utterly pointless.  The attempt to give her a storyline that matters is completely unnecessary as us viewers don't care about her in the slightest despite a valiant attempt by Anna Faris.

The RyMickey Rating:  D