# Tao of Steve, The (2000)

### reviewed by
Jerry Saravia

Romantic comedies continue to multiply in Hollywood and the independent scene (the last couple of good ones I can recall on an independent scale are "Chasing Amy" and "The Brothers McMullen".) "The Tao of Steve" is a harmless time filler, likely to provoke some light laughs on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Its major selling point is the casting of the sweet Donal Logue at its center.

Logue does not play Steve, in fact the title is a philosophy carried around by Dex. Logue plays Dex, a sweet, likable slacker with a prominent gut who has his own agenda on how to seduce women. No, it is not seduce and destroy, but rather do not let on you are seducing, then let them go after you have sex. First rule is to eliminate your desire. Second rule is to be excellent at something in their presence (camping is not an option). Third rule is to withdraw. This philosophy, known as the Tao of Steve, is based on the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu whom Dex reads avidly. The name "Steve" is used because it is the coolest name, and its claim to fame is from the coolest of all movie stars, Steve McQueen. The least coolest name is Stu (ironically the name of the coolest character in "Scream" but that is a moot point).

The film begins at a ten-year college reunion where Dex was once known as Elvis, hence the most popular of all the students. He chuckles as he mentions that now he is a fat Elvis. At the reunion, he meets Syd (Greer Goodman), a set designer for the Santa Fe Opera, whom Dex has literally forgotten about, including their own tryst years ago. Most uncool for Dex and so anti-Steve. Dex naturally falls in love with Syd, and does not eliminate the desire - he makes it plainly known, even telling her he is falling in love with her.

"The Tao of Steve" has some measured moments of truth about Dex's nature and about relationships in general, but it peters out to a hasty resolution that seems false and predictable. Let's just say that it is the kind of ending more attributed to Hollywood than an independent film of this kind. There are also frequent pop-culture references to "Hawaii Five-O," "Six-Million Dollar Man" and other TV shows of yesteryear, complete with music from said shows. It all feels contrived and unnecessary, simply marking time. And the cinematography is a little too muddy for my tastes considering the beautiful location - Santa Fe, New Mexico may be a bit overcast at times but it is ripe for high contrasts in filmmaking.

Still, there is a genial warmth to the film thanks to Donal Logue (who won the Special Jury Prize Award for Best Actor at Sundance). He could be a mean-spirited, viciously verbal macho male yet, as written by director Jenniphr Goodman and co-writers Greer Goodman and Duncan North, the screenplay opts for gentler tones of body language and a sensitivity in Dex that makes him instantly likable. He is so damn sweet that it becomes infectious - how can a woman resist the temptations of a philosophical male who speaks of lust as a primary way of living? So what if he works part-time and smokes marijuana daily for breakfast!

"The Tao of Steve" is not a total success because it travels on safer terrain rather than truly exploring what motivates someone like Dex. He is the kind of guy that can surprise you, lead you to think he's less clever than he looks. The film's homespun philosophy is that love rules the day over lust, and a lover like Don Giovanni would eventually come to realize this. I feel Dex is a unique enough character that he would only make you think he has realized this. Sometimes those who see the error of their ways contine making the same errors.

Footnote: The opening sequence of "The Tao of Steve" is set at a supposedly four-year college where a ten-year reunion is taking place. Actually, it is Santa Fe Community College, a two-year school that would not likely have a reunion. The setting looks familiar enough since I attended that very same school for two-and-a-half years!

For more reviews, check out JERRY AT THE MOVIES at http://buffs.moviething.com/buffs/faust/

E-mail me with any questions, comments or general complaints at Faust667@aol.com or at jerry@movieluver.com

The review above was posted to the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due to ASCII to HTML conversion.

Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews