It's like a high school comedy with college graduates, but it has the immaturity of high school and lacking the intelligence that some college grads are supposed to have. "Take Me Home Tonight" is about Matt (Topher Grace) trying to win over his dream girl in a night full of parties with old high school classmates. It's also about him not knowing what to do with his life, but it's not thoughtful enough to be meaningful.
It wasn't funny enough to be a flat-out comedy, but it also didn't have much heart for a movie that wanted to occasionally take itself seriously. It had a strange mix of wild, immature partying just for fun, and a deeper side when smarts doesn't add up to success. I do think they were trying to juxtapose the two for a reason, but I couldn't find that reason.
The characters were all either smart or successful, or if both, they weren't happy. Most characters were just one-off jokes, but Topher Grace as smart, but directionless and insecure is a joy to watch. I always want him to succeed.
I reluctantly admit that the '80s angle actually worked here. It wasn't just about crimped hair, bangles and bandanas. It also had the success of the financial sector and the desire to get into it, which was a big part of that era. But I don't think they mentioned Reagan or Reaganomics once. Surely, that's a writer's mistake. A soundtrack of music that was once popular but shouldn't have been couldn't carry the movie, but then again good, popular music from the '60s couldn't even save "Pirate Radio".
"Take Me Home Tonight" wasn't very funny and it couldn't even be taken seriously when it wanted to be, but I was amused. And even though I don't necessarily know what they were, I still think they had a reason for everything that they did. And I suppose that is one step up for Hollywood.
It wasn't funny enough to be a flat-out comedy, but it also didn't have much heart for a movie that wanted to occasionally take itself seriously. It had a strange mix of wild, immature partying just for fun, and a deeper side when smarts doesn't add up to success. I do think they were trying to juxtapose the two for a reason, but I couldn't find that reason.
The characters were all either smart or successful, or if both, they weren't happy. Most characters were just one-off jokes, but Topher Grace as smart, but directionless and insecure is a joy to watch. I always want him to succeed.
I reluctantly admit that the '80s angle actually worked here. It wasn't just about crimped hair, bangles and bandanas. It also had the success of the financial sector and the desire to get into it, which was a big part of that era. But I don't think they mentioned Reagan or Reaganomics once. Surely, that's a writer's mistake. A soundtrack of music that was once popular but shouldn't have been couldn't carry the movie, but then again good, popular music from the '60s couldn't even save "Pirate Radio".
"Take Me Home Tonight" wasn't very funny and it couldn't even be taken seriously when it wanted to be, but I was amused. And even though I don't necessarily know what they were, I still think they had a reason for everything that they did. And I suppose that is one step up for Hollywood.