Film

Take Me Home Tonight

Name: Take Me Home Tonight
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Released: 2011
Cast: Topher Grace, Anna Faris, Dan Fogler, Teresa Palmer, Chris Pratt

Romance
Light-hearted

A 1980s-set comedy about an MIT grad avoiding adulthood by working at a video store until his high-school crush invites him to a party. It's a lightweight, affectionate take on arrested development and missed chances, all neon and synthesizers and earnest fumbling toward romance. For people who like their comedies warm and a little melancholy, not mean-spirited.

TMDb rating

3.0

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love nostalgic party comedies, the awkward romantic longing kind, and don't mind a lovable slacker-adult stalling out in his last summer.

Skip it if you want sharp, fast jokes, since this one is soft-edged and leans on sweetness and familiar rom-com beats more than on laughs that land every time.

What it asks of you: About an hour and a half of easygoing, warm company, asking for patience through its slower stretches more than sustained sharp focus.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Say Anything...1989

The spiritual ancestor: lovesick guy pursues the girl while trying to figure out what he actually wants from life. Lloyd Dobler is Matt Franklin's patron saint. Tender, funny, and it genuinely believes in its characters.

But The pacing is a bit slack by modern standards, and if romantic sincerity makes you uncomfortable, the whole thing will feel cloying.

Almost Famous2000

Another film about the gap between who you are and who you want to become, set in a specific era (the 1970s) that the movie loves without irony. Captures that feeling of being on the edge of something, almost ready for real life.

But It's three hours and sometimes meanders. Cameron Crowe's earnestness is not for everyone, and some of the gender dynamics haven't aged perfectly.

The Way Back2010

Similar beat—awkward guy, summer setting, learning to be himself—but played with more contemporary sharpness. Linklater-adjacent in its focus on small moments and genuine connection between characters.

But Quieter than Take Me Home Tonight, which might feel slow if you're expecting constant gags. The tone is more wistful than comedic.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Take Me Home Tonight

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Ghostbusters II1989

Both are fundamentally about the gap between the person you were and the person you're supposed to become, dressed up in period-specific aesthetics that the films genuinely love.

Also 1980s, also mired in nostalgia, also about guys who'd rather not grow up confronting actual adult responsibility. But it's *Ghostbusters*—louder, broader, meaner—so the themes sneak up on you under comedy and spectacle.

But It's widely considered the lesser Ghostbusters, and the humour is much broader and dated. If you want sophistication, this isn't it.

Can't Hardly Wait1998

The same DNA: nineties setting, ensemble of friends, end-of-summer party as the whole plot, that mix of comedy and actual tenderness about growing up and settling down. It knows exactly what it is.

But Aggressively late-nineties in its humour and cultural references. If you're not nostalgic for that era, it will feel dated in ways that might annoy rather than charm.

Hot Summer Nights2018

1980s nostalgia, a romantic plot threaded through a coming-of-age summer, and a genuine attempt to capture the melancholy underneath the fun. Visually lush and attentive to mood.

But The plot meanders and several subplots don't quite land. Some viewers find the indie-quirk aesthetic cloying rather than charming.

This Is Where I Leave You2014

Another ensemble comedy about adults realizing they haven't grown up the way they thought they would, with real warmth and a genuinely good cast playing characters with actual depth and history.

But The plot hinges on a family tragedy, and the tonal shifts between comedy and drama can feel uneven. If you want pure lightness, the heavier moments will interrupt it.

The Internship2013

Two aging guys trying to restart their lives, set in a specific world (Google) that fascinates the film. It's broad and silly, but there's something unexpectedly kind about its treatment of characters who feel left behind.

But The comedy is very broad and the product placement is relentless. The Google mythology can feel dated and corporate-friendly in a way that dulls the satire.

10 Things I Hate About You1999

Ensemble teen comedy with an actual heart, set in a specific time (the nineties) that the film is genuinely fond of. Smart and warm in a way that makes it rewatchable.

But It's very much a nineties high-school movie, which means some gender dynamics feel of their era. Might feel slight if you're looking for something with deeper stakes.

The Last Days of Disco1998

Same era, same emotional core (young people avoiding adulthood), but Stillman's approach is essentially the opposite—formal rather than casual, artificial rather than naturalistic, all talk rather than all action. If Take Me Home Tonight is the enthusiastic fan, this is the arch critic in the same room.

Whit Stillman's portrait of young adults in the early 1980s trying to navigate work, romance, and identity. It's a comedy, but a very smart one—cerebral, genuinely funny, and deeply interested in the small social dramas of figuring out how to be an adult.

But It's deliberately artificial and theatrical in its dialogue. If you want naturalism or a traditional plot, you'll find it mannered and precious.

C.R.A.Z.Y.2005

Both films are about the gap between who you are and who you want to be, but C.R.A.Z.Y. takes that premise seriously in ways Take Me Home Tonight never does—it's what happens when the nostalgia clears and you actually have to live with your choices.

A French-Canadian film about a young man and his unrequited feelings, sexuality, and family, set across decades. It's funny but also heartbreaking, and it understands that sometimes the thing you want most is the thing that will hurt you worst. Genuinely moving.

But It's in French with subtitles, and it gets darker and more serious as it goes. The humour is gentler and more character-based than comic relief.