Win a Date With Tad Hamilton DVD Review:

Rosalee (Bosworth), Pete (Grace) and Cathy (Goodwin) have been friends forever but the two girls would insist on dragging Pete along to see their favourite romantic film star Tad Hamilton (Duhamel). What they don’t know is that Tad’s wholesome screen image is a sham and his reputation in Hollywood is taking a nosedive. So his agent Richard Levy (Lane) and his manager Richard Levy (Hayes) come up with a plan to improve his public profile. They launch a competition for charity to win a date with the superstar and Rosalee is going to enter of course.

The thought of dating a film star is a dream of most people in the western world but this isn’t exactly the most original idea that Hollywood has ever come up with.

Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! is your usual, predictable romantic comedy fair that has no surprises and brings nothing new to the genre. If you found out that long time friend Pete has secretly loved Rosalee forever but has never had the confidence to say anything, can you guess the ending? You just spend ninety-five minutes waiting for the inevitable.

The cast do their best with the predictable script. The beautiful Kate Bosworth does her career no harm as the object of both Pete’s and Tad’s affections. You can’t blame either of them falling for her. Ginnifer Goodwin continues to forge a name for herself in the best friend role but she shows here that she has a gift for comedy. Topher Grace is fine as Pete with his sarcastic style suiting the character quite well. Josh Duhamel plays the film star who wants to grow a heart very well but it would have been better if his bad boy image had been more prominent. There are a few laughs along the way however, provided by Nathan Lane and Sean Hayes. Both are extremely gifted comedic actors and provide some light relief from the mushy, romantic material.

“Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!” brings absolutely nothing new to the genre in the slightest but hits all the right notes to appeal to its target audience, 14+ girls. For everyone else or the poor unfortunate boyfriend who will inevitably dragged along to see, it is watchable to extremely forgettable stuff. Just don’t say you like it to get on her good side because it will only get back to your mates.

Star Rating = * * * (for the target audience) * * (for everyone else)

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is very good. The picture quality is sharp throughout even during the driving scenes that take place at night. The sound quality is also good with a strong emphasis on the dialogue, which is needed when you are making a comedy. The surround sound doesn’t really push your speakers to the maximum but this is a romantic comedy.

BONUS FEATURES

Deleted Scenes (22.47 mins)

Sixteen deleted, alternative or extended scenes entitled “Old opening”, “Pete’s evening vs. Tad’s Evening”, “Rosalee’s Hotel entrance”, “Rosalee sees the Star’s homes”, “Angelica seduces popcorn”, “Rosalee on the phone”, “Paris Hilton parachutes in”, “Tad greets the gardener”, “Tad’s phone call with Richard”, “Paris Hilton and Richard Levy”, “Richard on the golf course”, “Pete and Tad ride horses”, “Longer rant from Richard”, “Cathy consoles Tad” and “Pete and Rosalee watch new Tad”. Highlights include more scenes with Nathan Lane and Sean Hayes.

Outtakes (5.43 mins)

Watch all of the actors goof up their lines and generally make a fool of themselves. The Nathan Lane, Sean Hayes and a rose bush is priceless.

Photo Gallery

Your chance to view a selection of promotional stills from the movie.

Cast

Read text biographies of Kate Bosworth, Topher Grace, Ginnifer Goodwin, Josh Duhamel, Gary Cole, Nathan Lane and Sean Hayes.

Filmmakers

Read text biographies of director Robert Luketic, screenwriter Victor Levin, executive producer Gail Lyon and producers Lucy Fisher, William S. Beasley and Douglas Wick.

Production Notes

Your chance to read the full production notes for “Win a Date with Tad Hamilton”.

Sneak Peeks

Trailers for Shrek 2, Along Came Polly, Peter Pan and the “Win a Date with Tad Hamilton” soundtrack

While the presentation of the movie is very good, the bonus features are abit lacklustre. The selection of deleted scenes are first rate but the lack of a commentary track just leaves you wonder why they where removed from the final cut. The Outtakes are very funny but the feature is far too short. The lack of a commentary track and even a making of featurette means that fans of the film could well be slightly disappointed with this release.

DVD Star Rating = * *

Jamie Kelwick

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