Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!
Encyclopedia
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! is a 2004 romantic comedy film
directed by Robert Luketic
and starring Kate Bosworth
, Topher Grace
, and Josh Duhamel
.
The conclusion of the agent scene is that Tad must clean up his act to convince a director to cast him in an upcoming film; the solution, a competition to win a date with Tad, is found out by Rosalee as she surfs the internet. With the help of the Piggly Wiggly customers and the reluctant agreement of Pete, the girls raise the $100 entrance money as Pete reveals to his superior that he will leave for Richmond to go to college after he has a discussion "with someone about going to Richmond with me". This person is obviously Rosalee, but a news crew outside her house signals her success at winning a date with Tad Hamilton, and as Pete sees her off at the airport he sadly warns her to guard her "carnal treasure". Rosalee is awed by Los Angeles and becomes tongue-tied in Tad's presence; the date does not go well as Rosalee throws up in the limo and Tad mentions his love of animals—which Pete had warned was a signal of sexual intentions—rousing her suspicions. After seeing Tad's house, Rosalee requests to go back to the hotel and soon returns home leaving Tad thoughtful.
As Pete is about to tell Rosalee about moving to Richmond she is surprised—as much as Pete is disappointed—by Tad's sudden arrival to get to know her and have some of her goodness rub off on him. Though Rosalee is still cynical of him as he uses a line from one of his films, his admission of not having "his priorities straight" seems to convince her of his good intentions. During a phone call with his agent, Tad insists that he wants to turn over a new leaf, and will not return to Los Angeles for a while. When he picks Rosalee up for a date he leaves a good impression on Rosalee's father, who had studied hard for the encounter. Pete tries to stop Rosalee seeing Tad, reporting the pair for parking at the infamous Water Gap, convince her that Tad is just using her, and then directly competes with Tad in farmyard chores; despite all his efforts, Rosalee and Tad grow close over the next few days.
In the bar, Pete corners Tad in the men's room and after giving up the competition for Rosalee's love tells Tad that Rosalee is more than a wholesome small town girl, she is a wonderful person with "the kind of beauty a guy only sees once". He explains about her 6 smiles: one smile when something makes her laugh, one for polite laughter, one for when she makes plans, one when she makes fun of herself, one when she's uncomfortable and one when she's talking about her friends. He makes Tad swear not to break her heart or he will tear Tad to pieces with his "vicious rhetoric". When the pair is in Tad's hotel room, his agents appear and inform him that the director has decided to cast him in the film after all. Tad is overjoyed and convinces her to come to LA with him by using Pete's "6 smile" speech.
After a rousing speech about great love from Angelica, a bar maid with a crush on him, Pete rushes to Rosalee's house and confesses his love for her but she is confused and resolves to still go to LA with Tad. On the plane when Tad fails to identify one of Rosalee's smiles he confesses his lie and she asks to go home. She runs to Piggly Wiggly and Pete's house, then drives furiously towards Richmond to overtake her heartbroken friend. In a similar set up as the opening scene, Rosalee and Pete get out of their cars and Pete, surrendering to cheesy romance, asks her to dance.
on April 20, 2004. The DVD featured 15 deleted scenes.
The name of "Tad Hamilton" has been seen as a cross between the names of screen idols Tab Hunter
and George Hamilton
.
The plot, an actor with a love for animals in need to clean up his reputation, is lifted from A Fish Called Selma
.
, the film gained a metascore of 52 out of 100 based on 35 reviews, with reviews ranging from 40 to 75 percent.
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 Robert Luketic
Robert Luketic
Robert Luketic is an Australian film director. He directed the films Monster-in-Law, Legally Blonde and 21.-Early life:...
and starring Kate Bosworth
Kate Bosworth
Catherine Ann "Kate" Bosworth is an American actress. Bosworth starred in the television series Young Americans, in which she played Bella Banks. She became known with a leading role in 2002's Blue Crush. The following year, Bosworth played the teenage girlfriend of porn star John Holmes in...
, Topher Grace
Topher Grace
Christopher John "Topher" Grace is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Eric Forman on the Fox sitcom That '70s Show, Eddie Brock/Venom in the Sam Raimi film Spider-Man 3, and Edwin in the 2010 film Predators....
, and Josh Duhamel
Josh Duhamel
Joshua David "Josh" Duhamel is an American actor and former fashion model. He first achieved acting success in 1999 as Leo du Pres on ABC's All My Children and later as the chief of security, Danny McCoy, on NBC's Las Vegas...
.
