I was going to ramble on about the Democratic Convention for a bit, but instead I think I will share with you that one of the eight people who showed up 5 minutes before they let us into the movie and cut in front of me to stand with the two people who were ahead of me in line introduced herself to the others as a Star Trek fan -- actually, her friend introduced her as "Marcia" and she corrected him: "Commander Marcia" -- and promptly told them about how her "crew" had gone on some kind of "mission" (I am extremely thankful that I don't know Star Trek terms and therefore didn't understand what the word before "mission" was) to see X-Men. I wanted to ask her if they took the "Enterprise," a.k.a. a 1990 Ford Escort with a "Starfleet Academy" window sticker, to the theater, but then she got involved in translating things into Vulcan or Klingon or something -- I'm not kidding.
But there was a movie. And it was called The Tao of Steve. It's a funny, clever, guy's-eye-view of a romantic comedy, as overweight slacker Dex (Donal Logue) reveals his secrets to getting women, but then finds certain challenges he has not dreamt of in his philosophy. The title comes from Dex's belief that the apex of coolness is being a Steve (as in Steve McQueen, Steve "6-Million-Dollar Man" Austin, Steve "Hawaii Five-Oh" McGarrett -- none of whom exactly meet my definition of ultimate cool), which is a sort of Zen state of ... oh, well, just let Dex explain it to you.
Donal Logue is terrific as Dex, who's taken wa-a-a-a-ay too many philosophy classes (I'm sure anyone who went to a liberal arts college knows the type -- he sprinkles his conversation with quotes by everyone from Heidegger to Lao Tzu, which made me think of the classic line from A Fish Called Wanda, when Kevin Kline, in reply to being called an ape, says triumphantly, "Apes don't read Nietzsche!" and Jamie Lee Curtis retorts, "Yes, they do, Otto -- they just don't understand it."). Logue is what Edward Burns tried to be in The Brothers McMullen, except he can actually act. He carries off the charming-rogue act without being smarmy or arrogant, and he even shows vulnerability. Also excellent is the main object of his desire, Greer Goodman as Syd, which surprised me -- normally, when you see the movie stars the sister of the director, that's a big-time red flag. Fortunately, not here -- Goodman is a great female lead with backbone, brains, and beauty. (Fun backstory: this is co-written by and based on the life of a guy named Duncan North, the model for Dex, who was Greer Goodman's roommate at one time.)
I definitely recommend this film -- I think it would make a great date movie, and men should enjoy it as much as women, but it's fun for us bitter single people as well (the ending gets a little too "very special episode", but that comes with the territory of romantic comedies). I predict, however, that it is going to spark an annoying trend of dorks trying to be hip by saying, "Dude, you're such a Stu!" (the anti-Steve) or, "Dude, I'm a total Steve!", much like the very annoying people -- and you know who you are -- who walked around telling people "You're so money!" after seeing Swingers, or "Yeah, baby!" after Austin Powers. Just remember, people: A real Steve doesn't announce his or her Steve-ness.
Back to homepage
Reviews A to F
Reviews G to L
Reviews M to R
Reviews S to Z
Search