UrbanWire

Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (PG)
Opens Apr 29

Cast: Kate Bosworth, Topher Grace, Josh Duhamel
Director: Robert Luketic

How many times did you secretly cut out a coupon, fill in your particulars, mail it in a nice envelope while crossing your fingers and praying really hard to win that prize? While the odds of winning a contest in Singapore aren't that shabby considering our small population, in the land of the free, the chances are pretty slim since there're 50 states and it's an online contest. But anything is possible in a movie, to be more specific, in the teenage romantic show, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!

The premise is simple. Rosalee Futch (played by Kate Bosworth last seen making boys drool in Blue Crush) is the resident innocent in Frazier's Bottom, a small town in West Virginia. Rosie (as her close pals call her) works at a grocery store, and with her best girlfriend Cathy (played by Ginnifer Goodwin from Mona Lisa's Smile), they spend their free time swooning over the very sexy and hot Hollywood star Tad Hamilton (Josh Duhamel, a relative unknown in TV dramas like Las Vegas and All My Children).

Tad Hamilton's manager and publicist are alarmed by his bad boy antics and wild nights out and their game plan to reinstate Tad as the "all-American's boy next door" is to set him up on a date with 1 of his fans - preferably a wholesome looking, pure-hearted girl who believes in all the goodness that Tad the actor has and Tad the human is lacking.

Rosie has another childhood best friend and he's Pete Monash (Topher Grace from Traffic and That 70's Show), the nerdish yet cute store manager who's been deeply in love with her since they were kids. He's deeply protective of her to the point of devising ways to prevent Rosie from making out with Hamilton.

So there you have it, 2 guys and a girl, and we're not talking about the sitcom here. The tagline for the movie - In every love story, there is only room for one leading man - already tells us how the story will go from here.

Hence, we see the inevitable clash between the snag and the bad boy, the brains and the brawn, the small town geek and the big city punk, and the saloon and the Porsche. Look out for the hilarious "battle" of the 2 men's egos as they take on various farm chores, much to Pete's chagrin and hilarious embarrassment.

When the love triangle isn't at play, we see striking performances from Cathy who openly lusts over Tad, and bartender Angelica (Kathryn Hahn) who is just as transparent about her lust for Pete.

Nathan Lane (Nicholas Nickleby) is Richard Levy, the manager and Sean Hayes (Will and Grace) is also Richard Levy, the publicist who both apparently share the same client, same love for riches and success and the same name that provides comic relief that's a tad (no pun intended) too much but nonetheless funny.

This is a teenage flick meant for romantic suckers, but this isn't to say the movie totally sucks. Thank God for Bosworth who dazzles in another breakout role. Her candid smiles and beautiful tresses resemble an actress who is already comfortable in her environment and ready to become Hollywood's next IT girl. Also, Topher Grace deserves a mention as the comic geek (much like Seth Green) who definitely has warmed the teenage girls' hearts with his sweet charm and cool wit.

For the guys who want to win a date with a girl they've been admiring, this movie will definitely be a good bet.