Alyson Hannigan

Serendipity, Must Love Dogs, The Perfect Man and Gigli. There’s no question the quality of romantic comedies has been dropping in these early years of the 21st century, and their reliance on cliches and formulas make them ripe for parody.

Unfortunately, Date Movie contains none of these films, instead deciding to target the edgier, more successful examples of the genre from the last decade.

The wafer-thin plot revolves around morbidly-obese Julia Jones (Alyson Hannigan), who, despite a belief in true love, is resigned to becoming a sad, old spinster. And while she dreams of a being a pastry chef, she seems destined to remain a waitress at her parents’ Greek restaurant.

That is until she encounters Grant Funkyerdoder (Adam Campbell) to whom she develops an instant attraction.

Seeking help from date doctor Hitch (Tony Cox), Julia gets an extreme makeover and wins Grant’s heart. But her father (Eddie Griffin) is outraged that she isn’t marrying an Indian-Greek-African-American-Jew and is concerned at the behaviour of Grant’s free-spirited parents.

There’s also the shadow of Grant’s "best man", Andy (Sophie Monk), that throws the impending nuptials into doubt.

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to work out which films Date Movie borrows heavily from and that’s the underlying problem with the film. The Meet the Parents’ series, Shallow Hal, Along Came Polly and Hitch were romantic comedies heavily slanted towards the comedy side (and, in a lot of cases, gross-out, physical humour). All writer-directors Friedberg and Seltzer do is replay key scenes and up the grossness.

Like the Scary Movie series, which was at its best when not trying to parody comedy-horror Scream, Date Movie works well when targeting less comedic films and TV programmes like Mr & Mrs Smith, The Bachelor, Kill Bill and Pimp My Ride. However, while a Lord of the Rings parody will cause mild amusement, jokes about King Kong, Michael Jackson and Britney Spears seem tacked on and forced.

Even with just an 84-minute running time, many of the gags seem laboured, while numerous flashbacks are indicative of the paucity of plot.

Hannigan (American Pie) is a sparky, spirited and sexy actress who isn’t afraid to be a goofball, but even she looks pained with proceedings here. Jennifer Coolidge’s Barbra Streisand homage is spot-on, but Campbell’s English prat, like many other characters, is one-dimensional and instantly forgettable.

Throw in a dreadfully fake-looking cat puppet guaranteed to upset Birdman lovers everywhere and Date Movie becomes one film you should be warned against having any kind of relationship with.

# Date Movie is rated M. Screening now.