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Movie Review
Date Movie
By Lee Tistaert Published February 5, 2006
US Release: February 17, 2006
Directed by: Jason Friedberg Aaron Seltzer
Starring: Alyson Hannigan , Adam Campbell
PG-13
Running Time: 82 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $48,546,578
Directed by: Jason Friedberg Aaron Seltzer
Starring: Alyson Hannigan , Adam Campbell
PG-13
Running Time: 82 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $48,546,578
D+
135 of 177
Date Movie plays a lot like Not Another Teen Movie in that all the jokes are straightforward and obvious, and there is no creativity to anything that is presented.
Date Movie takes a stab at one of the most frustrating genres of film: romantic comedies. There?s obviously a big group of people who take in the genre as pure entertainment, but there?s also a group who absolutely despises the genre ? and this movie was aimed to please those who are sick and tired of the classic formulas and recycled stories. This is a great target, but what we have here is another classic example of a good idea corrupted by Hollywood ? the material is dumbed down to appeal to a broad range of people (gags are over-the-top), bears no intelligence and is forgotten long before it even ends. Date Movie is supposed to be a diversion from the crap that Hollywood produces in romantic comedies, but ultimately the comedy ends up being even worse than the forgettable movies it spoofs; bottom line, Date Movie is crap itself.
Alyson Hannigan stars as an overweight girl who?s looking for Prince Charming, and she fears she?ll end up with a nerd like Napoleon Dynamite. She?s directed to a date doctor named Hitch (played by Tony Cox in an absolutely wasted role) who promises to turn her into a queen. In a parody of MTV?s Pimp My Ride, Hitch and his helpers use their body shop to take all the fat out of her body (this sequence has to be seen to be believed), making her a now-beautiful young lady ready for the dating world. She then finds that Prince Charming in an English fellow named Grant (you see, his name is Grant as in Hugh Grant ? as in, Hugh Grant stars in all the romantic comedies?), and the two then find themselves in one spoof after another of the genre.
Date Movie plays a lot like the failed genre spoof, Not Another Teen Movie (C), in that all the jokes are amazingly straightforward and obvious, and there is no creativity to anything that is presented. And screenwriters Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer take as many cheap shots at pop culture as they can. Apparently Hitch helped get Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez together, as well as Affleck and Garner, and in one of the lamest gags, Ben and Matt. We ride along through all these cheap shots at Hollywood ?in-humor? as Friedberg and Seltzer bat us over the head as if to say that just because they?re in the media, it?s funny! One of the worst devices for comedy is to go for the obvious; Friedberg and Seltzer don?t understand that surprising the audience with something new is part of what makes great comedy ? and their over-use of exaggerated gags proves they have no idea what they?re doing. And going for that type of comedy is a dangerous game to play, as only masters like the Zucker brothers and Jim Abahams have been able to pull it off with style (with comedies like Airplane, Kentucky Fried Movie, Top Secret, and Hot Shots).
The movie feels like it was directed by McG of Charlie?s Angels fame as it makes its transition from one uninspired spoof to another in a ridiculous MTV-style fashion without any sense of logic. Right from its introduction it?s evident that directors Friedberg and Seltzer don?t have any understanding of executing jokes or a payoff; and if it weren?t for the fact that the movie cost so little to produce, they may never have landed another gig again. Perhaps I?m being a little harsh considering the numerous bad directors who continuously find work today, but Friedberg and Seltzer seem to only want to please the kids in the audience who just want something silly and over the top (or anybody, really, with a very low I.Q.). I mean, the script is called ?Date Movie,? which is a genre most people over twenty are very-well acquainted with, and that demographic is the group that is most likely to hate the movie ? where?s the logic there?
Friedberg and Seltzer were ?two of the six writers behind Scary Movie,? as the marketing has been telling us; that?s not so bad if it didn?t also mean that they were part of the reason Scary Movie 2 (C) sucked after a very funny original. There?s a famous saying that comedy is the hardest genre to do correctly, which is why most of today?s entries don?t deliver. A lot of comedy writers use devices from the past that worked then, and what is often missing in their work is originality, and most important, courage. Few talents have the balls to test the limits of what can be funny, and that is partly why I liked The 40-Year-Old Virgin (B) so much; it took risks and wasn?t self-conscious about offending people. Date Movie doesn?t test any boundaries and is just about proving how silly and obnoxious two writers can go with PG-13 limits. I was looking forward to this movie based on my loathing of the genre that it spoofs, but was very well aware of the dangers at stake ? and unfortunately, Date Movie fails in all the expected places.
