Customer Reviews

The Tao of Steve

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Great moive. Excellent (not too well known) cast. Really enjoyable.

I saw this movie for the second time last night and I was struck by a curious symmetry that totally escaped me the first time. While the core of the movie revolves around the simplistic Taoist rules for getting women employed by the hero, Dex, and their apparent destruction at the hands of "true love" with heroine Syd, there is a curious twist that actually reinforces the Tao of Steve.

MAJOR SPOILER FOLLOWS.......

Consider the actions of Syd. She:

1) loses her desire for Dex. (10 years of loathing after their one night stand took their toll.)

2) shows her excellence in his precense (playing the drums, remember?)

and, then after an hour of screen time full of assorted machinations, she:

3) splits for New York!

So the _real_ message is that the Tao of Steve can not only work for overweight men, but for women as well.

In my view these characters had a long way to go before really falling in love and, in many respects, the movie ends just as the real story about that potential love is about to begin.

The main character of this film is not Steve, but Dex -- an overweight, intellectual, thirtysomething single guy with one philosophy in life: be like Steve. The TAO of the title refers to the attitude of Steve McQueen and other cool, famous Steves, with regards to getting women. So far it's worked for Dex, but when he runs into an old college acquaintance at a reunion, he may have finally found someone immune to the Tao of Steve.

Dex is played by Donal Logue, from the very funny sitcom GROUNDED FOR LIFE. He's charismatic and likable despite flaws (who hasn't got them, after all?) Much of the rest of the cast is composed of friends and family of the director/co-writer, which gives the movie a natural, unscripted feel. The story is based on the real life experiences of Duncan North, who also co-wrote the film. It's a romantic comedy, but with the freshness that indie films seem so much more capable of than Hollywood productions. It's light; it won't have you on the floor with laughter, nor will it touch you deeply, but it is a wholly enjoyable little film, and one which I would recommend.

The DVD contains a commentary track by the director, co-writer, and the two leads, and is casual and interesting. You'll learn about the man behind the movie, and it is worth checking out as well.

Viewer from Wisconsin - you thought it was about golf? What the? I'm not sure what's more worrying: the opinions of people giving you movie advice or the fact that you just blindly purchase DVDs that might be about golf.

The Tao of Steve is one of those rare movies that truthfully captures the essense of modern life, or in this case, modern single-guy life. I could tell you every plot detail, every bit of dialog in this film, and I still couldn't ruin it. It expresses and confirms many of those common, unspoken things that you knew were there all along. Girls will watch the film in disbelieve, while their boyfriends are quietly taking notes.

The title doesn't refer to any one character in the movie, but rather the mystique of the quintiessential American Guy (aka, "Steve") who is cool and hip and gets all the girls without even trying. Main character Dex is the embodyment of the Tao, as he has many, many beautiful girlfriends despite being rather portly, unkept, and a loser in professional life. Sheer personality and cunning allow Dex to figure out women and win their affection (or specifically, to have sex with them). The film's plot revolves around his (successful) struggle to win one non-responsive girl in particular (named Syd), and also explain to his guy friends how the master gets the job done.

The rules of the Tao of Steve are simple yet easily misunderstood, and the film does a great job of fleshing them out into something real and concrete. Dex's "conquest" of Syd is especially fun to watch because it realistically twists and turns throughout the movie, and you'll appriciate the "dorky guy" character who, while watching from the sidelines, asks all the stupid "what if" questions you've ever wanted answered.

I was amused that the ending was so obviously sanitized for the ladies. Basically, Dex falls in love and denounces the Tao, thus "changing" for his girl and giving us a "happily-ever-after" ending; girls in the audience might be tempted to believe that guys don't really embrace this womanizing, sexist view of life that basically disempowers them. Sadly, ladies, the Tao is very real and does not go away after true-love. It also reminds me that the film's core essense can only be understood by guys.

Also, this "clean" ending isn't really needed, as the men in the film aren't all powerful, and the women aren't weak and clueless. In fact, the movie's charm comes from its character and contradictions, how Dex sometimes talks too much, how heis sometimes completely transparent, how Syd is herself not a towering temple of womanhood, either. Perhaps the Hollywood ending is there is remind us that a) the Tao can only get you so far, and b) there are somethings that the sexes will never understand about each other.

The Tao of Steve is one of those rare movies that truthfully captures the essense of modern life, or in this case, modern single-guy life. I could tell you every plot detail, every bit of dialog in this film, and I still couldn't ruin it. It expresses and confirms many of those common, unspoken things that you knew were there all along. Girls will watch the film in disbelieve, while their boyfriends are quietly taking notes.

The title doesn't refer to any one character in the movie, but rather the mystique of the quintiessential American Guy (aka, "Steve") who is cool and hip and gets all the girls without even trying. Main character Dex is the embodyment of the Tao, as he has many, many beautiful girlfriends despite being rather portly, unkept, and a loser in professional life. Sheer personality and cunning allow Dex to figure out women and win their affection (or specifically, to have sex with them). The film's plot revolves around his (successful) struggle to win one non-responsive girl in particular (named Syd), and also explain to his guy friends how the master gets the job done.

