Audiences like chick flicks. There, it's out.
We love stuff like "The Notebook" (2004) and "Notting Hill" (1999), and you know what? We even liked "Miss Congeniality" (2000). All of you out there might try to deny it, but everyone likes a good chick flick; they make you laugh, cry, and fall in love again. It's cheesy as hell, but it's true.
"Date Movie" on the other hand, well...it's a different kind of love story.
Do farts make you laugh? Or how about beating up bums? Or what about Michael Jackson perversely luring small children? If you have said no to all these questions, never see this movie; it's as simple as that.
From "The Wedding Planner" (2001) to "Meet the Fockers" (2004), this movie spoofs them all. Penned by two of the six original writers from the "Scary Movie" trilogy, "Date Movie" tries to create a love story by melding together many of the most well-known chick flicks of our generation. Alyson Hannigan leads this cast as the loveably fat Julia Jones who, due to her rotund stature and unfortunate family circumstances, just cannot seem to get any lovin'.
Julia's parents, Frank (Eddie Griffin) and Linda Jones (Meera Simhan), want her to marry a man who is part Greek, Jew, Japanese and - of course - Indian in order to keep the Jones family heritage alive. Fortunately enough for Julia, West Coast Customs (the talented automotive crew from MTV's "Pimp My Ride"), with the help of a vertically challenged Hitch, do a "Miss Congeniality"-style revamp on the girl, leaving her beautiful by any standards (none of this fake "She's All That" makeovers where you take off the eyeglasses and bam!).
It is now up to the made-over Julia Jones to steal the heart of her crush, one Grant Funkyerdoder (Adam Campbell), on a "Bachelor"-esque dating reality show for extremely desperate women. Luckily, through a series of awkward "Meet the Parents"-esque moments, their love seems to find a way through this maze of mayhem.
Although the jokes might just make you feel like you're actually losing IQ points by listening to them, the directors don't stop there: they feel the need to ridicule our entire media pop culture. Playing off the whole rap music video genre, there are quite a number of scenes depicting a sexy, sweaty girl in small jean shorts washing Bentleys and eating cheeseburgers. Well, minus the burgers.
Every inch of this movie is spoofed; other than the actors themselves, nothing is original. It's like watching Puff Daddy (or is it just Diddy now?) make a movie.
The actors did as best they could with the given dialogue, but sometimes you just need to blame the writers. Subtlety is a key word with parody, but in the case of "Date Movie," it is more like overkill. Jokes started off really well, and then about 20 seconds later, you'd get to thinking, "I wonder what's on TV tonight?" There is a reason that the "Scary Movie" installments did so well, but with only a third of their writing staff, it was certain "Date Movie" would be missing more than manpower.
Call them immature, but some people will laugh during this movie. "Date Movie"'s humor is not recommend for many viewers, but if you have the humor of an 8-year-old child and actually do like chick flicks, this movie was made for you.
On the other hand, if you are looking for deep, sentimental romance, go home. Get cozy with some cocoa and popcorn and pop in "Sleepless in Seattle." Dare to go see "Date Movie," and you might think that the genre has officially faded away.
