Generally, when a film sits around as long as “Take Me Home Tonight” (formerly known as “Kids In America“) has (filming wrapped way back in 2007), the perception is that it’s a road apple. But as Topher Grace related in December, it was actually the film’s wanton approach to drugs that caused the hold up.
“It tested really well,” Grace said. “It’s an audience film. It’s not drama, but there was a real hesitation because there is so much cocaine in it, and our feeling at the time was, ‘You can’t do a movie about Prohibition without alcohol, and you really can’t do a movie about partying in the ‘80s, at the age these kids are, without showing cocaine use.” The movie floundered a bit until mega-producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer from Imagine Entertainment came in and encouraged Grace (who is an executive producer on the film) to keep the cut of the film with the final boost of approval coming from Ryan Kavanaugh, the CEO of Relativity Media who let them deliver the film they wanted.
Directed by Michael Dowse (”Fubar,” “It’s All Gone Pete Tong”)—no stranger to drug use in his movies—the film chronicles the events of one crazy night in 1988 when Matt (Grace) bluffs his way into a massive end-of-summer party where he hopes to impress his high school crush Tori (Teresa Palmer). And you know what? This looks like a blast. The red band trailer is outrageous fun that put a dumb grin on our face and it didn’t lose our attention when it veered to the sappy stuff at the end (also full points for the excellent, well-edited use of N.W.A.‘s “Straight Outta Compton”). It plays like an ’80s teen movie with an Apatow-inspired sense of raunch. So yeah, count us in.
The film will hit on March 4th, and you might not want to watch this one at work. [Pics via Collider; trailer from IGN]
