Date Movie (2006) Movie Information:

Date Movie (2006) Directed by: Aaron Seltzer Date Movie (2006) Written by: Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer Date Movie (2006) Cast: Alyson Hannigan, Adam Campbell, Jennifer Coolidge, Tony Cox, Fred Willard, Eddie Griffin

Date Movie (2006) U.S. Distributor: 20th Century Fox Date Movie (2006) U.K. Distributor: 20th Century Fox

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Date Movie (2006) Synopsis:

The twisted minds of two of the six screenwriters behind "Scary Movie" – Aaron Seltzer and Jason Friedberg – this time skewer the romantic comedy genre. The new film tells the story of hopeless romantic Julia Jones (Hannigan), who has finally met the man of her dreams, the very British Grant Funckyerdoder (Campbell). But before they can have their "Big Fat Greek Wedding," they'll have to "Meet the Parents;" hook-up with "The Wedding Planner," and contend with Grant's friend Andy – a spectacularly beautiful woman who wants to put an end to her "Best Friend's Wedding."

Date Movie (2006) Movie Review:

From the writers of Scary Movie and Spy Hard, here's another half-developed spoof that's only occasionally humorous simply because it's just not smart enough.

Julia Jones (Hannigan) is a Greek-Jewish-Japanese-Indian girl whose father (Griffin) wants her to marry a suitably ethnic guy (Friedlander), even though he's a loser. She gets advice from matchmaker Hitch (Cox), and she's soon smitten by the charming Brit Grant (Campbell), whose liberal-minded parents (Coolidge and Willard) welcome her. Julia and Grant hire the wedding planner Jell-O (Ortiz) for their upcoming nuptials. Then Grant's conniving best friend (Monk) shows up, determined to get him for herself.

Most of the film's jokes are in that paragraph. Spot the references to everything from My Big Fat Greek Wedding and My Best Friend's Wedding to The Wedding Planner and Meet the Parents. Then throw in gags relating to random things like Extreme Makeover and Pimp My Ride, Dodgeball and Pretty Woman, Mr & Mrs Smith and Kill Bill, King Kong and Lord of the Rings. Yes, it's all over the place, and the filmmakers don't seem to know when to cut a gag short and get on with things--every joke is stretched to the point where it ceases to be funny anymore.

The cast dives in gamely, and they just about escape with their dignity intact. Coolidge and Willard are the only ones who really goes for full-on parody; their Streisand-Hoffman shtick is by far the funniest thing in the film. And there are a few inspired moments that keep us chuckling, often unintentionally, as well as several scenes that make us gasp at the ineptness of it all.

The main problem is that the whole thing feels underdeveloped, like the writers just crammed in every joke they could think of, but never bothered to develop or anchor any of them. The filmmakers apparently don't understand that it takes time and effort to make comedy work, because they don't appear to have invested either. It feels badly rushed and fragmented, and as a result just isn't much fun to watch. Besides playing spot the film reference.

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Date Movie (2006) review written by: Rich Cline