Let's frame this review by taking that old George Carlin routine, things you never hear or things you don't wanna hear; only substituting that with things you never thought. Let's also admit that what I'm about to say will never be as funny as George Carlin, but that I want to try, just for fun, O.K.?

Here we go.

I never thought my first real movie review in three years would be about a comedy. And I certainly never thought I'd ever see a comedy that actually makes fun of; you guessed it – other comedies. I never thought I'd end up seeing this movie on an actual date 15 days ago (and yes, I actually do have dates from time to time). I never thought I'd end up scratching this tiny zit on my face while writing this sentence. And I certainly never thought conservative right-wing ham Stephen Harper would become Prime Minister. But I digress. I ended up seeing Date Movie one afternoon in late February when my girlfriend and I had time to kill before an evening class and decided to kill it seeing a late matinee. By luck of the draw, the only film playing after 4:45pm and ending before 7:00pm was Date Movie. And overall, Date Movie wasn't that bad. We came, we saw, we laughed.

Date Movie is a movie that essentially makes fun of other comedies, specifically, the romantic comedy genre. The film manages to poke fun at a wide-range of films, both old and new. Most audiences should be able to appreciate references to recent films such as Cast Away, What Women Want, The Wedding Planner, Bridget Jones's Diary and its sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Legally Blonde, Shallow Hal, Lord of the Rings, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, How to Loose a Guy in 10 days, Kill Bill (although it was sad to see Alyson Hannigan's yellow suit missing the strategically placed crotch-heart), Along Came Polly, Napoleon Dynamite, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Hitch, Monster-in-Law, Star Wars: Episode III, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Wedding Crashers, The 40 Year Old Virgin, King Kong, Meet the Parents and its sequel, Meet the Fockers, as well as Rent. Most audiences should also be able to spot references to notable tv-shows such as The Bachelor, The Price is Right and Desperate Housewives. And finally, most audiences should easily spot the movie’s many music video references. But I'm guessing that younger audiences, between the ages of 14 to 23, probably won't appreciate references to older films such as The Seven Year Itch, An Affair to Remember, When Harry Met Sally, Fatal Attraction, Pretty Woman or Sleepless in Seattle. My girlfriend, who is seven years my junior certainly didn't get them, although that will just lead to the fun of me introducing those noteworthy films to her.

The plot of Date Movie is simple enough. Hannigan is an obese woman, in her mid-twenties, who has no hope of falling in love. Her parents want her to get married, mainly out of a sense of safety and security for her, realizing that she probably has no hope of ever finding a true love. The fates change for her though, as she meets and falls for the man of her dreams with the bulk of the movie concentrating on these two falling in love while finding time to poke fun at the many movies and shows mentioned above.

The cast is fairly impressive with Alyson Hannigan of American Pie and Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame in the lead as a girl looking for love. Hannigan is strong throughout, once again illustrating her knack for comic timing. She's also joined by Tony Cox of Badder Santa fame; Eddie Griffin of Undercover Brother fame (when will they ever make a sequel to that great movie?); as well as Fred Willard, whose resume stretches back to guest stints on hilarious shows such as Get Smart, The Bob Newhart Show, Laverne & Shirley as well as Roseanne, Mad About You and films such as Silver Streak, Austin Powers, A Mighty Wind, Harold & Kumar and Anchorman. And finally, newcomer Adam Campbell plays the man of Hannigan’s dreams.

The pace of the movie is fine and the story moves along at a steady clip, never stopping to really think about what it's doing or why, which for a comedy of this type is alright. And writer-directors Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, whose past credits include Spy Hard, along with shared writing credits for all three Scary Movie instalments, take the director's chair for the first time with Date Movie and they definitely seem to have what it takes to become the next Zucker or Farrelly Brothers duo of low-brow humour... if only they can break away from spoof-mode and venture into original territory mode.

My only complaint is that the movie doesn’t go far enough. Scenes that poke fun of other movies such as The 40 Year Old Virgin could have been funnier had Hannigan yelled out some of the obscenities and word phrases that Steve Carrel did in his scene. Other scenes feel as though they could be raunchy but for whatever reason avoids the raunchiness; while other scenes are just wrong (the alternative take on the When Harry Met Sally café scene comes to mind). I also wish the movie hadn’t been as mindless as it was. Not that I don’t enjoy a mindless comedy from time to time, but I’m not sure the movie sends a positive message to anyone, as Hannigan longs to be beautiful and deeply attractive, thinking that it’s the only way she can get a man to fall in love with her. Ultimately, this isn’t the case, but sadly the point isn’t emphasized strongly in any meaningful way. One of the things that makes movies like Shallow Hal so enduring is that the Farrelly brothers always manage to inject humanity into their low-brow humour, reminding us to never judge a book by its cover. Overall, Date Movie is worth seeing, for the inexpensive price of a weekday matinee ticket, or as a rental when it hits DVD.

Grade: B-

(c) March 9, 2006, Steven H. Lee


Recommended:
Yes

Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older