Cinefile

So many comedies which focus on a certain era try to bank on the ironies and now-seen hilarities that those environments offered. For example when it came to 80s nostalgia, Hot Tub Time Machine bursted at the seams with tongue-in-cheek winks and high-fives. Ironically enough, for a comedy about the 80s, most of its laughs came from the character interaction and chemistry as opposed to any of the period props (leggings, hair spray and tacky turtlenecks). So what's the lesson learned? Story always wins over spectacle. Flash forward to spring 2011 and we now have Take Me Home Tonight, a far more entertaining farce on the 80s decade that so many hold dear. Penned by That 70s Show alums Jackie and Jeff Filgo, Take Me Home Tonight tells the story of Matt Franklin (an endearing Topher Grace), an MIT graduate who works at Suncoast video. Faced with the embarrassment of working super mall retail after receiving one of the best educations in the country, Matt's sanity is kept by his loose canon best friend Barry (a tolerable Dan Fogler) and sensitive twin sister Wendy (Anna Faris), both of whom keep moral council for him.

After an amusing opening credit sequence that uses an 80s high school yearbook as a template (a sequence I'll be sure to revisit in the future), Take Me Home Tonight hits the ground running: Matt's former high school crush Tori Frederking (Teresa Palmer) unexpectedly walks into Suncoast and sets off a cavalcade of predicaments. In short, Matt finds himself having to live up to the lie that he's actually employed by Goldman Sachs and he is also pressured to make an appearance at Kyle Masterson's (Christ Pratt) huge mansion party. It's the sort of plot that would have Corey Haim foaming at the mouth. Of course, the rest of the circumstances--a stolen sports car, a bag of cocaine--all come with this familiar territory (it's the 80s for chrissakes!).

But what Grace and his screenwriters are savvy enough to recognize is that the period gags and tropes of the era aren't the backbone of the story. Sure we've seen countless comedies that focus on that one life-changing night, the elusive hot blonde and the domineering father--here played by Michael Biehn no less--but Take Me Home Tonight uses all of these elements solely as cinematic dressing. Which is a relief. Matt really is at a personal crisis. With no prospective career on the horizon and no real progression with his relations at home, he is quietly shitting his pants. He may not always have his arms flailing in the air but this seminal night of partying is both cautionary and cathartic for the lad.

The laughs here are more high brow than you might expect. If you can get passed a dance-off and an awkward three-way with Angie Everhart in a bathroom, you'll find some racy jabs. My favorite comes in the cynical Carlos (Demetri Martin), a handicapped former classmate of Matt who actually does work at Goldman Sachs. Martin zips through his lines of insult with rapid-fire precision. It's a risky move that pays off. Added, Faris does some nice work as the quieter Wendy. Usually Faris is center stage for physical comedy (just watch Scary Movie) but here she steps back and offers a reasonable break from all the hub-bub. There is a believable sibling relationship here between her and Matt.

Why not a higher star rating? All strengths aside, Take Me Home Tonight still relies on a predictable plot and while that raises its more sophisticated scenes, it's still hard to ignore. But for a spring comedy, it's your best bet in the cinemas and you'll be dying to race home to download its unmatched soundtrack. Where else is NWA playing on the speakers of theatre auditoriums?