As a guy who listens to Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” on a daily basis, I hold the ‘80s very near and dear to my heart , despite only being a part of them for three months of my life, three months where I was probably pooping and crying too much to enjoy the comedic nuances of “Ghostbusters II.”
So when I saw ads for “Take Me Home Tonight,” I became more than a little worried.
Was this going to be another of those awful Jason Friedberg, spoof movie atrocities? I had the misfortune of seeing both “Epic Movie” and “Date Movie,” and I didn’t think I could handle seeing “The Breakfast Club” and “Back to the Future” sullied with a cheap parody cash-in.
But I had to go. This movie was made specifically with me in mind. I was the target demographic. And what if it was good? Hell, the references alone would probably be worth the purchase price, despite how terrible and obvious they were sure to be.
After sitting through the 97-minute feature, I was left quite surprised.
“Take Me Home Tonight” is a quite passable movie. Topher Grace plays a slightly more three-dimensional character than his previous claim to fame as Eric Forman on “That ‘70s Show,” to decent results. Anna Faris ditches her dumb blonde pigeonhole for a role that actually shows off a bit of depth. And Dan Fogler…well, he does his best Jonah Hill/”Superbad” impersonation. The acting’s not Oscar-worthy, but it doesn’t ever get in the way.
The plot is basic teen comedy/drama bait: the main character doesn’t know what to do with his life, he fantasizes about an unobtainable girl, everyone goes to a big party and there are trampolines. All the boxes appear to be checked (mark my words, trampolines are in a lot more movies than they’re given credit for.) Again, it’s not stellar, but it won’t detract from your movie-going experience.
With all this semi-optimism, you might think there’s a “but” coming. Well, that’s because there is. Despite how on par every other aspect of “Take Me Home Tonight” is, it’s main gimmick and probably the biggest reason you’d actually sit down to see this film– to let the ‘80s-ness wash over you, is lacking.
Although the beginning of the movie presents the decade well with Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston posters and an excellent ‘80s yearbook opening credits montage, the filmmakers seem to just give up on the ‘80s theme. If it weren’t for the soundtrack, which is perfect and awesome with songs like “Come on Eileen” and “The Safety Dance,” one might easily forget this movie is set in the ‘80s at all.
So, what could have been an awesome throwback dedicated to the best decade ever ends up being a “Superbad” clone with a great soundtrack that just so happens to be set in the 1980s.