Date Movie Information

Date Movie is a 2006 American parody film, which was directed by Aaron Seltzer and written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, two of the writers of the first Scary Movie. Much of the story line was based on that of the romantic comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Meet the Fockers. It stars Alyson Hannigan, Adam Campbell, Sophie Monk, Jennifer Coolidge, Mauricio Sanchez, Eddie Griffin, and Fred Willard.

The film was panned by critics, but did well at the box office. The film was released on DVD on May 30, 2006. There is also an unrated version on DVD.

Plot

Julia Jones is an obese woman, who dreams of marrying Napoleon Dynamite, but even in her dreams she is rejected. Writing in her diary, she thinks she will never find her true love. Julia goes outside and dances to impress men on the streets. It doesn't, as her obesity gets the best of her.

Later on, Julia goes to work at her dad's Greek diner. Her dad, Frank, suggests she gets married to someone of the same heritage as her. Julia is half Greek (her dad, who is actually portrayed as an African-American), half Indian (her mom) and half Japanese (her Japanese sister). He suggests Nicky, an ugly, greasy man. She then meets the very British Grant Fockyerdoder, with whom she forms an instant attraction. When Frank yells at Julia to get an order, she turns to respond and hits Grant over the head with the coffee pot she's holding, knocking him to the floor. She turns around only to find his table is suddenly empty and figures he ran away.

Julia needs help and goes to see a love therapist, Hitch. Hitch rejects her at first but reluctantly agrees to help her. Julia explains about the man at the diner and thinks it will be impossible for him to fall in love with her. Hitch takes her to a garage where she gets "pimped out" into a slim attractive woman. She earns a spot on a reality television dating show called The Extreme Bachelor, the bachelor turning out to be Grant, the man she met in the diner. Grant greets all the women and is asked to eliminate the losers, which he does by shooting them. Julia is the last woman standing and is rewarded with dinner for two at a restaurant called "A Restaurant". After their meal, Julia and Grant head back to her apartment, where they have sex. Julia takes Grant to meet her parents. There is immediate tension between Frank and Grant. Grant goes to the bathroom to see Jinxers, the family cat, defecating loudly and continuously on the toilet. Things get a lot worse when Grant attempts to open a bottle of champagne. The cork hits a vase that contains Frank's mother's remains, and the problems only get worse when Jinxers begins humping the skeleton.

Later, Grant takes Julia to Tiffany & Co., where they turn on the lights to reveal the salespeople ready to let her pick whatever she wants. Grant then confesses he loves her and proposes to her. Julia happily says yes. Then, Frodo, Gandalf, and the others try to pawn off a ring, with Gandalf pleading that the ring could "destroy all evil". Ignoring him, Frodo accepts the offer of $50. The hobbits then turn and repeatedly kick Gandalf in his "precious" (balls) and run off to "get some wine coolers... and hookers!" Now it's Grant's turn to take Julia and her family to meet his parents. This meeting doesn't go well either, as Roz, Grant's mother, informs everyone that Grant lost his virginity to their gay housekeeper Eduardo. Frank secretly brings Nicky along, telling Julia she has no choice but to marry him. Julia runs off, devastated. Later, Frank has a one-on-one basketball game with Grant's father, Bernie. Things get bad when Frank gets a huge taste of Bernie's chest hair.

The next day, Julia and Grant go to a wedding planner named Jell-O, who has a massive butt. Jell-O suggests they go to Taco Butt, but they want something a little fancier. At first she is offended but when Grant tells her that he and Julia have already taken care of the other things listed for the wedding, Jell-O tells them that she wanted them to see what she had booked for the entertainment which was her dancing. She does some dance moves and backs up towards them with her massive rear and crushes them. Julia finally gets the chance meet Andy, Grant's best man, at the swimming pool. Of course, Julia assumes Andy is a man, but she is really a woman and is a lot more attractive than Julia. Julia is even more horrified when she finds out that the two were engaged three weeks ago. Andy helps Julia shop for her wedding dress. At the dress store, Julia hits her head on a power box and finds that she can read people's thoughts. Julia finds from reading Andy's mind that she still has feelings for Grant and plans to split the two of them up. Julia and Andy fight each other, Kill Bill-style. Julia grows depressed, fearing that she'll always be a lonely fat girl. She goes back to Hitch and tells him about Andy. Hitch reckons she doesn't stand a chance against Andy — but if she does, then everything will be fine in the end. Julia grows confident again and figures that she just has to make it through the wedding rehearsal at her dad's diner; then, only one day until their wedding. There, Andy shows up and accuses Grant of using Julia to get over her, but Grant ignores her.

The big day has arrived, but unfortunately, Julia wakes up with a big pimple on her face. She eventually pops it, blowing her to the back of the room and knocking down a wall, but she is late for her wedding. Meanwhile, Andy finally tells Grant how she feels about him, and that Julia doesn't deserve him. She wants to marry him but Grant steps up and says he wants Julia. Andy ignores him and kisses him. Grant pushes Andy off and sees Julia, who has caught them in the act and runs away.

