THE TAO OF STEVE ----------------
"Eliminate desire. Be excellent. Retreat." This is the Zen formula developed by Dex (Donal Logue), an overweight Lothario, on how to get a woman into bed. Dex has lived by these words since high school and they have never failed him. That is, until now, in "The Tao of Steve."
ROBIN:
In high school, Dex was the BMOC and had no problem scoring with the chicks. He was slender and charming and could bed any woman he set his sights on. Now, ten years later, our hero is 100 pounds heavier, but still has the charismatic charm to sweep a woman off her feet and get her in the sack. While attending his school's 10th reunion, he meets a pretty young lady, Syd (Greer Goodman) and Dex uses his tried and true Tao of Steve (as in Steve McQueen, the ultimate icon of cool) to make time with her. But, he forgot one very important thing - Syd was one of his conquests a decade ago and he doesn't remember her at all.
"The Tao of Steve" is a clever little flick that starts off strong, but peters out as it gets to its romantic locus. When we first meet the portly Dex, he's in the middle of a sexual encounter with a friend's wife. Satisfied, but not sated, Dex hits on the young bartender at the reunion, using his wit and knowledge of philosophy, metaphorically at least, to charm her pants off. That's when he notices Syd and tries his patented maneuvers on her, not realizing he *knows* her already. This begins a battle of the sexes that will pit Dex and his successful philosophy against the savvy, not easily impressed Syd.
The best of "The Tao of Steve" takes place in the film's first half. As Dex spouts his combination of Zen Buddhism, Judeo-Christianity, Islam, Hindu, and every other religion, faith and philosophy, he forms the basis of the Tao of Steve. Basically, the Tao is built around getting laid. The trick is, for a guy, to not make it seem like sex is the ultimate goal. The 'Steve' of the title refers not only to McQueen, but also Steve McGarrett ("Hawaii Five-O"), Steve Austin ("Six Million Dollar Man") and some notable non-Steves like James Bond, Michael Jordan and Spiderman. The name 'Steve' is not a requisite to get on the list, but being totally cool is. The ultimate description of the cool American male, according to Dex, is: he never tries to impress the women, but always gets the girl.
Dex's Zen-like philosophy is nicely coupled with the screen presence of Donal Logue. Dex may be really fat, but he has so much inherent charm, people overlook his obvious flaws. He delivers his line of blarney with the best of them and has no problem using his God-given talent for blather to bed any and all women he meets. Running in parallel with the romance that builds between Syd and Dex is the sidebar that has the portly Casanova acting as the sensei of sexual conquest for his goofy friend and roommate Dave (Kimo Willis). Dex gives his Yoda-like advice to his malleable novice with a patience that is never condescending and always funny.
Part two of the flick brings Dex's interest in Syd to the surface, as he uses his sexual wiles and Tao to seduce the reluctant young woman. Syd counters his moves like a Tai Chi master with her passive resistance to his ploys. His failures only encourage Dex to cast aside his longtime philosophies and he does all the things that the Tao warns against in matters of love. The conventionality of the love story - boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl - is in direct conflict with the witty totally guy humor of Dex's philosophical views on life and love. The guy stuff is funny, dead on accurate and, with the Tao of Steve, an interesting twist on the mating ritual. The love story is less satisfying.
First-time helmer Jenniphr, along with co-scripters Greer Goodman and Duncan North (from his original material), craft an amusing story that showcases Logue in what could be a star making turn. His likable presence, combined with the pithy Tao of Steve (which provides the bulk of the fun for the film), makes the film a pleasant little 90 minutes. It isn't enough to sustain the film, though, as it ends in a routine love story.
The writing does contain a decent variety of original humor that helps a lot, at least in the first half. One scene, during the reunion, has Dex meeting an old classmate, who has since gone into the priesthood, in the men's room. As the cleric settles down to do his business in one of the stalls, Dex starts questioning the man, from the adjoining stall, about moral philosophy and sex like a penitent talking to his confessor. The rapid talking Dex doesn't even realize that he's intruding on the guy's private moment.
Newcomer Greer Gordon is OK as the object of Dex's lust, but she is hard pressed to equal the animated and rapid-chatter perf of Logue. Kimo Willis is quite likable as the wide-eyed innocent being educated in the rules of l'amour by Dex, his muse. The rest of the cast is only there to flesh out the background.
Tech credits are low-key, but get the job done.
I give "The Tao of Steve" a philosophical C+.
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