Plot
The film opens with a soldier and nurse getting out of two 1950-style cars in the middle of night. The nurse runs up to the soldier and the camera switches to reveal this to be a scene from a film. The three Piggly Wiggly store workers—Rosalee, Cathy and Pete—are watching and as the nurse on screen asks for forgiveness and the soldier agrees, the women in the audience are moved to tears as Pete is clearly unimpressed. As the girls wonder what Tad Hamilton—the star of the film—is doing at that moment, their prediction of praying is proven false as the scene cuts to Tad—described in the next scene by his agent—"drinking, driving, smoking, leering and groping all at the same time".The conclusion of the agent scene is that Tad must clean up his act to convince a director to cast him in an upcoming film; the solution, a competition to win a date with Tad, is found out by Rosalee as she surfs the internet. With the help of the Piggly Wiggly customers and the reluctant agreement of Pete, the girls raise the $100 entrance money as Pete reveals to his superior that he will leave for Richmond to go to college after he has a discussion "with someone about going to Richmond with me". This person is obviously Rosalee, but a news crew outside her house signals her success at winning a date with Tad Hamilton, and as Pete sees her off at the airport he sadly warns her to guard her "carnal treasure". Rosalee is awed by Los Angeles and becomes tongue-tied in Tad's presence; the date does not go well as Rosalee throws up in the limo and Tad mentions his love of animals—which Pete had warned was a signal of sexual intentions—rousing her suspicions. After seeing Tad's house, Rosalee requests to go back to the hotel and soon returns home leaving Tad thoughtful.
As Pete is about to tell Rosalee about moving to Richmond she is surprised—as much as Pete is disappointed—by Tad's sudden arrival to get to know her and have some of her goodness rub off on him. Though Rosalee is still cynical of him as he uses a line from one of his films, his admission of not having "his priorities straight" seems to convince her of his good intentions. During a phone call with his agent, Tad insists that he wants to turn over a new leaf, and will not return to Los Angeles for a while. When he picks Rosalee up for a date he leaves a good impression on Rosalee's father, who had studied hard for the encounter. Pete tries to stop Rosalee seeing Tad, reporting the pair for parking at the infamous Water Gap, convince her that Tad is just using her, and then directly competes with Tad in farmyard chores; despite all his efforts, Rosalee and Tad grow close over the next few days.
In the bar, Pete corners Tad in the men's room and after giving up the competition for Rosalee's love tells Tad that Rosalee is more than a wholesome small town girl, she is a wonderful person with "the kind of beauty a guy only sees once". He explains about her 6 smiles: one smile when something makes her laugh, one for polite laughter, one for when she makes plans, one when she makes fun of herself, one when she's uncomfortable and one when she's talking about her friends. He makes Tad swear not to break her heart or he will tear Tad to pieces with his "vicious rhetoric". When the pair is in Tad's hotel room, his agents appear and inform him that the director has decided to cast him in the film after all. Tad is overjoyed and convinces her to come to LA with him by using Pete's "6 smile" speech.
After a rousing speech about great love from Angelica, a bar maid with a crush on him, Pete rushes to Rosalee's house and confesses his love for her but she is confused and resolves to still go to LA with Tad. On the plane when Tad fails to identify one of Rosalee's smiles he confesses his lie and she asks to go home. She runs to Piggly Wiggly and Pete's house, then drives furiously towards Richmond to overtake her heartbroken friend. In a similar set up as the opening scene, Rosalee and Pete get out of their cars and Pete, surrendering to cheesy romance, asks her to dance.
Cast
- Kate BosworthKate BosworthCatherine Ann "Kate" Bosworth is an American actress. Bosworth starred in the television series Young Americans, in which she played Bella Banks. She became known with a leading role in 2002's Blue Crush. The following year, Bosworth played the teenage girlfriend of porn star John Holmes in...
- Rosalee Futch - Topher GraceTopher GraceChristopher John "Topher" Grace is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Eric Forman on the Fox sitcom That '70s Show, Eddie Brock/Venom in the Sam Raimi film Spider-Man 3, and Edwin in the 2010 film Predators....
- Pete Monash - Josh DuhamelJosh DuhamelJoshua David "Josh" Duhamel is an American actor and former fashion model. He first achieved acting success in 1999 as Leo du Pres on ABC's All My Children and later as the chief of security, Danny McCoy, on NBC's Las Vegas...
- Tad Hamilton - Ginnifer Goodwin - Cathy Feely
- Nathan LaneNathan LaneNathan Lane is an American actor of stage and screen. He is best known for his roles as Mendy in The Lisbon Traviata, Albert in The Birdcage, Max Bialystock in the musical The Producers, Ernie Smuntz in MouseHunt, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to...
- Richard Levy the Driven - Sean HayesSean Hayes (actor)Sean Patrick Hayes is an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Jack McFarland in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, for which he won an Emmy Award, four SAG Awards, one American Comedy Award, and six Golden Globes nominations.He also portrayed comedian Jerry Lewis in the...
- Richard Levy the Shameless - Gary ColeGary ColeGary Michael Cole is an American actor. Cole is known for his supporting roles in numerous film and television productions since the 1990s.-Early life:...
