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Date Movie

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This article is about the spoof. For the genre, see romance film.
Date Movie
Promotional poster for Date Movie
Directed byJason Friedberg
Aaron Seltzer
Written byJason Friedberg
Aaron Seltzer
Produced byJason Friedberg
Jack L. Murray
Paul Schiff
Aaron Seltzer
StarringAlyson Hannigan
Sophie Monk
Adam Campbell
Eddie Griffin
Fred Willard
Jennifer Coolidge
Mauricio Sanchez
CinematographyShawn Maurer
Edited byPaul Hirsch
Release dates
February 17, 2006
Running time
83 min.
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million

Date Movie is a 2006 spoof of romantic comedies directed and written by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, two of the writers of the first Scary Movie. It stars Alyson Hannigan, Adam Campbell, Sophie Monk, Eddie Griffin, Fred Willard, Jennifer Coolidge and Mauricio Sanchez. The film was released on DVD on May 30, 2006. A sequel titled Date Movie 2 is planned, but possibly for a 2009 release.

Plot

The film opens with Julia Jones (Alyson Hannigan), an obese bride-to-be, walking down the aisle, a bouquet of flowers in hand, and approaching someone who appears to be Napoleon Dynamite (Josh Meyers), wearing a shirt that says DON'T VOTE FOR PEDRO. She taps him on the shoulder and he turns around and says, in typical Napoleon fashion, "Idiot! Hell no, I won't marry you! God! What would you do in a situation like this? God!" He then proceeds to dance for a bit, which is too much for Julia to handle. She screams...and wakes up, and we see that this was all a dream.

She begins to write in her diary (Bridget Jones's Diary), detailing her dreams of true love. She notes the old spinster who lives in the apartment across from hers with her many cats, and vows never to become like her. She decides that there is a man somewhere out in the world for her, and she is determined to find him. The credits begin to roll as Julia dances around town to Kelis' "Milkshake", with many hilarious occurrences.

Julia works at a Greek diner with her father, Frank (Eddie Griffin) and mother, Linda (Meera Simhan). It is clear from the beginning that Julia hates her job and her life as a "Greek Irish Japanese Jew" (My Big Fat Greek Wedding). Frank wants to marry her off to Nicky (Judah Friedlander), a man just as obese and obnoxious. Julia is not too thrilled with this prospect, but instantly forgets all her troubles when she serves coffee to the gorgeous Grant Fonckyerdoder (Tyler Burt), who captures her heart. He apparently falls in love with her on the spot, as well, and things might have gone exceedingly well if she didn't smash him over the head with the coffee pot when Frank calls her over to the counter.

Julia realizes she is a hopeless case and so she decides to go and visit Hitch, the date doctor (Tony Cox). She tells him about Grant and how he is the man of her dreams, but how it will be impossible to get him because of the way she looks. Hitch takes pity on her, especially after her disgusting and slobbery attempts at kissing, and brings her to the garage where he instructs his homeboys to give her a makeover (Pimp My Ride). Afterwards, Julia emerges, now looking beautiful and sexy in a slinky black dress.

She next receives a place on a reality TV show entitled "Extreme Bachelor: Desperate Edition" (The Bachelor and "Extreme Makeover"), where Grant is the desperate bachelor. He sees her, now considerably thinner, and falls for her again, even going so far as to shoot every other contestant during the elimination round. He and Julia kiss and then win a dinner for two at A Restaurant.

Grant appears to be enjoying the dinner immensely, as he orgasms and smashes a wine glass over his head (When Harry Met Sally). He and Julia discuss their goals for the future (Julia talks about how she applied to a pastry-making class at Harvard, which spoofs scenes Legally Blonde and Girls Gone Wild).

Grant and Julia go back to her apartment and have sex (Grant's orgasms sounding painfully familiar), and then realize that Julia's cat lady neighbor was watching them the whole time. "She faked it, Grant," the lady says, meaning Julia, "but I didn't." Grant goes into the bathroom, where he discovers Julia's sanitary products, but is pleased with the crotch-scratcher.

Julia then invites him to meet her parents (Meet the Parents). The meeting is very awkward, as Grant is clearly not a Greek Irish Japanese Jew, and Frank does not approve of this. Linda even goes so far as to ask Grant to ejaculate into a cup just so she'll know he isn't "shooting blanks". When Grant goes to the bathroom, however, he discovers the family cat, Jinxers, who is apparently suffering from constipation. As they eat dinner, Grant politely comments on the large vase above the fireplace, and Linda responds by telling him that it's an urn and it contains the remains of Frank's mother. Matters are made worse when Grant attempts to open a champagne bottle and the cork knocks the urn to the floor, revealing the grandmother's corpse. Jinxers then proceeds to hump it furiously as the family recoils in horror.

Grant confesses to Julia that he loves her (Love Actually), despite what her family may think of him, though attention is diverted from this romantic discussion by Michael Jackson (Edward Moss) seducing a little boy in the background. The kid's mother eventually shows up and proceeds to beat Mr. Jackson with a doll, and a wooden cart, and starts bashing his head against a lid of a dumpster.

