Quick Review: The To Do List (2013)

THE TO DO LIST

BY CHRISTOPHER HASKELL
JULY 28, 2013

If you remember the first time you learned swear words and if from that point forward, you slipped them in wherever possible, then the screenplay for “The To Do List” feels exactly like that except with dirty content in general. Before seeing the film, I appreciated that this was an “R” rated comedy about sex, especially with a strong female lead pursuing sexual experiences. However, labeling this film “R” only gave it license to be all about the raunch rather than giving a shit about the story or characters.

Aubrey Plaza proved that she could carry herself in a feature film with “Safety Not Guaranteed,” but with “The To Do List,” she comes off more like a Saturday Night Live skit rather than a fleshed-out human being. As much as I wanted to love this film, it just never felt right, whether it was the caricature of a dad, played by Clark Gregg, the horrible performance from Johnny Simmons, or the sad attempts at making Rachel Bilson a whore. Even Bill Hader is not enough to change the continually shifting and pointless avenues of this film. Instead of being the raunchy, sexy comedy of the ’90s that we wanted, all we got was a half-assed, barely funny, easily forgotten summer comedy.

RELEASE DATE
July 26, 2013

DIRECTOR
Maggie Carey

WRITTEN BY
Maggie Carey

STUDIO
CBS Films

R
(for pervasive strong crude and sexual content including graphic dialogue, drug and alcohol use, and language – all involving teens)

COMEDY
ROMANCE
104 minutes