It's a while since Topher Grace, who came up through the ranks as one of the funniest components of That 70s Show, has given us a straight-up comedy. Have a look at the trailer for Take Me Home Tonight, which stars Grace, Teresa Palmer, Anna Faris and Barry Nathan, and see if you think it redresses the balance.
Taking place in what the press release calls "The Go-Go 80s" (which is a nice excuse for a jukebox soundtrack), the film sees the erstwhile Venom biding his time working in a video store, in the absence of any offers from Fortune 500 companies. A chance encounter with his high-school crush Teresa Palmer prompts one of those movie lies that grows in the telling, leading to some adventures in a Ferris Bueller sports car, a particularly interesting night for Barry Nathan, and an arrest by Michael Biehn.
Judging by the trailer, it's Nathan that seems to be carrying the bulk of the laughs as the oafish best friend on a coke-and-sex binge, leaving Grace with the sweet-and-sensitive stuff. But there's an understated humour to Grace's performance here that seems like it'll contrast well with Nathan's broader thread; it's like Grace is in a Garden State and Nathan is in an American Pie.
Michael Dowse (Goon, It's All Gone Pete Tong) is the director, and we'll find out how well the two halves mesh when Take Me Home Tonight is released early next year.