Later on, Grant takes Julia into a jewelery shop, where he proposes to her, and she accept (Sweet Home Alabama). Just as they leave, The Lord of the Ring charaters Frodo (Tom Lenk), Sam (Scott Bridges) and Gandalf (Tom Fitzpatrick) come in, whereupon Frodo hands over the One Ring to the clerk at the ring counter, who gives him $50 bucks for it. He and Sam then proceed to beat up Gandalf when he refuses to let them sell the ring.

Now it's Grant's turn to take Julia and her family to meet his parents (Meet the Fockers). The meeting, of course, doesn't go over nearly as well as Grant would have helped, as his father Bernie (Fred Willard) is busy practicing a very strange-looking form of karate in the front lawn when they arrive, and his mother Roz (Jennifer Coolidge) insults Julia in Jewish and tells how Grant initially lost his virginity to flamboyantly gay housekeeper Eduardo (Mauricio Sanchez).

Meanwhile, Frank has taken it upon himself to bring Nicky to this little family reunion, and he tells Julia that she has to marry him. Julia is, of course, devastated; but Frank gets his comeuppance while engaging in a game of basketball that seems to involve a great quantity of Mr. Fonckyerdoder's chest hair (Along Came Polly).

Roz recommends Julia and Grant to get a wedding planner, Jell-O (Valery Ortiz), to help them plan their wedding; a "simple but elegant" extravaganza, according to Julia. Jell-O suggests a restaurant called Taco Butt and, after Julia and Grant decline, is insulted and rips off her business suit to reveal a golden spandex outfit and exceptionally large buttocks (Monster-in-Law), causing Julia and Grant to scream with terror.

Next up, it's the swimming pool, where Grant says his best man, Andy, will be waiting to meet them, insisting that Andy and Julia will hit it off famously. This idea is all blown to pieces, however, when it is revealed that Andy (Sophie Monk) is, in fact, a woman, and a very attractive one at that (The Parent Trap). Julia is even further horrified when she realizes that Grant and Andy were engaged up until three weeks ago (they first met when Grant was a hooker in LA), and that Andy is clearly plotting to break up Julia and Grant's wedding and steal Grant back (My Best Friend's Wedding). A brief scene of Grant and Julia at marridge counceling Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Andy helps Julia shop for her wedding dress, anyway, but things go awry when Julia smacks her head on a cabinet, falls near a fuse panel (There's Something About Mary) and finds she can hear people's thoughts (What Women Want), and hears Andy's plot to break up her and Grant's wedding. She quickly changes into an outfit reminiscent of Uma Thurman's in Kill Bill, and she and Andy duel it out, until their swords break at first contact.

Depressed, Julia realizes that whenever she looks in the mirror, she still sees the fat girl she once was, and looks to Hitch for guidance. He isn't much help, however, as he informs her that she really stands no chance against Andy, whom he proclaims as "hot as hell". But he does assure Julia that everything will work out in the end. She asks him if that will really be the case. He replies that no, it isn't, but all his white customers seem to believe it, including Britney Spears (Nadia Dina Ariqat) and Kevin Federline (Nick Steele). With renewed determination, Julia invites both families to dinner at the Greek diner, where they join together in a rousing rendition of a popular song featuring Lil' Jon.

On the morning of the wedding, Julia wakes up to discover a monstrous zit on her chin, which she attempts to pop, an act that ultimately makes her late for her own wedding. At the wedding itself, Andy has confronted Grant and informs him that she is ready to take him back. Grant denies having any interest in her anymore, but rewards her with one last kiss, anyway. Unfortunately, at this exact moment, Julia catches them in the act, her bouquet of flowers falling from her hands in dramatic slow-motion, and the wedding is immediately called off.

Julia's apartment is now covered in balloons and teddy bears (Nutty Professor II: The Klumps), loudly declaring Grant's apology, but she refuses to take him back. She consents to marry Nicky, but when at the wedding ceremony, she has a series of flashbacks that remind her how much she truly loves Grant. Frank apparently has the ability to hear these flashbacks, and objects to the marriage, showing Julia an article that Grant has written in a popular magazine, entitled "How to Lose a Girl in Ten Days" (How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days). The article professes Grant's apology over and over (and over and over), and finally asks Julia to meet him on the roof of her apartment (Sleepless in Seattle), if she still wants to be with him (An Affair to Remember). Julia is thrilled, until she realizes that the article is six months old and that she has very little time.

She runs back to her apartment (with the help of Hitch, a baseball bat, and a motorcycle), but Grant - now six months older and sorely needing a shave (he looks like Tom Hanks in Cast Away) - has left the roof and now stands, desolate, in front of the apartment. Julia reaches the roof, knocking Andy down several flights of stairs in the process, and just as Grant lets out an anguished cry of "JULIA!" several stories below, she topples off the roof and into his arms. They are reunited at last!

