Take Me Home Tonight, starring Topher Grace and Anna Faris

It's hard to make a good movie about the 1980s that doesn't feel like a joke. It was a time of big hair, glam rock, and hot pink. Stylistically it's prime comedic fodder. When making a retro comedy of the period the tendency is to lean too heavily on cultural touchstones. Take a look at Hot Tub Time Machine, for example. It's flooded with images of the old MTV, pet rocks, and skin tight acid washed jeans. But as someone who grew up during that time it didn't feel like an 80s movie. It felt like someone who knew nothing of the time trying really hard to get it right. And failing. Take Me Home Tonight gets the esthetics just right. The music, the attitude, are all perfect. It's only problem is a lack of inspiration.

Underachieving genius Matt Franklin(Grace) has been stuck working at Suncoast Video(remember those??) for far too long, watching the world and his former high school mates pass him by. A recent graduate at MIT, Matt could have his pick of any investment bank in the country to work at. His parents are sick of having their son at home, Matt's twin sister Wendy(Anna Faris) is dating a jerk who still thinks every day is a high school popularity contest. Even Barry(Dan Fogler), his loudmouth irresponsible best friend, is out there tryin' to make something himself. Even if that something turns out to be an unemployed car salesman, at least it's something.

So we've got the boring smart kid, the perfect sibling, and the crazy guy. Where's the token hot chick with a heart of gold? The one Matt's been dreaming about ever since they shared a few brief moments together as kids stuck together in a closet after a game of spin the bottle? Oh, there she is, Tori Fredreking(Teresa Palmer), the ex-cheerleader with a heart of pure gold. Matt can't let her know that his post-graduate career consists of shelving Arnold Schwarzenegger DVDs, so he lies and tells her he's working for Goldman Sachs. How quaint! Goldman Sachs used as a tool of envy and not public derision. Scoring major brownie points and earning himself a date with his dream girl, Matt embarks on a wild night of partying, arrogant accountants, sex on trampolines, and drugs.  Can't forget the drugs.

Usually when a movie gets shelved it's because it's not very good. Even the not so easily marketed movies tend to get a straight-to-DVD release. Not so for Take Me Home Tonight, which sat idle on the bench while the studio tried to figure out a way to market a movie featuring cocaine use. Somehow they must've thought this movie was Less Than Zero or something, which it isn't. Whether they like it or not, cocaine was a fixture in the social scene at that time, but it's use in the film is essential to one of the funniest scenes(involving Barry and a pair of sexual swingers). There's no glorification, nor does it ever turn into a drag. I appreciate that it wasn't ignored.

Topher Grace should be a bigger star than he is, and he fits the role of poor man's John Cusack very well. You could plop Grace right in to One Crazy Summer and he'd be makin' time with Demi Moore in a heartbeat. He just needs that one movie that allows him to step away from his supporting cast just a little bit. He's always the understated straight man amidst a bunch of large performances. Teresa Palmer, the one shining highlight of recent teen flop I Am Number Four, makes what could've been a very boring role as eye candy something a bit more special. She's got a touch of Kristen Stewart in her, not just in her look, but also in the way she measures her emotions. I think she's a star in the making. Fogler fits the zany sidekick bill effectively and secures most of the film's biggest laughs. Faris is a bit off her game but this wasn't really a role tailor made for her. Who wants to see her play the responsible kid? I don't. Do something stupid! It's what she does best.

Back in the 80s, every fresh faced kid straight out of college either wanted to be Gordon Gekko or Alex P. Keaton. And if you didn't then something must've been wrong in your brain. Take Me Home Tonight captures that mood of capitalistic zeal to the tee. I only wish some of the time spent on authenticity had been directed at the script. Not that it's bad. What few swerves the story takes have been telegraphed into our minds by years of movies exactly like this one. In a few years I'll find that familiarity comforting, and I'll throw my copy of Take Me Home Tonight(or maybe 200 Cigarettes) straight into the DVD player.What's working in this film's favor is that I have such a soft spot for that era. I love everything about the 80s. The music, the look, and the people just like the ones in this movie. If I could teleport to the 80s right now I'd do a Pee Wee Herman dance in celebration.