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An unlikely 'chick magnet'
Proudly disheveled and with a prodigious beer gut, Dex, hero of The Tao of Steve, lets us know what women really want and what they fall for.
By STEVE PERSALL
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 21, 2000
[Photo: Sony Pictures Classics]
Donal Logue, who plays Dex, pulls the movie along on sheer affability.
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Nobody is named Steve in Jenniphr Goodman's ingratiating romantic comedy, The Tao of Steve. Being a "Steve" is a state of mind over flattery, a means of drawing upon the coolness of others to score with women.
McQueen, McGarrett and Austin form the holy trinity of Steves in this frisky philosophy, men's men who know the right things to say and do and never make it look planned.
Dex, the hero of Goodman's film, played by a bearish bundle of charm named Donal Logue, has the Tao of Steve down pat.
This guy has no right (at least not in conventional movie reality) to be as attractive to women as he is. Dex has a prodigious beer gut, remains proudly disheveled and is prone to making ice cream sundaes in his mouth instead of a bowl. He smokes too much, with more attention given to packing a bong than ironing clothes.
In the reel world of cinematic romance, Dex would be more likely to be a wacky sidekick to handsome stars named Mel or Kevin or Brad. Goodman places him front and center, a veritable "chick magnet" with a philosopher's insight and a slacker's ambition.
Dex will be an inspiration to many, especially with Logue being so relentlessly cuddlesome. And that's why Goodman's camouflaged feminist tack in The Tao of Steve impresses.
The director and co-writer turns her film into a funny meditation on what women really want and what they fall for. Dex is able to feign the former and convey the latter, turning seduction into a three-step program: Don't appear to need sex, do something to impress your targeted woman, then retreat and wait for her to follow.
By dissecting this ladies' man's modus operandi, Goodman prevents Dex from being simply a calculating scoundrel or a serial lady-killer. He's exposed as another Don Giovanni, someone who made love to a thousand women because he was afraid of not being loved by one. Dex is a nice guy with a gift, a toy he'll outgrow when the right woman puts him in his place.
That woman is Syd, well-played by Greer Goodman, also a co-writer and Jenniphr's sister. Syd sees right through Dex's tactics because she has fallen for them before.
It wouldn't bother her, except that Dex forgot that particular conquest. Women can cope with a lot of male transgressions, the film suggests, but being dumped into an anonymous pile with other sexual conquests isn't one of them.
The Tao of Steve isn't a plotted story as much as a case study of arrested development catching up. It's fun to watch Dex in action, either applying his technique or explaining it to a "Stu" -- the opposite of a "Steve" -- as a kind of sexist public service. Logue's performance is charming enough to make even the heartiest feminist hide gritted teeth behind a smile.
The film soon becomes Dex's fall and resurrection as someone wiser, less manipulative. Once again, Logue pulls the movie along on sheer affability. We want this jerk to straighten up, to focus all that intelligence, wit and caring toward one woman and mean it. Goodman's film almost buckles under the strain of making that happen. Redemption almost seems like a bland sentence for Dex to serve.
Entertainment Weekly recently reported The Tao of Steve may inspire a network program along the lines of Northern Exposure, set among lovable oddballs in New Mexico, rather than Alaska. The movie often seems like it's already on TV, with calculated crises and camping-trip problems forcing Dex and Syd into sharing a tent and, eventually, each other. Very pat. Very un-Steve.
Yet, it's the way Dex and Syd delay the inevitable, with sharp dialogue, solid sight-gag edits, eccentric reality and meaningful silences, that sets The Tao of Steve apart. Those glossy valentines sent by the Hankses and Ryans of Hollywood won't look the same again.
REVIEW
The Tao of Steve
- Grade: B+
- Director: Jenniphr Goodman
- Cast: Donal Logue, Greer Goodman, Kimo Wills, Ayelet Kaznelson
- Screenplay: Duncan North, Jenniphr Goodman, Greer Goodman
- Rating: R; profanity, sexual situations, drug abuse
- Running time: 87 min.
- Theaters: Tampa Theatre and Beach Theater only.
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