There is in this world a path of enlightenment that is superior to all other paths. Where truth is the final goal of all other paths, this path carries the greater reward of allowing its practitioners to get with any woman they want. This path is "The Tao of Steve."
First, and for the record, the correct pronunciation of the title is "dao," not "tao." When I went to the theater and asked for my ticket, the theater attendant complimented me on my generally high degree of culture. He also mentioned that those ignorant boobs who had been pronouncing the title of the movie with a hard "T" were getting free pistol-whippings along with their tickets. So, if you want the theater attendant to think you're suave, remember to pronounce the title correctly.
Now, about the film itself. There are, in my humble opinion, only two words which can adequately describe "The Tao of Steve" -- sheer genius. I don't believe that this movie will be put up for an Academy Award because the production cost is much too low, and it was made by an independent film house. Additionally, it is a romantic comedy, and those are almost never up for Oscars. With all of this stacked against it, however, I would not be surprised if I saw "Tao" nominated for a Best Screenplay award. To put it simply, "Tao" is easily one of the best written and performed films I have seen in a long time.
The basic plot follows the character Dex (Donal Logue) who, in spite of being an enormously overweight loser in a dead-end part time job, is capable of having any woman he wants, thanks to his unique philosophy called the Tao of Steve. In case you weren't paying attention, that's also the name of the movie.
So Dex frolics through his world of slacking off and getting it on until he runs into one woman who he actually cares about. This woman, Syd, played by Greer Goodman '87, disarms Dex and makes him step out of the comfortable but empty system of pick-up lines that he has based his life on so far.
Admittedly, the basic plot of the film is nothing new. It is, in many ways, your standard romantic comedy with a man settled in a life of womanizing who finally meets his match and falls for her. Although the plot itself is somewhat standard, that is about the only thing in the movie that is. The beauty of "The Tao of Steve" is that it is incredibly intelligent and real.
The performances by every member of the cast are flawless. You truly believe that they are their characters; that instead of watching actors go through their paces, you are seeing real people live their lives in front of you.
The best part of the film by far, however, is the dialogue. The conversations between the characters manage to be believable while also being hilarious and smart. You absolutely believe that 30-year-old college graduates sit around talking like the characters in the movie. Hell, we sit around and talk like they do and we're not even 30 yet.
But they aren't just spewing out the lame jokes that you and your friends tell each other when you're drunk, they're saying the things that you wish you could come up with. These people are having perfect conversations that are intelligent and witty and make reference to Kierkegard and high philosophy. Basically, the dialogue is, in general, the best I have seen come out of a film in at least two or three years.
If you are a man, you should go see this movie because you will recognize you and your friends in the main characters. They are not handsome and ultra-cool, they are average guys who hang out, drink beer, shoot pool, and play poker. Maybe they actually are your friends, I've never seen most of them in a movie before.
If you are a woman, you must go see this movie because you will get a huge kick watching the guys go through their paces trying to pick up girls and then be horrified when their patter actually works. More importantly, you also will recognize yourselves in the women of the film. They are smart and independent and will probably not intimidate you with their looks like some other actresses out there.
If you are not a man or a woman, you should still go to "The Tao of Steve" just because it's so good. But remember to bring your brains when you head to the theater because you're going to need them.
