Tadpole (2002)
Directed by Gary Winick
Written by Heather McGowan, Niels Mueller
Starring Aaron Stanford, Bebe Neuwirth, Sigourney Weaver, Robert Iler, John Ritter, Kate Mara
Release Date August 2nd, 2002
Published January 27th, 2003
Movies about worldly teenage boys falling for older women are nothing new. (The Graduate is a famous example that is more than 30 years old) However a movie about a 15-year-old boy who lusts after his stepmother... well I haven't seen that one before and really wasn't looking for it. Nevertheless the cheaply made Oedipus comedy Tadpole is charming. despite its strange twist on the Graduate formula.
Aaron Stanford stars as Oscar, who is nicknamed Tadpole by one of the film's minor supporting players (though everyone else calls him Oscar.) Oscar is an odd 15-year-old; he reads Voltaire, speaks fluent French and has an affinity for women's hands. Returning home to New York for Thanksgiving break Oscar explains to his friend Charlie (The Sopranos' Robert Iler) that this will be the weekend he tells the woman he loves how he feels. Oscar neglects to mention that the woman of his dreams is his stepmother, Eve, played by Sigourney Weaver.
Once home Oscar arrives at a party in progress and his loving father Stanley (John Ritter) attempts to set him up with the daughter of a friend. However, Oscar and his one-track mind blows off the girl and instead pines away for Eve. Disappointed after a night of watching his father and Eve together, Oscar goes out and gets a little drunk. As he stumbles home, he meets up with his stepmother's best friend Diane (Bebe Neuwirth).
Rather than let Oscar go home and be discovered by his parents to be drunk, Diane invites Oscar to her place for coffee. One thing leads to another and Oscar and Diane end up in bed. Oscar feels horribly guilty; feels he has betrayed his feelings for Eve. This leads to the film's best scene in a restaurant with Oscar, his father, stepmother and Diane. As Oscar sweats over whether Diane will let his secret slip, Diane taunts him mercilessly and finally Oscar's childishness gets the better of him.
Shot on digital video with a budget of only $750,000, Tadpole isn't the best looking movie. Accordingly, director Gary Winick has to rely on the characters and they are interesting characters, especially Bebe Neuwirth's Diane. Neuwirth is amazing in this role; sexy and quick-witted, she is the film's real star. The film's lead, Aaron Stanford, who makes his film debut here--he will appear as Pyro in X-Men 2 this summer--isn't bad. Stanford is believable as an intellectual, overly analytical obsessive, though not as believable as a 15-year-old. In reality, he is 25 years old and he looks it.
Sigourney Weaver is believable as the object of Oscar's obsessions, but the conversations between her and Oscar are too stilted in double meanings to be believed. Ritter is forgettable as the clueless father whose basic job seems to be to get in the way of the rest of the characters. Tadpole has many funny moments, mostly provided by Neuwirth; however, at a mere 80 minutes there isn't much to it. The film's resolution is forgettable with a throwaway happy ending that throws aside all that has happened before it. There are no consequences or guilt--just an ending.
The film is strong on dialogue and Neuwirth is extraordinary in her supporting role so, for that, I can give a partial recommendation to Tadpole.
