Powerful

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

What's great about this comedy is a very specific feel of nostalgia for the 1980s, which is not forced, or cheeky. It has more of a time-machine like feel to it. Yeah, those were the 1980s, with dance-offs, hairstyles, the guy playing the guitar on the outskirts of the party, everybody "not sure what to do after school/college"... and Angie Everhart (OK, she's more like early 1990s, but, it's the same general period). But, most of all, it's the music. It's like the greatest hits compilation, but of hits that blend well with the story.Even some on-the-face-of-it silly choices, like all main actors except Theresa Palmer playing barely-post-teenagers in their mid thirties, actually go well with the general idea of the movie - they _were_ teenagers in the 1980s. OTOH, Theresa Palmer actually does a pretty good job of playing the "hot but normal" girl from the 80s, even though she was actually born in the 80s.It's not a great comedy in general, it's too naïve, relies too much on stupid/crazy gags, the romantic element is all-too-predictable, there are no great insights into human behavior and things that were meant as "learning opportunities" seem too preachy... But, it's not bad, actually quite OK, in general.So, it's a "teen comedy for grown-ups who were teens in the 80s". If you fit the bill, watch it, you'll have a great time. If not, you might not get the joke.

"Take Me Home Tonight" deserves points for capturing that teen movie feel of a life-changing party; for the most part, at least. On a technical level, the '80s elements are pretty superficial; you could set this in the '90s or even today and it'd be the same story. As such, it owes something to "Can't Hardly Wait", and maybe some of the ennui from "The Graduate".What kinda surprised me is how some of the side players threatened to steal the movie (Demetri Martin, Anna Faris, and especially Michael Biehn).All that said, the period gags don't crash and burn like some recent movies, and it makes for a decent way to kill 90 minutes.6/10

This is seriously the worst movie I've seen in the last 10 years, if not my entire life (and I've seen a lot of films...) There are many things that bothered me about this 'film', but I'll start with this, as I haven't noticed many others mention it. Was I one of the only viewers bothered by the dad being such a shady cop? I'm not necessarily bothered by this when it is used to actually drive the plot (instead of just erasing ''pesky'' plot complications to hide lousy writing, though pretty poorly in TMHT's case!), aside from just being totally unrealistic, to boot. The dad is a low level cop, there's no way he could save his son's behind not once, but twice from 1. Grand Theft Auto, 2. Class A Narcotics Possession of a large quantity (plus, who leaves that much coke in a dealership car? Convenient, huh?) and then later (during the metal ball debacle - wtf was that all about, anyway?) 3. Public Vandalism to several cars and 4. Trespassing and Vandalizing someone's personal property (when the ball crashed through a random home's gate, into the pool (and, by all appearances, they just left it there for the homeowner to deal with - nice!) and the dad conveniently hides his son's ID card he had dropped.) I'm not saying you wouldn't want your kid to avoid trouble and do what you could to help him out, but this is just far too extreme, not to mention ridiculous! Also, the other thing that bothered me, being a music geek, is that the movie tried to shove in every single clichéd ''one hit wonder''/late night infomercial ''Best of the 80's'' song from 1980 onwards into the party scenes with nary a thought to when this all was actually supposed to take place (1988.) It would be like us listening to songs from 2005, etc... at a party today. One or two outdated songs for sentiment's sake, fine, but an entire soundtrack's worth? No...And, on top of that, they omit the titular hit? Maybe Eddie Money saw an early screening and objected at his song being used, lol. It all just felt cynical, like they were just trying to hook the audience with every top 40 nostalgia jam they could to hide from the crappy (lack of) plot. A cheap gimmick plot all around.Also, the girl and her friends were totally shallow. She only went out with him when she thought he was working for Goldman Sachs and drove a hot car. The kid went to MIT and was taking some time during the summer to figure things out working a mall job, big deal. He shouldn't have lied to try and impress her, and she should have been more open minded/listened more. But that would entail actual communication. Don't think that would have gone over too well in this sorry excuse! Plus, who still focuses on their High School crush 4 plus years later after college? I don't know if it's just me or something, but isn't that a bit creepy that he's still SO besotted he'd lie, steal, and ride a rusty ball of death, nearly drowning, for her? This hot mess is best avoided, seriously. Just watch a John Hughes film if you're itching for the 80's, or an Apatow flick if you're in the mood for something a bit more on the raunchy humor side. 80's nostalgic comedies were already played out by the 90's, anyway - you're far better off catching the far superior Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion or The Wedding Singer if you want to watch a non-80's 80's movie.Anyway, I'll shut up, but ARGGGH this movie was totally lame and not funny at all! I'm not some weird prude, either. I like plenty of dumb and/or crude comedies. But could this even classify as a comedy? How did it even pass the green light to get the funding to get made?

I'll start by saying that I enjoyed watching this movie a lot. I grew up in the 80s and liked similar movies that were made in that decade. Malls, video stores, pop soundtracks, parties, it's all there. I think they made a good choice not making it overly retro like some of the recent movies portraying that decade. Most of the characters were pretty neutral and timeless. Some ladies maybe had they're costumes and hairdo's more noticeably 80s.I usually like Topher Grace's characters, but I did not completely buy his performance here. Some have written he had good chemistry with Teresa Palmer, but I don't agree. There were actually quite a few scenes where he was far from natural and the acting was a bit forced. Sure some scenes are supposed to be awkward, but I just didn't feel the chemistry as well as I hoped. Supporting Chris Pratt and Anna Faris turn out a more believable and likable couple. I think this was the first movie I saw from Dan Fogler and I thought he was pretty funny. He's not John Candy, but I'd say he's way more likable than say Zach Galifianakis, who seems to do similar roles today. Michael Biehn is funny "cameo" as Tophers dad, but their relationship is really weirdly portrayed in this movie. Way too little build up there and the scene where they meet "unexpectedly" is a very strange one as a whole.It may come with an age, but there was quite a lot of "unrealistic" stuff I wasn't too fond of like driving a car when you'd probably be dead drunk and the way how easily they got away from playing around with cocaine, stealing car, breaking in etc was somewhat silly, but I suppose it's just the way Americans make movies. Maybe if this was a full on comedy it would've fit better, but this movie is also pretty strong on the drama side.Still, having seen a lot of Apatow produced piles of junk lately, I have to say this wins them by a light year when it comes to likability. I can't stand most comedies that come out of Hollywood these days, the characters are rude and unlikable. This movie is so much better. Even tho it's somewhat racy, it never really goes tasteless.Not a perfect movie, but well made, funny and instantly likable compared to many new movies.