AGW Entertainment reporter Lynn B. saw ...

WIN A DATE WITH TAD HAMILTON!

Win a Date With Tad Hamilton co-stars Kate Bosworth and Topher Grace once lived in the same small town. Playing small town residents in this new romantic comedy came naturally since neither friendly actor has really “gone Hollywood”.

Hot actor Tad Hamilton (Josh Duhamel) has pulled one-too-many Colin Farrells. A tabloid picture has him drink, driving and womanzing..all at once. His agents (Nathan Lane and Sean Hayes), both named Richard Levy, want to repair his good guy image so they think up a contest. They’ll appeal to the heartland with a Win a Date With Tad Hamilton contest! Tad will then show some lucky country bumpkin what a great guy he is and he’ll be golden again.

In Fraziers Bottom, West Virginia at a Piggly Wiggly grocery store, two cashiers, Rosalee Futch (Kate Bosworth) and Cathy Feely (Ginnifer Goodwin), discover the contest on the internet and go ape! Tad is their absolute fave crush. The store manager Pete Monash (Topher Grace) has a huge lifelong crush on Rosalee but is afraid to ask her out.

Rosalee wins the contest and has a quick but impressive date with hottie Tad. She’s freaked out by dogs in car seats and 9 dollar lemonade stands! He’s smitten with this very “real” young woman. So much so that, when Rosalee returns home, Tad follows, determined to “find” himself and let some of Rosalee’s goodness rub off on him. This launches the love triangle. Who will truly win Rosalee’s heart?

If you ever watched those old Doris Day/Rock Hudson movies (Pillow Talk) then you can see why people are saying this film is a “throwback” to those days when girls in small towns were still “virtuous” and all Hollywood hunks were bad boys (hummm, well, maybe that much hasn’t changed). Yes, the plot is simplistic and characters are mostly “types” rather than real people but, hey, this lightweight movie is warm, funny, sweet and performances are winning.

Topher Grace is just the right combination of frustrated loser wanna-be boyfriend and career-minded, goal oriented winner. He’s very sympathetic. Kate Bosworth is a perfect golden girl. You can believe she’s that naïve and sweet. Ginnifer Goodwin (you might have just seen her as Connie in Mona Lisa Smile) is a great best gal pal with a touch of raunch. Hunky Josh Duhamel is.. well, hunky but is able to show us that, under the surface of the Hollywood bad boy, maybe a “real” guy does exist. Even the supporting players are great. Nathan Lane and Sean Hayes are the perfect tinseltown manager/agent types and Gary Cole (of The Brady Bunch movies), is hilarious as Kate’s starstruck dad. A new face, Kathryn Hahn, plays the heck out of the part of Angelica, a rough-edged but heart of cold bartender who loves Pete just as much as he loves Rosalee.

The old-fashioned love triangle is always a great romantic comedy theme. “Tad” is a wonderful date or gal pal flick. Don’t miss it.

Rated: PG-13

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