Dweeb meets gal in 'Take Me Home Tonight'

The coming-of-age/all-night-party movie has so many ancestors (from "After Hours" to "Superbad") that it's almost painful to explain the premise of "Take Me Home Tonight" (which is, yes, yet another movie for teens based on a song title their parents might remember).

Matt Franklin (Topher Grace) is an MIT grad who works at a video store and is struggling to get it together when he crosses paths with Tori Frederking (Teresa Palmer), the sweet-natured knockout he lusted after in high school. He's never forgotten her. What he does forget - hasn't he seen these other movies? - is that one lie usually leads to another. What we won't forget are all those other movies, in which the dweeb chases the unattainable girl, suffers abject humiliation and is somehow redeemed in the end.

What somewhat salvages "Take Me Home Tonight" is director Michael Dowse and his co-writers' inherent anarcho-absurdist sensibility, which gives their formulaic construction the occasional shot of craziness. Anna Faris, who plays Matt's twin, Wendy, isn't given quite enough to do, but is wonderful when she does it. Dan Fogler, current film comedy's boor du jour, is allowed to run roughshod over anything resembling propriety, and Chris Pratt - as Wendy's insufferable and wonderfully named fiance Kyle Masterson - is just this side of stupid and great at it.

But the movie belongs to Grace and Palmer, whose moments together, apart from the fray of the party and the car theft and the bag of cocaine, are genuine and touching. Grace is an actor around whom things have to happen; Palmer is breathtaking and hence distracting. But they make it work. It would be interesting to see what all these people could do together, if given the freedom to get themselves in real trouble.