The Tao of Steve
Encyclopedia
The Tao of Steve is a 2000
romantic comedy film written by Duncan North, Greer Goodman, and Jenniphr Goodman
. It is directed by Jenniphr Goodman and stars Donal Logue
and Greer Goodman.
Dex (Logue) is a seemingly unlikely Lothario
- an overweight, thirtysomething underachiever - who has developed an effective method for seducing women. He meets up with Syd, an old college conquest whom he can't remember. She never forgot him, however, and slowly falls for the lures of the "Tao of Steve", Dex's pseudophilosophy in which one combines a Taoist
outlook with the qualities embodied by TV characters such as Steve Austin (The Six Million Dollar Man) and Steve McGarrett (Hawaii Five-O) and, above all, by the actor Steve McQueen.
The Tao of Steve was produced by Ted Hope
and James Schamus
' Good Machine
production company and released through Sony Pictures Classics
. Logue won the 2000 Sundance Film Festival
's Special Jury Prize for outstanding performance in a dramatic (i.e., narrative) film and the film itself was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. It was filmed in and around Santa Fe, New Mexico
, where the story is set. Although the script never mentions St. John's College, the film includes many visual and verbal references to the seminar-based Great Books program taught there.
Syd is back in town for an upcoming opera
production for which she is the designer; she is also staying with Rick and Maggie. While she remembers Dex, his memory of her is a little more fuzzy.
Dex shares a house with three other slacker
buddies who spend their free time (along with Rick) engaged variously in playing disc golf
, playing poker, and drinking - all while trading quips about philosophy and pop culture. One of the group, Dave, has met a woman and the group decides to help him in his pursuit of her by teaching him their approach to seduction, "The Tao of Steve."
Dex has his own relationship problems, as the woman with whom he has been having an affair, Beth, has started to give off signals that she would leave her husband to be with him. This puts Dex in a bind, as he views her as nothing more than a "friend with benefits".
Meanwhile, Dex is becoming more and more intrigued with Syd, with whom he must carpool after his motorcycle breaks down. Dex is habitually late, often still in his bathrobe and taking long hits on his ever-present bong
when she arrives to pick him up.
Syd is not entirely unreceptive to Dex's overtures. But there is a major obstacle to be overcome, for it turns out that Syd was one of Dex's college conquests and the fact that he has completely forgotten about it does little to endear him to her.
, after finishing her studies at New York University
's film school, returned with her husband to her childhood home of Santa Fe, where they shared a house with North, a friend from college. Much like his fictional counterpart, North was an overweight kindergarten teacher who nevertheless had astounding success bedding women, including two of Goodman's own friends.
Out of work, Goodman began to have long conversations with North over the next two years, fascinated by his success and philosophy. This led to her wanting to make a film about North, either a documentary or some sort of one-man show. When her sister Greer became involved in 1996, they developed the project into a narrative film.
The Goodman sisters and North spent the next two years writing multiple drafts of the script as it evolved from a personal odyssey story into a romantic comedy. Pre-production began in New Mexico
, and Jenniphr hired another NYU alumn, Teo Maniaci, as the cinematographer. Unfortunately, the start date for filming had to be pushed back when the actor they wanted for the lead turned out to be unavailable. During this time, Maniaci had given the script to Anthony Bregman, with whom he had just worked on a film that was made for Bregman's employer, Good Machine
.
The delay was fortuitous, as Bregman and Good Machine came aboard as producers. The script went through 10 more drafts that year with Bregman, who comments, "That's one of the luxuries about independent film
, you often have time to make the script perfect. You're always waiting for something — an actor's schedule to free up, more money to appear — so you have lots of time to reschedule, re-budget, and rewrite."
The actor in question was Donal Logue, who had been off making what would be John Frankenheimer
's final film, Reindeer Games
. Shooting began on July 7, 1999.
calling it "...an easygoing but bright comedy that focuses on Logue's effortless charm (he won the best actor award at Sundance). It creates the feeling of settling in comfortably with old friends... One of the things I like about the movie is the wit of its dialogue, the way sentences and conversations coil with confidence up to a conclusion that is totally unexpected."
David Edelstein
of Slate.com also praises the dialogue: "[The Tao of Steve] has some of the funniest romantic banter in a movie in years..." He says the film "...went down like a slice of warm pecan pie topped with two scoops of Ben & Jerry's
Bovinity Divinity."
In addition to Jenniphr (director, co-writer) and Greer (lead actress, co-writer), younger sister Dana Goodman also appears in the film as the bartender that Dex beds early in the film.
