Take Me Home Tonight Review: Lacking a Certain Touch

The 1980’s has been the most parodied decade in almost every genre. Among music, movies, fashion and even lingo, one can always find a hint of this time in their current media. People do not want to let go of this period and rightly so. Who wants to forget about Nintendo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, ALF, John Hughes, Def Leppard and Corey Feldman? Instead of letting go of our past, we should cherish it and reflect upon it with gratitude, and this is exactly what Take Me Home Tonight sets out to do. In many regards the movie goes further, not only reflecting but replicating and downright stealing. And while Take Me Home Tonight will not serve to be anything new or fresh for your eyes to see, it does well in serving its purpose: pay homage to one of the greatest decades of all time by using as many clichés as possible.

Take Me Home Tonight tries to take Dazed and Confused, John Cusack and 80’s love stories and roll them into one. But instead of marijuana they use cocaine, rather than Cusack they have Topher Grace, starring as Matthew Franklin, and in place of a touching story there is a soundtrack that cues the audience when something funny or romantic is happening, while at the same time giving them nostalgia overload. Matthew Franklin is a recent MIT graduate who has yet to figure out what to do with his life. Much to the chagrin of his father, Franklin decides to work at Suncoast Video rather than getting a job as an engineer. Almost instantaneously at the beginning of the movie, Franklin’s old high school crush Tori (Teresa Palmer) walks into Suncoast, and instead of telling her the truth, Franklin tells her he works at a local big-wig firm. And so our conflict for the movie is set. From here the two, along with Franklin’s twin sister Wendy (Anna Faris) and best friend Barry (Dan Fogler), have one of the most unforgettable nights of their lives. For me, what little story there is goes by much too quickly and without any build up. Take a movie such as Adventureland for instance; that movie places story first and laughs second, whereas Take Me Home Tonight does the opposite. Now that is fine if you are going to have jokes that hit big all the time, but unfortunately this is not the case. Much of the comedy is presented through best friend Barry, a recently fired car salesman who is regretting his decision to bypass college. And while he does an admirable job throughout the movie, a lot of the time the writers have simply not given him much to work with, and the comedy has to come from cocaine prop-driven jokes.

The contrived “love” story was one thing that stood out to me while watching this movie. Matthew and Tori never had encounters during the film that made me believe their story. In fact for the first half, each time they met an 80s song would come on in an attempt to kindle their romance. I would much rather see some conflict play out, with the “romantic” musical pay off coming at the end of the film, not throughout it. The main story is balanced out by the subplot of Matt’s sister Wendy being proposed to by her meathead boyfriend Kyle, a plot that probably has three, maybe four, scenes in its entirety. By the end of the film, both stories are tied up in a nice and perhaps predictable manner, but that is keeping in same vein as its source material.

What Take Me Home Tonight does do well is remind us of a great era. From wardrobe to soundtrack to catch phrases like “That’s choice!” and “To the max!”, this movie delivers an on point examination of a not so long ago period in many people’s lives. One particular thing I like to do when watching a retro genre film is to take close notice of the extras and minor characters throughout, especially during party scenes. One can see how much detail was put not only into wardrobe, but also in set design and makeup. Spotting a well done mullet, piano tie or acid wash denim jacket can result in some unexpected comedy.

Unfortunately, the creators of Take Me Home Tonight failed to recognize that you need to do more than just present clichés and stylistic elements to a movie dedicated to the 80’s. It is abundantly clear that this film was made as a type of homage to John Hughes  movies. Unfortunately it misses the most important element that classic 80’s movies had: heart. Judd Nelson raising his fist in the air in triumph, John Cusack holding a boom box over his head, and Matthew Broderick speaking poignantly into the camera are all memorable moments from films we have come to love. And in the end, what is the moment we remember most from Take Me Home Tonight? Cocaine plastered on a fat, sometimes funny, supporting character’s face? If you are looking for a movie that will give you some laughs, allow for reminiscing and, in the end, be exactly what you expect it to be, an 80’s cliché, then I would suggest seeing Take Me Home Tonight. But if you want something memorable and with more substance go, revisit one of the classic or, better yet, check out Adventureland, a movie that will have a legacy Take Me Home Tonight only strived to duplicate, not originate.

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