The rules of the Tao of Steve are simple yet easily misunderstood, and the film does a great job of fleshing them out into something real and concrete. Dex's "conquest" of Syd is especially fun to watch because it realistically twists and turns throughout the movie, and you'll appriciate the "dorky guy" character who, while watching from the sidelines, asks all the stupid "what if" questions you've ever wanted answered.

I was amused that the ending was so obviously sanitized for the ladies. Basically, Dex falls in love and denounces the Tao, thus "changing" for his girl and giving us a "happily-ever-after" ending; girls in the audience might be tempted to believe that guys don't really embrace this womanizing, sexist view of life that basically disempowers them. Sadly, ladies, the Tao is very real and does not go away after true-love. It also reminds me that the film's core essense can only be understood by guys.

Also, this "clean" ending isn't really needed, as the men in the film aren't all powerful, and the women aren't weak and clueless. In fact, the movie's charm comes from its character and contradictions, how Dex sometimes talks too much, how heis sometimes completely transparent, how Syd is herself not a towering temple of womanhood, either. Perhaps the Hollywood ending is there is remind us that a) the Tao can only get you so far, and b) there are somethings that the sexes will never understand about each other.

I fully agree with another reviewer that, due to low budget, what would make an independent film enjoyable if not the basics: good dialogue, good acting, good direction. This movie got them all. I particularly loved the fast, witty dialogue that cracked me up every five minutes or so. Yesterday while watching "Vanilla Sky" up to the dramatic scene when a jealous Cameron Diaz drove off the road with her boyfriend on a suicidal spin, I burst out laughing as it occurred to me that "The Tao of Steve" had a similar scene, only Donald Logue never acted like a hysterical Tom Cruise, he simply asked his jealous mistress (Ayelet Kaznelson), "Does this side have an air bag?".... No offense Cruise or Crowe fans.... I know the two movies have nothing else in common; my point is, "Vanilla Sky" -- with a huge budget plus all the hot stars and sophisticated special effects -- was nothing but a failed attempt at being "deep", while "The Tao of Steve", with no such attempt or ambition, clearly hit the jackpot.

I had heard this movie featured disc golf (that's FRISBEE) and was happy to see this game included and wanted more. But this movie is not "about" disc golf. It's about . . . well, a fat guy who seems to be a real lady killer. It may have had its moments, meaning I smiled some, but never really laughed out loud. If you're a 20-something, slacker male, you'll probably enjoy it. But it's the opposite of a chick flick and I think very overrated.

This is a really great movie that keeps you laughing and gets you thinking. I see from previous reviews that some critics were harsh and I cannot understand why. Maybe you have to be in your thirties to really catch the full flavor. Anyway, the characters were believable, the scenery gorgeous and the actors were brilliantly low-key and "real."

One of the great things about an enjoyable independent film is that because of the nature of the beast (budgetary restraints) you can usually expect that the things which make the film enjoyable are the basics : good dialogue, good acting, good direction. "The Tao of Steve" has all of these elements, in addition to a fabulous, under used setting in the earth and sky elements which dominate the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Religious allusions are some of the most popular allusions in all of film and they are abundant in this one. Everything from Buddhism to Taoism to Nihlism to Catholicism is touched upon. It is all done with a degree of both cynicism and reverence. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the film is the intelligence of the writing. The script uses a group of well educated men in their early thirties to illustrate how concepts of ancient religions can be interspersed with ideas of pop culture and courtship in the twentieth century to create a way of life which leads one to the end they desire. Although this works for them for a time, eventually this idea is shown to lead one to what they believe they desire but to fulfill only the most basic of needs. The concept is eventually dismantled through character interaction and dialogue, some of the best examples of the two seen on film in recent years. Particularly impressive is the way the script has one character build up these ideas using the ideas of great writers, thinkers, and religious figures from the past while another character can strike them down with references which are just as literary and relevant. The most impressive part is that these intellectual debates never come off as pretentious, we never feel that the any of the characters are speaking over our heads. With all of the philosophical knowledge that is thrown at us Dex is still our everyman, Syd is still the girl we all had class with in college.

The setting is integral to the story, and the cinematography works to convey the philosohpies which are being addressed. In Santa Fe houses work themselves into the landscape, at the opera Dex's shirt blends him into the scenery, everything in the film blends together and it helps to convey that everything in the world is interelated, no matter how important we think we are we're all a part of the whole. This intergral lesson is what Dex must learn to achieve his goal, and it is conveyed perfectly throughout the film through the cinematography.

In reading the credits one can see the interelatedness of the people who produced this movie and the personal story that the screenwriter told through his script. Watching this film is like having your closest friends over for dinner, sharing your memories and stories of your current lives. The fact that it opens at a reunion is not an accident, and it carries that feeling of warmth, apprehension and coming home throughout. When I finished watching "The Tao of Steve" I wanted to hit rewind and watch the whole thing over again. It is rare that a film encapsulates a feeling of home and at the same time of such grand philosophical truths. But it is the familiarity of the characters which makes these truths and ideas easy to digest, and "The Tao of Steve" such a likeable, easy to watch, thought provoking film.

This film reminded me of "Committed" starring Heather Graham in some ways, with similar settings, similar mystical themes and a feeling of redemption at the end. I would say that "The Tao of Steve" is a better film though because it tells the story in a much more simple, straightforward manner. There is no place in this film for a viewer to get lost, but when given deeper thought, there are incredible areas set up for the viewer to explore.