Alyson Hannigan

Movie Review - "Date Movie" - Stand This One Up

Years ago a movie titled "Airplane" brilliantly spoofed other popular movies and made a lot of money. Since that time Hollywood has been churning out spoof after spoof trying to find another golden egg. Some of these efforts have been good, some of them bad, and some of them so-so. "Date Movie" is the title of the latest effort, and it falls in the bad category.

"Date Movie" spoofs films such as "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," "Meet the Parents" and even "King Kong" among others. It tells the story of Julia Jones (Alyson Hannigan), an overweight young woman who is looking for true love. Her father (Eddie Griffin) tries to hook her up with the local handyman but she is holding out for her Prince Charming.

One day Prince Charming turns up at the restaurant where she works. His name is Grant (Adam Campbell) and he is attracted to her even if she is not the most beautiful girl in the world. Then Julia gets a makeover and he still loves her. But their road to the altar is not an easy one.

Every obvious joke is presented here. There are fat jokes, racial jokes. dwarf jokes, bimbo jokes and every other cheap shot that can be taken. And not one of them is particularly funny. They all fall short of their mark and are embarrassing instead of humorous.

Hannigan is the most wasted of the actors on screen. She is a uniquely talented actress who added spark to the "American Pie" movies and the "Buffy" TV series. As Julia, she has the "normal" role in the movie and it squelches her talent. She is the center of the film but she has nothing to do.

Opposite her Campbell is boring. Where the heck did they find this non-charismatic actor? With all the Ken doll wanna-be’s in Hollywood surely they could have gotten someone better looking and more talented than this himbo.

Griffin, Fred Willard, and especially Jennifer Coolidge also let their talent go down the drain. They put themselves in crude situation comedy spots that debase their talents as well as make them appear inept at making us laugh. No one escapes this movie unscathed.

The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and sexual situations.

Most spoofs are scatter shot attempts at humor. With so much going on a joke is bound to hit its target one way of the other. But in "Date Movie" every single effort fails. It doesn’t elicit a single chuckle much less a belly laugh.

Alyson Hannigan is too talented to let this fiasco sink her career, but she has suffered some serious wounds. Here’s hoping she can recover and go on to bigger and better things. As for Campbell, let’s just hope his career rests in peace.

I scored "Date Movie" a stood up 3 out of 10.