Tadpole
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Movie Reviews of Tadpole
Movie Review: The Little Tadpole That Wants To
Summary: 4 Stars
At seventy-seven minutes, "Tadpole" is an uncharacteristically short film, but one full of life and spirit. I enjoyed it very much without actually loving it. The acting is fine; Sigourney Weaver is as good as ever, John Ritter rings true as the befuddled, academic-minded father, and Bebe Neuwirth is terrific as a more humorous Mrs. Robinson. As the titular tadpole, Oscar, newcomer Aaron Stanford is sweetly sincere as a passionate, intelligent, and very serious teenage boy in love with his stepmother (Weaver) and seduced by her best friend (Neuwirth). There's nothing at all wrong with "Tadpole"; it just somehow doesn't have the emotional heft of a great film.Movie Review: The Graduate and much much more!
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie is pretty much just like The Graduate but it has a little something more. The acting is good, the script is clever and witty. The only reason why I gave it 4 stars was because the use of DV (digital video) and it makes it look too much like a home movie and that ruins it. The movie is still good, but just the DV takes away from it giving it a really grainy look on DVD! Not even the anamorphic widescreen transfer helps. The 5.1 soundtrack isn't really active, seeing how the movie is mostly dialogue. But anyway, check this good flick out!Movie Review: A surprisingly good romantic comedy
Summary: 3 Stars
This enjoyable comedy (shot on digital video) with a refreshingly brief running time (approx 75 minutes) won Writer/Director Gary Winick the Best Director award at the Sundance Festival.Aaron Stanford plays Oscar Grubman (nicknamed Tadpole), a 15 year old who has no interest in girls his own age. By his own admission he feels like a 40 year old trapped in a teen's body. Tadpole's preference for older women reaches the point of chaos when he develop a crush on his stunning stepmother Eve (Sigourney Weaver).
But his attentions are also focused on the equalling sexy Diane (Bebe Neuwirth) whom he meets during an under-aged drinking session in a local bar. An affair soon starts between them and Oscar must try and keep the romance secret from his Dad (the late John Ritter) while wrestling with his feelings for Eve.
Basically TADPOLE is a romantic comedy that merges the classic romantic triangle with a dash of the classic Oedipus syndrome. The resulting movie is an enjoyable time-killer that manages to be both light in tone but with more complexity below the surface than you would expect. While it sounds like some sex comedy you've seen a million times before TADPOLE manages to consistently surprise the viewer without insulting their intelligence (obviously this is an independent movie).
This is one of those rare movies that will appeal to just about any audience. Guys are especially advised to rent this if their girlfriends want them to watch something with them. The brief running time you may be able to talk her into watching an action movie after this has finished! While not hugely memorable, the movie has heart, sincerity and intelligence (Uh-oh! Here comes my feminine side!) as well as all round good performances. The DVD I watched had no special features, but the movie is still worth a look. If you're a romantic comedy buff you'll easily give this movie a higher rating than the three stars I've given it. Which leads us to THE BIG QUESTION: Why is Oscar nicknamed "Tadpole"? Do the math: One 15 year old boy with raging hormones plus two sexy older women. Put that together and close your eyes. What do you see? I see the opening credits to LOOK WHO'S TALKING....
Perhaps I'd be wise to stop my review here. Maybe this IS meant to be a movie to watch with the missus! If that's the case insert this into your DVD player, pop some popcorn, pop some Viagra and Bob's your uncle. Viola! There's your night planned!
Movie Review: Amusing Coming-of-Age Pre-"Graduate" Made on the Cheap
Summary: 3 Stars
Shot in less than two weeks on digital video, this charming, lightweight 2002 comedy indeed has the murky look of a home movie complete with shaky camera shots and orange-tinted graininess. If you can overlook that, you will see some smart performances by an unusually high-profile cast and clever writing by Heather McGowan & Niels Mueller in this coming-of-age concoction from director Gary Winick. The plot focuses on Oscar Grubman, a Voltaire-quoting fifteen year old who overanalyzes the world around him like a pubescent Woody Allen, so naturally he is not interested in girls his own age but his attractive stepmother Eve, a medical researcher who can wax poetically about the heart. However, things get even more complicated when he falls into a drunken one-night stand with Eve's best friend, Diane, a free-spirited massage therapist who doesn't come across so much as a hedonist but rather sensible about the ways of love. Naturally Oscar's father Stanley is completely ignorant of what's going on, as is Eve until Oscar confesses his love for her.
At a running time of only 77 minutes, this all speeds by quickly thanks to Winick's overly efficient pacing, and except for Oscar, the characters aren't given much time to be fully drawn out. Aaron Stanford, a 25-year old playing a decade younger, portrays Oscar expertly, updating a younger version of Benjamin Braddock from "The Graduate" for the new millennium. And fortunately, Winick recruited the still-luminous Sigourney Weaver as Eve, as she plays her role with a deadpan sincerity befitting the preoccupied stepmother. The late John Ritter plays Stanley without condescending to his befuddled character, but the best performance comes from Bebe Neuwirth, sexy and frisky as Diane. The restaurant scene with the four of them dodging and ultimately discovering the truth of Oscar and Diane's tryst is very well-played out with Neuwirth particularly funny in her insouciance. Even Robert Iler, Tony Jr. from "The Sopranos", shows up as Oscar's best friend Charlie, whose down-to-earth doofus provides a nice contrast to Oscar's often pretentious intellect. This is hardly a cinematic milestone, and frankly it makes a case for using the digital video medium sparingly. But it does provide quiet laughs and insightful if rather predictable observations.
Movie Review: Delightful to watch
Summary: 3 Stars
This was a very enjoyable movie, defly handled and singularly entertaining. There were two or three moments where I actually laughed out loud, the most memorable being the scene in the restaurant with Oscar, Diane, Eve, and Stanley. Hysterical. Bebe Neuwirth absolutely carried this film with her feline expressions and deliciously subtle wicked comments. I loved her. Aaron Stanford did a great job playing the oh-so-serious Oscar Grubman, a "40-year-old trapped in a 15-year-old body." He obviously gets to display more range here than he did as John Allerdyce/Pyro in X-Men 2, although he was very well-cast for that role also. He seems to be a fine young actor. Sigourney Weaver and John Ritter were also excellent choices as the educated and open-minded (if not distracted) stepmother and father of Oscar.My chief complaints with the film (which bring the overall rating down from a 4 to a 3) are the DV filming techniques (not a good choice, although not terribly distracting) and the ridiculous length of the movie. Subtracting the running time of the opening and closing credits (about 9 minutes total), this movie doesn't even clock in at 70 minutes. I think it's 69 minutes, tops. One hour and nine lousy minutes. That's just tragic. The plot is sound enough to handle an additional 15 minutes of film time -- the screenwriter should have delved a little more deeply into the characters or story -- either that, or the chop-happy editors should be strung up and flayed. The special features of the DVD are virtually non-existent; not even a trailer is to be found. At least the audio (Dolby Digital 5.1) is good.
Those flaws notwithstanding, this is a fine movie and enjoyable way to spend barely over an hour of your life. If you ever want to watch a movie, but are in a hurry to get somewhere, this is the film for you. If you can pick this DVD up "on the cheap," I think it makes a good addition to a movie library. Full price, though, for a movie not even 70 minutes long? I think not.