Days later, Julia goes back to her apartment and is surrounded by balloons, gifts, and letters from Grant. She cannot forgive Grant, and agrees to marry Nicky. Once at the altar with Nicky, Julia is regretting it and has flashbacks about her and Grant. Frank, realizing that Julia is unhappy, stops the wedding and tells her she doesn't want Nicky. Grant is the one for her (he saw it in her flashback). Frank shows Julia a magazine with a picture of Grant and a message. It says to meet him on the rooftop of her apartment building. After an epic journey - throwing Andy down a stairway, bashing someone on the head with a baseball bat to get their bike - she gets there, only to find she just missed Grant. She leans her hands on the railings, causing it to snap and falls right into Grant's arms. It is very emotional but they get back together and get married, with Hitch officiating. Andy and Nicky meet at the wedding, and fall in love. Meanwhile, Grant and Julia leave in a horse and carriage. Julia also gets a present from her mother-in-law: a vaginal thermometer which apparently has been in their family for generations and is regarded as good luck when it's not washed.

The film ends with Grant and Julia attending their honeymoon on Kong Island. They see a woman, Anne, tied to two pieces of wood. King Kong comes on and rips off her dress, leaving her clad in a leopard print bikini. Kong then gropes her, she says "I like hairy guys" and Kong roars and flattens her.

Parodies

• My Big Fat Greek Wedding
• Bridget Jones's Diary
• Hitch
• Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers
• The Wedding Planner
• Kill Bill
• King Kong
• The Lord of the Rings trilogy
• When Harry Met Sally...
• Along Came Polly - When the fathers of Julia and Grant are playing basketball.
• Princess Diaries

Cast

• Alyson Hannigan as Julia Jones
• Adam Campbell as Grant Funkyerdoder (in the unrated edition this is changed to "Fockyerdoder")
• Sophie Monk as Andy
• Jennifer Coolidge as Roz Fockyerdoder
• Fred Willard as Bernie Fockyerdoder
• Eddie Griffin as Frank Jones
• Meera Simhan as Linda Jones
• Marie Matiko as Betty Jones
• Tony Cox as Hitch
• Carmen Electra as Anne
• Valery Ortiz as Jell-O
• Judah Friedlander as Nicky
• Tom Fitzpatrick as Gandalf
• Tom Lenk as Frodo
• Beverly Polcyn as Old Cat Woman
• Lil Jon as Himself
• Mauricio Sanchez as Eduardo
• Josh Meyers as Napoleon Dynamite / Owen Wilson from Wedding Crashers
• Edward Moss as Michael Jackson
• Nadia Dina Ariqat as Britney Spears
• Nick Steele as Kevin Federline
• Jasen Salvatore as Ben Stiller
• Matt Austin as Fireman
• Nina Avetisova as Bachelor girl
• Bridget Ann Brno as Bridget Jones
• Andrea Kosarew as Deaf Woman
• Gianfranco L'Amore as Native King Kong
• Midajah McCullum as Sales Girl

Reception

Critical response

The film did not have advance press screenings. It received overwhelmingly negative reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 6% based on reviews from 83 critics, with an average rating of 2.4 out of 10. Metacritic gives the film a score of 11% based on reviews from 18 critics. This is "Overwhelming dislike" on their rating system.

Rotten Tomatoes ranked the film 77th in the 100 worst reviewed films of the 2000s, with a rating of 6%.

Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gives the film a B- grade, comparing it to fast food, suggesting that if you are "hungry for comedy that's salty and loud" and that this film might be just what you are craving. Variety praises Jennifer Coolidge for providing a few bright moments with a spot-on spoof of Barbra Streisand, but is otherwise unimpressed describing the film as "padded and repetitious".

Critic Scott Tobias of The A.V. Club asks, how can a film parody a comedy? His answer is it cannot and gives the film an F grade. He is amazed that a "joke-a-second comedy" fails to contain a single laugh.

Pete Vonder Haar of Film Threat described the film as a contender for worst of 2006. He walked out of the film after 29 minutes without a single laugh, and says he does not feel any guilt about it. He described the laughter of others in the audience as "inexplicable" and wonders if the American cinema going audience is made up of "deranged howler monkeys".

Carmen Electra won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress for her performance in this film and Scary Movie 4.

Box office

Despite the negative critical reaction, the film grossed $48,548,426 in the United States and $30,000,000 internationally, adding up to a worldwide gross of $78,548,426.

Home media

The film was released on DVD on May 30, 2006 in rated and unrated versions and 1,051,878 units were sold, bringing in $18,777,476 in revenue.

Soundtrack

Track listing

1. "Milkshake" - Kelis
2. "Party Hard" " The Perceptionists
3. "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" - Barry White
4. "Toma" - Pitbull feat. Lil Jon
5. "Funhop" - Todd Schietroma
6. "Do You Believe in Magic" - The Lovin' Spoonful
7. "Too Much Booty (In da Pants)" - Soundmaster T
8. "Break it on Down" - Flii Stylz & Tenashus
9. "Baby Come Back" " Player
10. "The Price Is Right (Theme)" - David Kitay
11. "Break It Down" " Alana D.
12. "Come on Shake" " Classic
13. "What Will You Do?" - Sparklemotion
14. "Don't Cha" - Pussycat Dolls

See also

• Romantic comedy film, the concept being "spoofed" in this film.