Kaelan Mccaffrey
Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
Ella-May O'Brien
Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
Nicole
I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
Galicius
The only reason we saw most of it is that we dozed off and on through half of it. Normally when we end up with a dog of a film we simply stop watching it. When we had enough of this sorry story we were lucky it suddenly and somewhat surprisingly ended. Plain obnoxious. A fat guy has all sorts of women swooning over him. Supposedly because he displays such a detached attitude and is so non-possessive. He's a mentor to a younger friend throughout the film. We couldn't figure out what could attract women to this fatty. Nobody does much in this idyllic Santa Fe except mostly party, open the refrigerator, eat and drink. Nobody does much work. Didn't get this one at all. Don't bother.
thekeeth
How many times have I seen this movie? Somewhere between 25-50 viewings, with an additional "who knows how many" occurrences wherein I starting watching this movie with the explicit intent of falling asleep to it's indie soundtrack.I was turned on to this movie in the very same way I have discovered most of my favorite films. It's late night, I'm flipping channels, or to be completely honest, I was browsing the DirecTV guide. Most people, including me, still say flipping channels, like we actually take the time to go through all the channels, but we all know damn well that we just cruise through the guide to find something to watch. I guess I'll have to start saying "scrolling the guide" instead. Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked and I apologize.Like I said, I was "scrolling" through the guide looking for something comfortable and familiar that wouldn't challenge me too much, and I failed. I had to use that damn "info" button when I saw the title, "Tao Of Steve", so I guess I let my curiosity get the best of me. Thank Science it did.As is my custom, I normally catch these late night gems at some point in the middle of the movie, and I spend the rest of the movie struggling with the decision to either finish what is shaping up to be a great movie that I missed the beginning of, or jot down the title and catch it from the start the next time it comes on. I decided to watch the rest of it, and then just buy a copy on DVD. Does that tell you how engaging and entertaining this movie is? First off, I have a lot of respect for Donal Logue as an actor. He's done a wide variety of roles in several different kinds of media vehicles, from TV to blockbuster movies, and of course, the classic Jimmie the cab driver shorts on MTV. He was spot on in this role, he has that charisma and confidence to be able to convince you he has what it takes to bed down with any human being sporting an XX chromosomal set, unless they are wearing Doc Marten's and a flannel shirt. What can I say, he's a funny actor, and I suppose he's a fave of mine, because I have liked him even in the bad stuff he's been a part of in the past.Supporting cast was full of friends and local actors from the NM area, and while there aren't any household names in the bunch, they more than hold their own in delivering believable characters who are just what they are supposed to be, regular Joes and Janes. I have already mentioned that the soundtrack was indie, and while I am not an authority on indie music, I can recognize it. I can't say whether it was great, good, or bad, but I liked it. I also liked that the band featured live in the reunion scene was from Oklahoma, my home state.The most striking thing about this movie for me was it's beautiful photography and wonderful selection of locations. Although it was been a while since I watched the commentary, I am fairly certain it was filmed entirely in the Taos, New Mexico area, or maybe it was Albuquerque. If you've never been to NM, then GO now, it is awesomely beautiful and full of tons of stuff to do. It definitely scores some cultural points with me, as I am a big fan of the American West. The colors of the landscape truly come through the lens with full strength, and I just love the way this movie looks. I can't help but feel that the physical environment is an important ingredient in the "Tao of Steve", which is a real thing conjured up by a real man. In fact, the house where Dex lives is the actual house of the real life person who Dex is based upon. He makes a cameo during one of the poker scenes, and on the commentary he provides some interesting insight into the movie, the character Dex, and of course the "Tao of Steve".The plot is actually the only weak part of the movie, as a story, it's predictable, but I think that's okay because I found it more interesting to delve into unanswerable questions concerning the characters, and of course, as a hopelessly single young man who has never been able to get the ladies, I spent much time asking myself, "will this really work in real life, …..my life?" Well, according to Duncan North, the aforementioned inspiration for Dex, it does work, and he's living proof. So stop listening to Professor Tom Leykis you bitter bastard, and start watching the, "Tao of Steve". It has all the lessons you need.THEKEETH, (who is shockingly, still unsuccessful with the ladies)
Emiller375
Dex, the leading male character, has told Syd that he's falling in love with her, and she asks why he doesn't stop seeing other women. He responds, "Why? So I can bask in the warmth of your annihilating contempt?" The story of this film meanders much like its good-for-nothing hero, Dex, as we follow him through a slacker routine that allows him to do virtually nothing but pick up women and play games with his male friends.He believes that he has the key to life in the "Tao of Steve," which is essentially a guide to fooling women into having sex with a fat loser--himself. He exclaims, "Why does the American Slacker get so little respect?" The clever dialog and the sweetness of Dex's discovery that he actually loves Syd and doesn't really want to be a professional cad all his life makes the movie worth watching. Also fun is the truth in the "Tao of Steve" with its three edicts: 1) suppress your desire--and your agenda of getting her into bed 2) be excellent in her presence and 3) retreat. It's true that going into a relationship with nothing else in mind but sleeping with a woman is a huge mistake, and Dex recognizes the wisdom of being cool rather than needy, but then he uses it the wrong way (or the right way, depending on your perspective). We watch him explain his philosophy, use it to manipulate women, and then have to violate it as he finally figures out that while the "Tao of Steve" may get him women, it won't get him the one woman he really wants.