Date Movie Reactions >>
Alyson Hannigan stars as an overweight girl who?s looking for Prince Charming, and she fears she?ll end up with a nerd like Napoleon Dynamite. She?s directed to a date doctor named Hitch (played by Tony Cox in an absolutely wasted role) who promises to turn her into a queen. In a parody of MTV?s Pimp My Ride, Hitch and his helpers use their body shop to take all the fat out of her body (this sequence has to be seen to be believed), making her a now-beautiful young lady ready for the dating world. She then finds that Prince Charming in an English fellow named Grant (you see, his name is Grant as in Hugh Grant ? as in, Hugh Grant stars in all the romantic comedies?), and the two then find themselves in one spoof after another of the genre.
Date Movie plays a lot like the failed genre spoof, Not Another Teen Movie (C), in that all the jokes are amazingly straightforward and obvious, and there is no creativity to anything that is presented. And screenwriters Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer take as many cheap shots at pop culture as they can. Apparently Hitch helped get Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez together, as well as Affleck and Garner, and in one of the lamest gags, Ben and Matt. We ride along through all these cheap shots at Hollywood ?in-humor? as Friedberg and Seltzer bat us over the head as if to say that just because they?re in the media, it?s funny! One of the worst devices for comedy is to go for the obvious; Friedberg and Seltzer don?t understand that surprising the audience with something new is part of what makes great comedy ? and their over-use of exaggerated gags proves they have no idea what they?re doing. And going for that type of comedy is a dangerous game to play, as only masters like the Zucker brothers and Jim Abahams have been able to pull it off with style (with comedies like Airplane, Kentucky Fried Movie, Top Secret, and Hot Shots).
The movie feels like it was directed by McG of Charlie?s Angels fame as it makes its transition from one uninspired spoof to another in a ridiculous MTV-style fashion without any sense of logic. Right from its introduction it?s evident that directors Friedberg and Seltzer don?t have any understanding of executing jokes or a payoff; and if it weren?t for the fact that the movie cost so little to produce, they may never have landed another gig again. Perhaps I?m being a little harsh considering the numerous bad directors who continuously find work today, but Friedberg and Seltzer seem to only want to please the kids in the audience who just want something silly and over the top (or anybody, really, with a very low I.Q.). I mean, the script is called ?Date Movie,? which is a genre most people over twenty are very-well acquainted with, and that demographic is the group that is most likely to hate the movie ? where?s the logic there?
Friedberg and Seltzer were ?two of the six writers behind Scary Movie,? as the marketing has been telling us; that?s not so bad if it didn?t also mean that they were part of the reason Scary Movie 2 (C) sucked after a very funny original. There?s a famous saying that comedy is the hardest genre to do correctly, which is why most of today?s entries don?t deliver. A lot of comedy writers use devices from the past that worked then, and what is often missing in their work is originality, and most important, courage. Few talents have the balls to test the limits of what can be funny, and that is partly why I liked The 40-Year-Old Virgin (B) so much; it took risks and wasn?t self-conscious about offending people. Date Movie doesn?t test any boundaries and is just about proving how silly and obnoxious two writers can go with PG-13 limits. I was looking forward to this movie based on my loathing of the genre that it spoofs, but was very well aware of the dangers at stake ? and unfortunately, Date Movie fails in all the expected places.
Lee's Grade: D+
Ranked #135 of 177 between Feast (#134) and Man of the Year (#136) for 2006 movies.
Ranked #135 of 177 between Feast (#134) and Man of the Year (#136) for 2006 movies.
Lee's Overall Grading: 3025 graded movies
| A | 0.4% | |
| B | 30.0% | |
| C | 61.7% | |
| D | 8.0% | |
| F | 0.0% |
'Date Movie' Articles
- Friday Box Office Analysis (2/17)
February 18, 2006 For the three-day frame, Date Movie is looking to capture nearly $20.0 million - but Fox may not get the honor of having taken the weekend. -- Lee Tistaert
