Comedy, USA, 2004
Director: Robert Luketic
Cast: Kate Bosworth, Topher Grace, Josh Duhamel
Score: *

Every few weeks or so, the major Hollywood studios dump a low-budget teen flick on the market with the high hopes that it will make a quick buck.  Dreamworks was quick enough to distribute Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!—already listed as a 2004 film in the end credits. 

Rosalee Futch (Kate Bosworth), a teen-aged grocery clerk living in rural West Virginia wins a date with screen idol, hunk Tad Hamilton (Josh Duhamel from the soap All my Children).  Surprise!  Surprise!  Her jealous best friend, Pete (Topher Grace), also her store manager, is in love with her but doesn’t dare divulge his feelings.  Must the rest of the plot be revealed? 

Obviously there is no need to say more as any pubescent reaching the age of a teen can guess the predictable ending, less all the events occurring prior. Scriptwriter Victor Levin adds a bit of a twist to the story by having Tad fall for her but that’s it as far as originality goes.  The lines are unfunny, the set-ups uninventive and the characters wooden.  Duhamel might have the body to turn heads, but once he opens his mouth or starts acting, the attraction vanishes.  Grace is irritating with his one-liners and lip-synching.  Nathan Lane has a small role as Tad’s agent, but the funniest moment is reduced to him falling into some shrubbery!  The only pleasure comes from unknown actress Kathryn Hahn, playing the role of an amiable bartender who makes even her terribly written lines sound originally funny.  But that is not enough to save this pathetic excuse of a movie.

GILBERT SEAH was born in Singapore and moved to Toronto in 1982. He is an engineer by profession, with a passion for the cinema. Since the age of 10, he has been to the movies almost daily. Having been brought up in the Asian, British and Canadian cultures, he is able to bring a distinct perspective to film.