george.schmidt
THE TAO OF STEVE (2000) ***1/2 Donal Logue, Greer Goodman, Kimo Wills, Ayelet Kanelson, David Aaron Baker, Nina Jaroslaw, John Hines, Selby Craig, Craig D. Lafayette. (Dir: Jennipher Goodman) Donal Logue. The name may not ring any bells but you've seen him before in countless tv shows (including `The X-Files' as an arrogant fellow agent of Scully's and Mulder's) and films (one of Tom Cruise's fellow agents in `Jerry Maguire' and in this summer's blockbuster `The Patriot' as a racist who sees the error of his ways on the battlefield), but his biggest claim to fame seems to be as the greasy, bespectacled chatterbox philosophizing taxi hack, Jimmy The Cabdriver, in a series of promos for MTV in the '90s. Well all that's about to change in this> starmaking role in a devilishly funny and accurate look at the relationship war between men and women. Logue, who pulls a De Niro by gaining nearly a hundred pounds, stars as Dex, a self-deprecating part-time kindergarten teacher who attends his ten year college reunion in the dusty oasis of Santa Fe, New Mexico where he is told by stunned classmates at his jarringly gone-to-pot visage that he was like Elvis. `Yeah, well now I'm Fat Elvis,' he says with a hip shake and a smirk. It is here the journey begins into Dex's eventual chipping away at the wall of sardonic intelligence he's built since attending the university. Dex has a certain acquired charm that he attributes to his own quasi-philosophy, the film's title, referring to the ultimate in guy coolness as being a Steve (as in McGarrett - the Jack Lord character of `Hawaii Five-O', Austin, `The Six Million Dollar Man' and McQueen, the coolest actor of all time, or any suave icon down the pike: James Bond, James Dean, et al.) - and the opposite being Stu - and the certain guidelines in wooing the opposite sex wrapping up with his ultimate kwon, `We persue that which retreats from us.'At the reunion he bumps into Syd (Goodman, the stunningly attractive sister of the filmmaker), a fellow alumni who turns out to be one of Dex's apparent number of sexual conquests in which he later learns he cannot recall her at all. She is equally self-effacing, smart and opinionated and naturally proves to be the ultimate love of the loveless (`I love my dog') Dex. Here the plot sets into motion the inevitable formula of two people so right for each other yet both guarded, Syd for her share of heartbreaks and Dex for his chronic lying and seductive charisma like some sort of catnip for women including the wife of one of his pals, who he's engaged in a hot affair.Logue makes Dex sympathetic, funny, pathetic, infuriating, likable and ultimately an original character the likes haven't been seen since John Cusack's hey dey in the Eighties and the characters of the 90's indie comedy, `Kicking and Screaming' about arrested development and lifelong search for the perfect love. Dex is an enigma and the joke is that Dex realizes how unsavory he has become which also is the underlying angst he knows all to well: someone with so much potential only wasted by his own hand. Goodman and her sister both excel in portraying women who are smarter than men think and provide the true anchor in a freely funny comedy that also examines one's own frailites and insecurites on a truly appealing level. Co-written by the sisters and Duncan North, the real-life model of Dex, the dialogue rings true in a brilliant string of set ups for Dex to pontificate before he deflates himself in recourse.One of the best films (and comedies) of this year (or any). And remember that name: Donal Logue.
