Tadpole (film)
Encyclopedia
Tadpole is a 2002 American romantic comedy film
directed by Gary Winick
and written by Heather McGowan
and Niels Mueller
. It stars Sigourney Weaver
, Bebe Neuwirth
, Aaron Stanford
, John Ritter
, Robert Iler
, and Kate Mara
.
) is a 15-year-old young man, portrayed as mature beyond his years, traveling home for Thanksgiving
. He speaks fluent French, quotes Voltaire
and finds girls of his own age to be unexperienced in life. When an attractive girl from his school, Miranda Spear (Kate Mara
), approaches Oscar, he politely brushes her off. Oscar confides in his friend Charlie (Robert Iler
) that he is in love with a mature woman and plans to win her heart during Thanksgiving break.
Oscar arrives at the apartment of his father, Columbia University
history professor and author, Stanley Grubman (John Ritter
), and stepmother, the passionate cardiologist, Eve (Sigourney Weaver
). That evening, the Grubmans hold a party where Stanley introduces him to a girl of his age, but Oscar rebuffs her as well while staring at the object of his affection: his stepmother.
Oscar tries to open up to her, but the unsuspecting Eve doesn't pick up on any of his advances. Stanley tells him to walk the girl home, but he hails her a cab. Depressed from his failure with the older woman, Oscar goes to a bar and gets drunk. He bumps into Eve's best friend, chiropractor
Diane Lodder (Bebe Neuwirth
), who offers to take him to her own apartment seeing his current condition. Once there, Diane begins to massage him and they end up having sex. Oscar wakes the next morning and has an awkward encounter with Diane's boyfriend, Phil.
Back at home, Oscar plans a surprise lunch for Eve but first Stanley inquires about where Oscar spent the night. Oscar makes up a story about meeting Miranda Spear from school. He brings lunch to Eve at her lab, where he opens up to her once more, pondering the use of the heart as a symbol for affection. Together they decide that the liver should be the new symbol for love.
Their conversation is interrupted by a phone call from Stanley, who mentions that Diane will be joining them for dinner. Worried that Diane will tell Eve about their tryst, Oscar finds Diane at a tea room with several of her friends. All act as though they know about the previous evening. Oscar makes Diane promise to keep last night a secret from Stanley and especially Eve.
At dinner, Diane drinks and behaves erratically. She plays footsie with Oscar and flirts with him in French. After she excuses herself from the table, Oscar follows to confront her. She kisses him while not being totally out of Stanley's view, after which Diane admits to Stanley and Eve that she and Oscar are lovers.
The next day, Diane explains to Eve that she found Oscar a charming young man. Eve and Oscar play a tense round of tennis, lobbing insults at each other, ending up with Oscar getting hit in the head with a ball. Oscar explains to Eve that he only did what he did with Diane because he was drunk and wearing Eve's scarf. Eve immediately understands that he is in love with her. They share a passionate kiss but Eve eventually breaks away.
At the end of Thanksgiving break, Eve and Stanley take Oscar to the train. Eve asks Oscar how his liver feels and he replies that it hurts, but is not broken. On the train, Oscar runs into Miranda, who quotes Voltaire: "If we do not find something pleasant at least we will find something new." Oscar tells Charlie that his obsession with Eve wasn't as important as it seemed. Charlie doesn't understand his friend, but Oscar smiles as the train rolls on.
, 78% of critics gave the film a positive review.
Romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...
directed by Gary Winick
Gary Winick
Gary Winick was an American film director and producer who directed films such as Tadpole and 13 Going on 30...
and written by Heather McGowan
Heather McGowan
Heather McGowan is an American writer. She is the author of the novels Schooling and The Duchess of Nothing. According to her publisher Bloomsbury USA, Schooling was named Best Book of the Year by Newsweek, the Detroit Free Press, and the Hartford Courant. She also co-wrote the screenplay for...
and Niels Mueller
Niels Mueller
Niels Mueller is a filmmaker currently resident in Los Angeles. He was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and attended Tufts University where he earned a BA. While an undergraduate, he collaborated with fellow-student Gary Winick on a number of independent film projects. Mueller subsequently...
. It stars Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her critically acclaimed role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, for which she has received worldwide recognition .Other notable roles include Dana...
, Bebe Neuwirth
Bebe Neuwirth
Beatrice "Bebe" Neuwirth is an American actress, singer and dancer. She has worked in television and is known for her portrayal of Dr. Lilith Sternin, Dr. Frasier Crane's wife , on both the TV sitcom Cheers , and its spin-off Frasier...
, Aaron Stanford
Aaron Stanford
Aaron Stanford is an American actor, best known for his role as Pyro in X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand films, and Doug Bukowski in the 2006 The Hills Have Eyes remake....
, John Ritter
John Ritter
Jonathan Southworth "John" Ritter was an American actor, voice over artist and comedian perhaps best known for having played Jack Tripper and Paul Hennessy in the ABC sitcoms Three's Company and 8 Simple Rules, respectively...
, Robert Iler
Robert Iler
Robert Michael Iler is an American actor, known for his portrayal of A.J. Soprano on The Sopranos which aired on HBO from 1999-2007....
, and Kate Mara
Kate Mara
Kate Mara is an American television and film actress. Beginning acting in her hometown of Bedford, New York, she moved from the stage to her first film, Random Hearts...
.
Plot
Oscar Grubman (Aaron StanfordAaron Stanford
Aaron Stanford is an American actor, best known for his role as Pyro in X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand films, and Doug Bukowski in the 2006 The Hills Have Eyes remake....
) is a 15-year-old young man, portrayed as mature beyond his years, traveling home for Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
. He speaks fluent French, quotes Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
and finds girls of his own age to be unexperienced in life. When an attractive girl from his school, Miranda Spear (Kate Mara
Kate Mara
Kate Mara is an American television and film actress. Beginning acting in her hometown of Bedford, New York, she moved from the stage to her first film, Random Hearts...
