Date Movie

Not to be confused with Date Night.
Date Movie

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Aaron Seltzer
Jason Friedberg (uncredited)
Produced by
  • Jason Friedberg
  • Paul Schiff
Written by
  • Jason Friedberg
  • Aaron Seltzer
Starring
Music by David Kitay
Cinematography Shawn Maurer
Edited by Paul Hirsch
Production
company
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • February 17, 2006
Running time
 83 minutes[1]
Country
  • United States
  • Switzerland
Language English
Budget $20 million[2]
Box office $84.8 million[2]

Date Movie is a 2006 American parody film directed by Aaron Seltzer. Much of the story line was based on that of the romantic comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Meet the Fockers. It stars Alyson Hannigan, Adam Campbell, Sophie Monk, Jennifer Coolidge, Mauricio Sanchez, Eddie Griffin, and Fred Willard.

The film, although a box office success, was heavily panned by film critics and retains a 7% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Plot

Julia Jones (Alyson Hannigan) is an obese woman, who dreams of marrying Napoleon Dynamite (Josh Meyers), but even in her dreams she is rejected. Writing in her diary, she thinks she will never find her true love. Julia goes outside and dances to impress men on the streets, but is unsuccessful. Julia goes to work at her father's (Eddie Griffin) Greek diner. She earns a spot on a reality television dating show called The Extreme Bachelor, the bachelor turning out to be Grant, the man she met in the diner. Host Ty Andrews (Scott Speedman) introduces Grant, who greets all the women and is asked to eliminate the losers, which he does by shooting them one by one. Julia is the last woman standing and is rewarded with dinner for two at a restaurant called "A Restaurant". After their meal, Julia and Grant head back to her apartment, where they have sex. Julia takes Grant to meet her parents.

Later, Grant takes Julia to Tiffany & Co., where they turn on the lights to reveal the salespeople ready to let her pick whatever she wants. Grant then confesses he loves her and proposes to her. Julia happily says yes. Julia and Grant go to a wedding planner named Jell-O (Valery Ortiz). Andy helps Julia shop for her wedding dress. At the dress store, Julia hits her head on a power box and finds that she can read people's thoughts. Julia finds from reading Andy's mind that she wants to get back together with Grant and plans to split the two of them up. Julia and Andy fight each other, Kill Bill-style.

She cannot forgive Grant, and agrees to marry Nicky. Once at the altar with Nicky, Julia is regretting it and has flashbacks about her and Grant. They get back together and get married, with Hitch officiating. Andy and Nicky meet at the wedding, and fall in love. Meanwhile, Grant and Julia leave in a horse and carriage. Julia also gets a present from her mother-in-law: a vaginal thermometer which apparently has been in their family for generations and is regarded as good luck when it is not washed.

On their honeymoon, Grant and Julia go to Kong Island and film a woman, Anne (Carmen Electra), tied to two pieces of wood. King Kong comes on and rips off her dress, leaving her clad in a leopard print bikini. Kong then gropes her, she says "I like hairy guys" and Kong roars and flattens her.

Parodies

Cast

Release

Box office

The film grossed $48,548,426 in the United States and $36,247,230 internationally, adding up to a worldwide gross of $84,795,656.[2]

Critical response

The film did not have advance press screenings.[9] It had received unfavorable critic reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 7% based on reviews from 84 critics, with an average rating of 2.5 out of 10.[10] The site ranked the film 77th in the 100 worst reviewed films of the 2000s, with a rating of 6%.[11] Metacritic gives the film a score of 11% based on reviews from 18 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike".[12]

Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly awarded the film a B- grade, and compared it to fast food, suggesting that if audiences are "hungry for comedy that's salty and loud," this film might be just what audiences are craving.[4] Variety praised Jennifer Coolidge for providing a few bright moments with a spot-on spoof of Barbra Streisand, but was otherwise unimpressed describing the film as "padded and repetitious".[6]

Critic Scott Tobias of The A.V. Club was amazed that a "joke-a-second comedy" failed to contain a single laugh.[3]

Kyle Smith of New York Post stated that the film was a "collection of throwaway gags from other movies, a big blue recycling barrel of comedy waiting for the trash collector." He also joked that the reason why it carried a PG-13 rating was "because 13 is the maximum age of those who might find it funny."

Pete Vonder Haar of Film Threat described the film as a contender for worst of 2006. He walked out of the film after 29 minutes without a single laugh, and said he did not feel any guilt about it. He described the laughter of others in the audience as "inexplicable" and wondered if the American cinema going audience is made up of "deranged howler monkeys".[9]

Accolades

Carmen Electra won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress for her performance in this film and Scary Movie 4.

Home media

The film was released on DVD on May 30, 2006 in rated (83 minutes) and unrated (84 minutes) versions and 1,051,878 units were sold, bringing in $18,777,476 in revenue.[13]

Soundtrack

Date Movie Soundtrack
Studio album by various
Released February 17, 2006
Recorded Various times
Genre R&B, hip hop
Label Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Track listing[14]
  1. "Milkshake" – Kelis
  2. "Party Hard" – The Perceptionists
  3. "You’re the First, the Last, My Everything" – Barry White
  4. "Toma" – Pitbull feat. Lil Jon
  5. "Funhop" – Todd Schietroma
  6. "Do You Believe in Magic" – The Lovin' Spoonful
  7. "Too Much Booty (In da Pants)" – Soundmaster T
  8. "Break it on Down" – Flii Stylz & Tenashus
  9. "Baby Come Back" – Player
  10. "The Price Is Right (Theme)" – David Kitay
  11. "Break It Down" – Alana D.
  12. "Come on Shake" – Classic
  13. "What Will You Do?" – Sparklemotion
  14. "Don't Cha" – Pussycat Dolls

See also

References

  1. ↑ "DATE MOVIE (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. February 13, 2006. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Date Movie (2006)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Scott Tobias (February 21, 2006). "Date Movie". The AV Club. The Onion.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Owen Gleiberman (2006-02-22). "Date Movie (2006)". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. hodgepodge of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Bridget Jones's Diary, Meet the Fockers, Hitch, and Sleepless in Seattle
  5. ↑ "Date Movie (2006) – Image Gallery". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Leydon, Joe (February 17, 2006). "Date Movie". Variety.
  7. ↑ "Date Movie (2006) – Image Gallery". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  8. ↑ "Date Movie (2006) – Image Gallery". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Date Movie". Film Threat. 2006-02-19. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
  10. ↑ "Date Movie". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster.
  11. ↑ "Worst of the Worst 2000–2009". Retrieved 2013-07-29.
  12. ↑ "Date Movie". Metacritic. CBS.
  13. ↑ "Date Movie DVD". Nash Information Services. The Numbers.
  14. ↑ "Amazon".

External links