# Take Me Home Tonight (film)
*Take Me Home Tonight* is a 2011 American comedy-drama directed by Michael Dowse, starring [Topher Grace](https://www.edgepedia.org/topher-grace) as a recent MIT graduate who spends one [Labor Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/labor-day) weekend in 1988 pursuing his former high school crush at an out-of-control party. [Anna Faris](https://www.edgepedia.org/anna-faris), Dan Fogler, Teresa Palmer, and Chris Pratt round out the principal cast.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67008-TAKE-ME-HOME-TONIGHT) Shot in 2007 and shelved for roughly four years, the film was released by Relativity Media on March 4, 2011 and became a box-office failure, earning about $7.6 million worldwide against a $19 million production budget.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Take-Me-Home-Tonight)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Wide theatrical release March 4, 2011 (Los Angeles and New York openings March 4); 97 minutes; rated R[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67008-TAKE-ME-HOME-TONIGHT) |
| Director and writers | Directed by Michael Dowse; screenplay by Jackie Filgo and Jeff Filgo; story by Topher Grace and Gordon Kaywin[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67008-TAKE-ME-HOME-TONIGHT) • [13](https://www.screendaily.com/take-me-home-tonight/5024390.article) |
| Principal cast | Topher Grace (Matt Franklin), Teresa Palmer (Tori Frederking), Anna Faris (Wendy Franklin), Dan Fogler (Barry Nathan), Chris Pratt (Kyle Masterson)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67008-TAKE-ME-HOME-TONIGHT) |
| Setting | Southern California, Labor Day weekend 1988, centered on a single end-of-summer party[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movie-review-for-take-me-home-tonight/2011/03/02/ABmhVON_story.html) |
| Production history | Filmed in 2007 with an $18 million budget from Universal's Rogue label; shelved about four years; Relativity paid $9.5 million for the rights and spent about $1 million on reshoots[4](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2011-2/take-me-home-tonight/) |
| Box office | Opening weekend $3,464,679 in 2,003 theaters (11th place); domestic total $6,928,068; worldwide $7,576,604 against a $19 million budget[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Take-Me-Home-Tonight) |
| Reception | 27% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (110 reviews) and 42% on the Popcornmeter; a Metascore of 42 on Metacritic; a C CinemaScore from opening audiences[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/take_me_home_tonight) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/take-me-home-tonight/critic-reviews/) • [4](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2011-2/take-me-home-tonight/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and setting
The story takes place during one raucous Labor Day party in 1988. Matt Franklin, a recent MIT graduate, confounds his family by taking a part-time job at a video store at the Sherman Oaks Galleria instead of starting a corporate career. When Tori Frederking, his unrequited high-school crush, walks into the store and invites him to an end-of-summer party, Matt sees a chance to change the course of his life. With his twin sister Wendy and his best friend Barry, he spends the night in a series of escalating misadventures, from stealing a car to a marriage proposal to a dance-off.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Take-Me-Home-Tonight)
A running plot device has Matt lying to Tori that he works at [Goldman Sachs](https://www.edgepedia.org/goldman-sachs), a deception that unravels because she works in banking herself.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movie-review-for-take-me-home-tonight/2011/03/02/ABmhVON_story.html) Wendy, meanwhile, holds an acceptance letter from Cambridge while weighing a marriage proposal from her boyfriend Kyle, the party's host.[7](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/take-me-home-tonight-2011)
## Development and production
The film began as a passion project for Topher Grace, who developed the concept with Gordon Kaywin, his producing partner and former roommate at [New Hampshire](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-hampshire)'s Brewster Academy. Grace, who did not reach his teens until the 1990s, said he and Kaywin were partly inspired by a sense that 1980s John Hughes-style ensemble movies such as *The Breakfast Club* and *[Sixteen Candles](https://www.edgepedia.org/sixteen-candles)* had vanished from the filmmaking landscape, and he wanted to make something that felt as if it were literally made in the 1980s rather than a parody of the era.[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/topher-graces-take-me-home-tonight-takes-us-back-to-the-1980s/2011/02/23/ABBcHnN_story.html)
Production companies were [Imagine Entertainment](https://www.edgepedia.org/imagine-entertainment), Rogue Entertainment, and [Relativity Media](https://www.edgepedia.org/relativity-media), with Terry Stacey as cinematographer, Lee Haxall as editor, William Arnold as production designer, and [Trevor Horn](https://www.edgepedia.org/trevor-horn) composing the music.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67008-TAKE-ME-HOME-TONIGHT) The film was shot in 2007 with an $18 million budget backed by Universal's Rogue label.[4](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2011-2/take-me-home-tonight/)
## The four-year delay
Universal shelved the finished film after getting cold feet about its cocaine use, including a scene in which Barry snorts a large quantity of the drug; the Los Angeles Times reported that the movie ran afoul of Universal's top brass, including president Ron Meyer, according to two people who worked on the film.[9](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-mar-03-la-et-word-20110303-34-story.html) When Relativity Media bought Universal's Rogue Pictures division in a protracted deal in early 2009, *Take Me Home Tonight* was part of the package; Relativity paid $9.5 million for the rights and ordered reshoots intended to boost the film's appeal to women.[4](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2011-2/take-me-home-tonight/) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-mar-03-la-et-word-20110303-34-story.html)
Grace argued that the hold-ups had a silver lining: they preserved the film's cocaine excesses and gave director Michael Dowse the chance to reshoot key scenes to improve the love story.[9](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-mar-03-la-et-word-20110303-34-story.html) Critics noted the cost of the delay, however. By the time of release, the video-store plot line felt dated in a Netflix and Redbox world, and the 1980s nostalgia cycle the film had been built for had cooled.[10](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-mar-04-la-et-take-me-home-tonight-20110304-story.html)
## Release and box office
Relativity dated the film for wide release on March 4, 2011 and supported it with a reported $20 million in prints-and-advertising expenses, including $3 million for a 30-second [Super Bowl](https://www.edgepedia.org/super-bowl) spot and screenings on college campuses.[4](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2011-2/take-me-home-tonight/) It opened against *Rango*, *The Adjustment Bureau*, and *[Beastly](https://www.edgepedia.org/beastly-film)*. Tracking had pointed to a $4 million to $6 million opening, but the film debuted to $3,464,679, placing 11th for the weekend, and fell 63.3% to $1,272,239 in its second frame before being pulled from all but 281 screens.[4](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2011-2/take-me-home-tonight/) • [2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Take-Me-Home-Tonight)
The domestic total reached $6,928,068, with $648,536 from a few overseas markets where Universal released it, for a worldwide gross of $7,576,604, about 0.4 times the $19 million production budget. Estimated domestic disc sales added $5,328,330. The film went to home video on July 19, 2011 through Fox Home Entertainment, and went direct to video in most international markets.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Take-Me-Home-Tonight) • [4](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2011-2/take-me-home-tonight/) After its first turbulent year in distribution, Relativity ceased most acquisitions and focused on in-house productions, citing the box-office failures of *Take Me Home Tonight*, *Shark Night 3D*, and *[Machine Gun Preacher](https://www.edgepedia.org/machine-gun-preacher)*.[4](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2011-2/take-me-home-tonight/)
## Critical reception
Reviews were mostly negative. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus says the film "has a charming sweetness about it" but is "neither funny nor original enough to live up to the comedies it evokes"; the site recorded 27% on the Tomatometer from 110 reviews and 42% from audiences.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/take_me_home_tonight) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 42, categorized as mixed or average, with 5 positive, 15 mixed, and 8 negative reviews among 28 counted.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/take-me-home-tonight/critic-reviews/) Opening audiences gave the film a C CinemaScore.[4](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2011-2/take-me-home-tonight/)
Roger Ebert, the longtime [Chicago Sun-Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-sun-times) critic, gave the film one of his harshest notices, joking that many of its characters might qualify as finalists for the [Darwin Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/darwin-awards) and faulting its party scenes and dialogue.[7](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/take-me-home-tonight-2011) More favorable notices came from Time, whose reviewer called it an amiable diversion kept afloat by raunchy comic moments and a kindness to its youthful characters, and [The New Yorker](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-new-yorker), which praised Teresa Palmer and Dowse's handling of the party traffic.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/take-me-home-tonight/critic-reviews/) Time Out gave the film 3 of 5 stars, finding that the supporting cast, particularly Dan Fogler and Anna Faris, hit targets the script itself missed.[11](https://www.timeout.com/movies/take-me-home-tonight-1)
## Afterlife
The film has sustained a modest second life in home viewing. It streams on subscription services including Prime Video, Disney+, and Hulu, and holds a 6.3 rating on IMDb from about 58,000 users.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/take_me_home_tonight) • [12](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/take-me-home-tonight) Viewer discussion frequently centers on its 1980s soundtrack, which The Numbers describes as a set of timeless rock and hip-hop hits.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Take-Me-Home-Tonight)
## References
1. [Take Me Home Tonight (2011), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/67008-TAKE-ME-HOME-TONIGHT)
2. [Take Me Home Tonight (2011), Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Take-Me-Home-Tonight)
3. [Movie review for 'Take Me Home Tonight', The Washington Post (Stephanie Merry, March 3, 2011)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movie-review-for-take-me-home-tonight/2011/03/02/ABmhVON_story.html)
4. [Take Me Home Tonight (2011): Shelved for Four Years, Bomb Report](https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2011-2/take-me-home-tonight/)
5. [Take Me Home Tonight, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/take_me_home_tonight)
6. [Take Me Home Tonight Critic Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/take-me-home-tonight/critic-reviews/)
7. [A story about Darwin award finalists, rogerebert.com (Roger Ebert, March 2, 2011)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/take-me-home-tonight-2011)
8. [Topher Grace's 'Take Me Home Tonight' takes us back to the 1980s, The Washington Post (February 23, 2011)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/topher-graces-take-me-home-tonight-takes-us-back-to-the-1980s/2011/02/23/ABBcHnN_story.html)
9. [Word of Mouth: Topher Grace's ode to the '80s, Los Angeles Times (March 3, 2011)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-mar-03-la-et-word-20110303-34-story.html)
10. [Movie review: 'Take Me Home Tonight', Los Angeles Times (Betsy Sharkey, March 4, 2011)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-mar-04-la-et-take-me-home-tonight-20110304-story.html)
11. [Take Me Home Tonight, Film review, Time Out (David Fear)](https://www.timeout.com/movies/take-me-home-tonight-1)
12. [Take Me Home Tonight streaming: where to watch online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/take-me-home-tonight)
13. [Take Me Home Tonight](https://www.screendaily.com/take-me-home-tonight/5024390.article)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2011 to 2012 › Released in 2011*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license