), approaches Oscar, he politely brushes her off. Oscar confides in his friend Charlie (Robert Iler
Robert Iler
Robert Michael Iler is an American actor, known for his portrayal of A.J. Soprano on The Sopranos which aired on HBO from 1999-2007....
) that he is in love with a mature woman and plans to win her heart during Thanksgiving break.
Oscar arrives at the apartment of his father, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
history professor and author, Stanley Grubman (John Ritter
John Ritter
Jonathan Southworth "John" Ritter was an American actor, voice over artist and comedian perhaps best known for having played Jack Tripper and Paul Hennessy in the ABC sitcoms Three's Company and 8 Simple Rules, respectively...
), and stepmother, the passionate cardiologist, Eve (Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her critically acclaimed role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, for which she has received worldwide recognition .Other notable roles include Dana...
). That evening, the Grubmans hold a party where Stanley introduces him to a girl of his age, but Oscar rebuffs her as well while staring at the object of his affection: his stepmother.
Oscar tries to open up to her, but the unsuspecting Eve doesn't pick up on any of his advances. Stanley tells him to walk the girl home, but he hails her a cab. Depressed from his failure with the older woman, Oscar goes to a bar and gets drunk. He bumps into Eve's best friend, chiropractor
Chiropractor
A Chiropractor, according to the Association of Chiropractic Colleges , "focuses on the relationship between the body's main structures – the skeleton, the muscles and the nerves – and the patient's health. Chiropractors believe that health can be improved and preserved by making adjustments to...
Diane Lodder (Bebe Neuwirth
Bebe Neuwirth
Beatrice "Bebe" Neuwirth is an American actress, singer and dancer. She has worked in television and is known for her portrayal of Dr. Lilith Sternin, Dr. Frasier Crane's wife , on both the TV sitcom Cheers , and its spin-off Frasier...
), who offers to take him to her own apartment seeing his current condition. Once there, Diane begins to massage him and they end up having sex. Oscar wakes the next morning and has an awkward encounter with Diane's boyfriend, Phil.
Back at home, Oscar plans a surprise lunch for Eve but first Stanley inquires about where Oscar spent the night. Oscar makes up a story about meeting Miranda Spear from school. He brings lunch to Eve at her lab, where he opens up to her once more, pondering the use of the heart as a symbol for affection. Together they decide that the liver should be the new symbol for love.
Their conversation is interrupted by a phone call from Stanley, who mentions that Diane will be joining them for dinner. Worried that Diane will tell Eve about their tryst, Oscar finds Diane at a tea room with several of her friends. All act as though they know about the previous evening. Oscar makes Diane promise to keep last night a secret from Stanley and especially Eve.
At dinner, Diane drinks and behaves erratically. She plays footsie with Oscar and flirts with him in French. After she excuses herself from the table, Oscar follows to confront her. She kisses him while not being totally out of Stanley's view, after which Diane admits to Stanley and Eve that she and Oscar are lovers.
The next day, Diane explains to Eve that she found Oscar a charming young man. Eve and Oscar play a tense round of tennis, lobbing insults at each other, ending up with Oscar getting hit in the head with a ball. Oscar explains to Eve that he only did what he did with Diane because he was drunk and wearing Eve's scarf. Eve immediately understands that he is in love with her. They share a passionate kiss but Eve eventually breaks away.
At the end of Thanksgiving break, Eve and Stanley take Oscar to the train. Eve asks Oscar how his liver feels and he replies that it hurts, but is not broken. On the train, Oscar runs into Miranda, who quotes Voltaire: "If we do not find something pleasant at least we will find something new." Oscar tells Charlie that his obsession with Eve wasn't as important as it seemed. Charlie doesn't understand his friend, but Oscar smiles as the train rolls on.
Cast
- Aaron StanfordAaron StanfordAaron Stanford is an American actor, best known for his role as Pyro in X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand films, and Doug Bukowski in the 2006 The Hills Have Eyes remake....
as Oscar Grubman - Bebe NeuwirthBebe NeuwirthBeatrice "Bebe" Neuwirth is an American actress, singer and dancer. She has worked in television and is known for her portrayal of Dr. Lilith Sternin, Dr. Frasier Crane's wife , on both the TV sitcom Cheers , and its spin-off Frasier...
as Diane Lodder - Sigourney WeaverSigourney WeaverSigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her critically acclaimed role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, for which she has received worldwide recognition .Other notable roles include Dana...
as Eve Grubman - John RitterJohn RitterJonathan Southworth "John" Ritter was an American actor, voice over artist and comedian perhaps best known for having played Jack Tripper and Paul Hennessy in the ABC sitcoms Three's Company and 8 Simple Rules, respectively...
as Stanley Grubman - Robert IlerRobert IlerRobert Michael Iler is an American actor, known for his portrayal of A.J. Soprano on The Sopranos which aired on HBO from 1999-2007....
as Charlie - Kate MaraKate MaraKate Mara is an American television and film actress. Beginning acting in her hometown of Bedford, New York, she moved from the stage to her first film, Random Hearts...
as Miranda Spear - Adam LeFevreAdam LeFevreAdam LeFevre is an American character actor, poet and playwright who works in cinema, television, theater and commercials....
as Phil - Ron RifkinRon RifkinRon Rifkin is an American actor. He is best-known for his roles as Arvin Sloane on the spy drama Alias and as Saul Holden on the American family drama Brothers & Sisters.-Personal life:...
as Professor Tisch - Peter Appel as Jimmy
Critical response
Tadpole received mostly positive reviews. Based on 105 reviews collected by the film review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, 78% of critics gave the film a positive review.