- Henry Futch - Octavia SpencerOctavia SpencerOctavia L. Spencer is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role on Ugly Betty as Constance Grady, the INS Agent turned stalker of Betty's father, Ignacio Suarez and in the 2011 movie The Help as Minny....
- Janine - Kathryn HahnKathryn HahnKathryn Hahn is an American actress best known for her role as Lily Lebowski on the television series Crossing Jordan.-Personal life:...
- Angelica - Amy SmartAmy SmartAmy Lysle Smart is an American television and film actress and former fashion model.-Early life:Smart was born in Topanga, California. Her mother, Judy Lysle , worked at a museum, and her father, John Boden Smart, was a salesman...
- Nurse Betty (Cameo)
Behind the scenes
The film was released on VHS and DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on April 20, 2004. The DVD featured 15 deleted scenes.
The name of "Tad Hamilton" has been seen as a cross between the names of screen idols Tab Hunter
Tab Hunter
Tab Hunter is an American actor, singer, former teen idol and author who has starred in over forty major films.-Background:...
and George Hamilton
George Hamilton (actor)
George Stevens Hamilton is an American film and television actor.-Early life:Hamilton was the youngest son of bandleader George "Spike" Hamilton and his first wife, Ann Stevens . He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and lived in Blytheville, Arkansas...
.
The plot, an actor with a love for animals in need to clean up his reputation, is lifted from A Fish Called Selma
A Fish Called Selma
"A Fish Called Selma" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season and originally aired on March 24, 1996. The episode sees Troy McClure attempt to resurrect his acting career by marrying Selma Bouvier. Show runners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein were fans of Phil Hartman and wished to...
.
Reaction
Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film received 52% approval rating overall. On MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the film gained a metascore of 52 out of 100 based on 35 reviews, with reviews ranging from 40 to 75 percent.
Box office
Win a Date With Tad Hamilton! theatrically finished with box office receipts totalling US$23 million, of which US$17 million were from the US. With a production budget of US$21 million, excluding promotional campaigns, the film was not considered a financial success.Soundtrack
The soundtrack to this film is titled Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!: Music From The Motion Picture.Track listing
- "Superfabulous" - BT feat. Rose McGowanRose McGowanRose Arianna McGowan is an actress and singer. She is known for her role as Paige Matthews in The WB Television Network supernatural drama series Charmed. She played Ann-Margret alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Elvis Presley in the CBS mini-series Elvis...
- "Special" - Wilshire
- "Some Days" - WheatWheat (band)Wheat is an indie-rock group formed by Scott Levesque , Brendan Harney , Ricky Brennan Jr. , and Kenny Madaras in Taunton, Massachusetts, in 1996.-History:...
- "More Bounce in California" - Soul Kid #1
- "Why Can't I?" - Liz PhairLiz PhairPhair's entry into the music industry began when she met guitarist Chris Brokaw, a member of the band Come. Brokaw and Phair moved to San Francisco together, and Phair tried to become an artist there...
- "Back to You" - John MayerJohn MayerJohn Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
- "Something About You" - Five for FightingFive for FightingFive for Fighting is the stage name of American singer-songwriter John Ondrasik. He is best known for his piano-based rock, such as the Top 40 songs "Superman " , "100 Years" , and "The Riddle" .-Early years:...
- "Days Go By" - Jason WadeJason WadeJason Michael Wade is the lead vocalist, main songwriter, and guitarist of the American alternative rock band Lifehouse.-Biography:...
- "Leading With My Heart" - Alice PeacockAlice PeacockAlice Peacock is an American folk singer and has recorded three independent albums. A native of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, she is based in Chicago, Illinois, where she sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at U.S...
- "Blue" - The ThornsThe ThornsThe Thorns are an American acoustic rock band formed in 2002 as a project of Matthew Sweet, Pete Droge, and Shawn Mullins.The band toured the United States and Europe throughout 2003, in support of their eponymous debut album.-Discography:...
- "Waiting" - Kyle RiabkoKyle RiabkoKyle Riabko is a Canadian pop singer, guitarist, and actor who was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He resides in New York City....
- "I Won't Go Hollywood" - BleuBleu (musician)William James McAuley III , best known by his performing name, Bleu, is an American pop artist , professional songwriter and producer currently living in Los Angeles. Bleu graduated from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts...
- "Somebody" - Bonnie McKeeBonnie McKeeBonnie Leigh McKee is a North American singer-songwriter, formerly signed to Reprise Records. She released her debut album Trouble in 2004, which was a minor success. The single "Somebody" was included in the soundtrack to the 2004 comedy film Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!...
- "Shining" - Kristian LeontiouKristian LeontiouKristian Leontiou is a British singer of Cypriot descent, and is currently the singer for the indie rock band One eskimO.-Background and Career:...
- "Once Again" - Frankie Jordan
- "Can't Get Enough of Your Love" - Barry WhiteBarry WhiteBarry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring...