2004, PG-13, 95 minutes

Has the current serious-as-a-heart-attack Oscar-hopeful crop of films got you down? Maybe a breezy little bit of fluff like Win a Date With Tad Hamilton! can raise your spirits. Hollywood romantic comedies don't come more predictable than this one, but a charming cast led by Kate Bosworth and Topher Grace works wonders with the formulaic material.

Rosalee Futch (Bosworth) is a bright-eyed twenty-something blonde who works at the local Piggly Wiggly with best friends Pete (Grace) and Cathy (scene-stealer Ginnifer Goodwin). Rosalee and Cathy swoon over Hollywood heartthrob Tad Hamilton (Josh Duhamel), always dragging Pete along to see the latest Tad film. When Tad gets some bad press for a drinking and driving incident, his managers stage a publicity stunt to get his career back on track. The "win a date" contest is born, and Rosalee sees this as a chance to meet her big-screen idol. Needless to say, Rosalee wins the contest, and she's soon on a plane to Hollywood.

Being a small-town girl from Frazier's Bottom, West Virginia, Rosalee is awed by the bright lights of Hollywood. On the big date, Tad is charmed by the tongue-tied fan, seeing her as a link to the more regular life he desires (the fact that she's beautiful doesn't go unnoticed by him, either.) The two have a lovely time, and Rosalee returns to West Virginia.

Back at the Piggly Wiggly, Rosalee gets a big surprise when Tad shows up unannounced to spend more time with her. This is very bad news for Pete, who's secretly in love with his lifelong best friend. So the love triangle is set in place, and the movie turns into a very basic romantic comedy, sort of a "Sweet Home West Virginia." Will Pete declare his feelings for Rosalee before Tad can sweep her off her feet and out of Frazier's Bottom? Will Tad reveal himself to be a Hollywood cad after all? And will Rosalee ever realize that the true love of her life has been right there in front of her all along?

Anyone who's ever seen a Hollywood romantic comedy will know the answers to these questions, but that doesn't make the movie any less enjoyable. A movie of this genre needs charming and attractive leads, and Win a Date definitely scores on that count. Director Robert Luketic guided another blonde (Reese Witherspoon) to box-office glory in Legally Blonde, and he presents another one here in the cute and perky Bosworth. After admirably surfing her way through Blue Crush, she proves herself to be equally at home doing light comedy, showing how this supermarket check-out girl finds herself overwhelmed by all the sudden romantic attention. Grace's Pete is a very similar character to the one he's played for years on That 70's Show, with the whole sarcastic-but-sweet-natured thing going on, but he does it well. Most importantly, the two have a nice, unforced chemistry together onscreen. Duhamel (from TV's Las Vegas) is on hand mostly to flash his pearly whites, but he gets into the shallowness of this movie star who thinks he's found his true self in West Virginia.

Win a Date With Tad Hamilton! sets out to be an entertaining romantic comedy, and it succeeds on that level. A winning cast helps to overcome the predictability of the story, led by the soon-to-be-a-star Kate Bosworth. Serious-minded moviegoers have their pick of Oscar hopefuls to see right now, while those looking for something a little more fun and less challenging might want to make a "date" with "Tad Hamilton."