Synopsis: As the summer of 1988 winds down in Take Me Home Tonight, three friends on the verge of adulthood attend an out-of-control party in celebration of their last night of unbridled youth. Starring Topher Grace, Anna Faris, Dan Fogler and Teresa Palmer, Take Me Home Tonight is a raunchy, romantic and ultimately touching blast from the past set to an awesome soundtrack of timeless rock and hip-hop hits.
Release Date: March 4, 2011 MPAA Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Comedy
Film Review
Production
Coming of age in the 80s, surrounded by excess and wealth, drugs and the quest for success, is a timeless backdrop for a film. In Take Me Home Tonight the setting is similar to the iconic films of the 1980s; films that gave voice to a generation who did not quite know what their voice was, or where they would end up in the end. The film follows the same generality of one man, fresh out of college, who hasn’t a clue what he will do with his life.
As the nerd throughout high school Matt Franklin (Topher Grace) went on to MIT to make use of his amazing gift for mathematics. He now works at Suncoast Video. What he has not done in his life is actually lived, until the one fateful night the film chronicles, beginning at Kyle Masterson’s party and ending up in a stranger’s swimming pool fighting for his life. On the way to the swimming pool accident, Matt and his similarly lost buddy Barry (Dan Fogler) will find themselves having a night they shall never forget that is packed full of the foolish, the imbecilic, and of course that faint glimmer of bliss with the dream girl.
Take Me Home Tonight is wholly entertaining, hilarious at times, and altogether perfect for any generation. It shows a group of people who appear to have everything within their grasp only to discover they actually have no clue what the future holds. Matt may not have it all figured out, and he surely does not at film’s end, but the reality of the situation for him, Barry, his twin sister Wendy (Anna Faris), and the dream girl Tori (Teresa Palmer) is that none of them know.
Some of them hate their jobs, others don’t have one, one sees her dream crumble, and Matt himself will break free of his geekdom with a lie only to find the truth inevitable. The film has managed to meld together the hilarity of a night of partying that becomes epic while also maintaining the grounded themes necessary to make the film actually mean something at the end to the viewer. Finding all of the answers does not happen all at once, but with taking chances you can well be on your way. Coming of age is never easy, but it can be very funny and poignant at the same time, as Take Me Home Tonight proves.
Score and Soundtrack
Having great music on a soundtrack is one thing, making that music become a character in the film is a whole other. Take Me Home Tonight achieves both. The classic 80s songs that play one after bring back the infectious nature they held over two decades ago. When placed within the story they become something playfully used to express emotion, reaction, and the timing of events. With classics such as Betty Davis Eyes, Everybody Have Fun Tonight, and the glorious Let My Love Open The Door this is a soundtrack made in 80s heaven, and a script that uses each song to its full advantage. Then there is always the hilarious sing-along to Straight Outta Compton by the two whitest boys imaginable–a classic movie moment in the making.
Cast and Crew
- Director(s): Michael Dowse
- Screenwriters: Sarah Bowen, Jackie Filgo, Jeff Filgo
- Cast: Topher Grace (Matt Franklin), Anna Faris (Wendy Franklin), Michelle Trachtenberg (Kitchelle Storms), Lucy Punch (Shelly), Teresa Palmer (Tori Frederking), Chris Pratt (Kyle Masterson)
- Editor(s): Lee Haxall
- Cinematographer: Terry Stacey
- Production Designer(s): William Arnold
- Country Of Origin: USA