Their wedding is simple but elegant, just as Julia wanted, and everyone they have encountered during the movie is there (Andy and Nicky get together, as do Jinxers and Julia's cat lady neighbor, and Hitch and Jell-O). Grant and Julia finally get married and drive away in a beautiful carriage (A Cinderella Story) to their honeymoon on King Kong Island.

Of course, what happens on their honeymoon is no stretch of the imagination. Grant and Julia film the sacrifice of a beautiful maiden (Carmen Electra) to the giant gorilla, who tickles her fancy (literally) before happily crushing her with his giant hairy fist. Well, not all love stories can end happily.

List of spoofed movies

File:Movie date movie hitch.jpg
Dr. Hitch (Tony Cox), parodying Will Smith's character in Hitch.
File:Movie date movie hannigan large.jpg
Hannigan as Julia; overweight at the start of the movie.

Television Shows

Other References

MPAA

Rated PG-13 for continuous crude and sexual humor, including language. Not rated on DVD.

DVD

The DVD has been released on May 30, 2006.

The DVD comes with an English, French, 2 commentaries, a commentary featuring two critics who apparently did not like the film, and an audience track from a test screening.

Cast

Critical Reaction

Although Date Movie grossed US$ 48 million in the United States and US$ 84 million worldwide, it was panned by critics upon its release. On RottenTomatoes, the movie is considered "rotten" with an 8% on the tomatometer. Also, internationally renowned critic, Sean Ryan, has registered his disgust with the movie multiple times, going so far as to call it 'The Holocaust of Movies.' One of the main points of issue many critics had with the movie was the general consensus that Date Movie did not spoof other movies, rather it merely catalogued them.

Deleted Scenes

There were some scenes in this movie that had to be blocked out or changed, but available on the Unrated Addition. Here they are,


  • In the beginning in the dream sequence, after the Napoleon Dynimite character says gosh, he runs back and falls to the ground.
  • The scene where Jinxers is on the toilet is much longer than in the theatrical version.
  • When Julia is asking Little Jack questions from cards, She actually ask Little Jack four questions than only two questions from the theatrical verson.
  • When Grant and Julia visits Jell-o, the Wedding Planner, they walk in and she introduces herself, and then she says Funkyerdoder then we cut to her walking to her desk where we see her extremely large buttocks. She takes a pencil and sharpens it by using her buttocks. She gets up to tell Julia and Grant where they can get married, her chair is stuck to her and she yanks it off and ends up flying across the room, and goes over to her desk and takes out a picture and suggest that they get married in a trash filled boat called Garbage Barge.She tells Grant that they need to find a best man and then uses her buttocks to throw a lamp across the room and smah to pieces on a desk. She knocks her desk over, and two women appear mysteriously and all three of them dance for a while. The two women leave and Jell-o begins backing up towards Grant and Julia, who scream, but are eventually knocked over by Jell-o's extremely large buttocks.
  • The scene in which Julia asks Hitch for help after she finds out that Andy still has a thing for Grant, his response is Do I look like Will Smith to you?
  • When the Owen Wilson parody appears at the wedding, he gets crushed by a camera man that is sitting on a tree.

Date Movie 2

  • Upcoming sequel to this movie, a possible 2008 or 2009 release. It will be possibly a straight to dvd feature starring Sophie Monk as the lead actress which will have spoofs of Just Like Heaven, Music and Lyrics and Georgia Rule.

Box Office

First Week Gross US$ 22,000,611

Domestic US$ 55,368,488

Non-Domestic US$ 123,345,100

World-Wide US$ 178,604,194

Trivia

  • Frank has eight nipples, a reference to a deleted scene from Scary Movie.
  • The old cat woman that lived in the apartment across from Julia is played by the same actress who played the old lady who was undercover in Not Another Teen Movie.
  • In the scene where Sophie Monk imitates the Carl's Jr. commercial, she displays her disgust for meat on the audio commentary, citing she is a vegan. This is seen in the ending credits where Sophie is seen eating the burger, then scrunching up her face and spitting it out.
  • Hugh Grant was filming a movie at the same studio where Date Movie was filmed. When Alyson Hannigan had to get from her make-up trailer to the set with the exaggerated pimple on her face, Hugh ran into her and asked "What are they doing to you?" (This is because Hugh saw Alyson in her fat suit ensemble.)
  • The pus and the liposuctioned fat is tapioca pudding.
  • The hair on Grant's face at the end is yak hair.
  • In France, Date Movie is called Sexy Movie.
  • The theatrical poster is a double entendre in itself. It can be seen as an indirect reference to masturbation.
  • During the credits it is shown that the directors poured green slime on Carmen Electra as a prank during the King Kong scene.
  • In the Pretty Woman scene where Grant crossdresses as a woman, the set of clothes he wore is actually the same original set worn by Julia Roberts back in the original movie.
  • Nearer the end, when Julia rides the yellow motorcycle to meet Grant, the person riding the motorcycle is clearly a bare-footed black man.

See also

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