A clever premise -- overweight lothario with a formula for getting women meets his match -- is wasted when the screenplay falls back on typical gimmicks that it seemingly is trying to subvert.
Part of the problem is we never get to see the lead character, Dex, ever utilize his Tao and see how it fits in his life. Another big problem is the overly glib dialogue that manages to sound neither realistic nor stagy, just forced (except for Logue, who is nifty). And I could have done without the big pop culture scene where the guys hum TV themes around the poker table.
But the flaw that sinks the movie is the central relationship between Dex and Sid. At no point in time is there any reason to believe that she would be attracted to him. And the movie engages in the typical things are hunky dory/contrived rift, to keep Dex and Sid from getting together, until much later in the movie.
Finally, there is one scene where Sid appears to be totally falling for Dex when she drops a bombshell on him, and the audience. The nature of this revelation, and her spin on it, is such that it is impossible to believe that: a) she could have even a shred of romantic feeling for him; and, b) being a superficially intelligent human being, she may have wanted to deal with problem a lot earlier. But that would not have been convenient to the screenplay, and throughout the movie Sid makes a lot of snap decisions that may be a sign of multiple personalities.
Part of the problem is we never get to see the lead character, Dex, ever utilize his Tao and see how it fits in his life. Another big problem is the overly glib dialogue that manages to sound neither realistic nor stagy, just forced (except for Logue, who is nifty). And I could have done without the big pop culture scene where the guys hum TV themes around the poker table.
But the flaw that sinks the movie is the central relationship between Dex and Sid. At no point in time is there any reason to believe that she would be attracted to him. And the movie engages in the typical things are hunky dory/contrived rift, to keep Dex and Sid from getting together, until much later in the movie.
Finally, there is one scene where Sid appears to be totally falling for Dex when she drops a bombshell on him, and the audience. The nature of this revelation, and her spin on it, is such that it is impossible to believe that: a) she could have even a shred of romantic feeling for him; and, b) being a superficially intelligent human being, she may have wanted to deal with problem a lot earlier. But that would not have been convenient to the screenplay, and throughout the movie Sid makes a lot of snap decisions that may be a sign of multiple personalities.