The house used as Dex's home is in fact Duncan North's house. The disc golf course shown in the film is an actual course. In addition, the house used as Rick and Maggie's is the director's home she shares with her husband Erik.
The character of Rick is based on Jenniphr Goodman's husband, Erik, who is a friend of Duncan North's.
2000 in film
The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
romantic comedy film written by Duncan North, Greer Goodman, and Jenniphr Goodman
Jenniphr Goodman
Jenniphr Goodman is a film director best known for directing and co-writing the 2000 film The Tao of Steve. She received her B.A. in creative writing and film making in 1984 through Pitzer College. She is also a graduate of New York University's film school at the Tisch School of the Arts.-External...
. It is directed by Jenniphr Goodman and stars Donal Logue
Donal Logue
Donal Francis Logue is an Canadian actor perhaps most famous for his role as Sean Finnerty in Grounded for Life.-Personal life:...
and Greer Goodman.
Dex (Logue) is a seemingly unlikely Lothario
Lothario
Lothario is a male first name which came to connote an unscrupulous seducer of women.In The Impertinent Curiosity, a story-within-the-story in Don Quixote , by Miguel de Cervantes, a man named Anselmo coerces Lothario, his faithful friend, to test the virtue of Anselmo's wife, Camila...
- an overweight, thirtysomething underachiever - who has developed an effective method for seducing women. He meets up with Syd, an old college conquest whom he can't remember. She never forgot him, however, and slowly falls for the lures of the "Tao of Steve", Dex's pseudophilosophy in which one combines a Taoist
Taoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
outlook with the qualities embodied by TV characters such as Steve Austin (The Six Million Dollar Man) and Steve McGarrett (Hawaii Five-O) and, above all, by the actor Steve McQueen.
The Tao of Steve was produced by Ted Hope
Ted Hope
Ted Hope is an American independent film producer based in New York City.As the American Indie wave hit in the early 90’s, Ted was among the first producers to emerge from the pack, and today remains one of the few consistently delivering vital and exciting new work...
and James Schamus
James Schamus
James Schamus is an award-winning screenwriter The Ice Storm and producer Brokeback Mountain, and is CEO of Focus Features, the motion picture production, financing, and worldwide distribution company whose films have included Lost in Translation, Milk, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The...
' Good Machine
Good Machine
Good Machine was an independent film production, film distribution, and foreign sales company started in the early 1990s by its co-founders and producers, Ted Hope and James Schamus. David Linde joined in the late 90s to start the international sales company...
production company and released through Sony Pictures Classics
Sony Pictures Classics
Sony Pictures Classics is an art-house film division of Sony Pictures Entertainment founded in December 1991 that distributes, produces and acquires specialty films from the United States and around the world. Its co-presidents are Michael Barker and Tom Bernard...
. Logue won the 2000 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
's Special Jury Prize for outstanding performance in a dramatic (i.e., narrative) film and the film itself was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. It was filmed in and around Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, where the story is set. Although the script never mentions St. John's College, the film includes many visual and verbal references to the seminar-based Great Books program taught there.
Plot
The movie opens at a 10-year college reunion that a reluctant Dex has decided to attend in the company of his married friends Rick and Maggie. In his college days, Dex was the stud of the campus, using philosophy as an aphrodisiac to bed a series of young women. After putting the first of what will be successful moves on a student bartender, he finds Rick and Maggie talking with Syd.Syd is back in town for an upcoming opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
production for which she is the designer; she is also staying with Rick and Maggie. While she remembers Dex, his memory of her is a little more fuzzy.
Dex shares a house with three other slacker
Slacker
The term "slacker" is used to refer to a person who habitually avoids work. Slackers may be regarded as belonging to an antimaterialistic counterculture, though in some cases their behavior may be due to other causes ....
buddies who spend their free time (along with Rick) engaged variously in playing disc golf
Disc golf
Disc golf is a disc game in which individual players throw a flying disc into a basket or at a target. According to the Professional Disc Golf Association, "The object of the game is to traverse a course from beginning to end in the fewest number of throws of the disc." Of the more than 3000...
, playing poker, and drinking - all while trading quips about philosophy and pop culture. One of the group, Dave, has met a woman and the group decides to help him in his pursuit of her by teaching him their approach to seduction, "The Tao of Steve."
Dex has his own relationship problems, as the woman with whom he has been having an affair, Beth, has started to give off signals that she would leave her husband to be with him. This puts Dex in a bind, as he views her as nothing more than a "friend with benefits".
Meanwhile, Dex is becoming more and more intrigued with Syd, with whom he must carpool after his motorcycle breaks down. Dex is habitually late, often still in his bathrobe and taking long hits on his ever-present bong
Bong
A bong is a filtration device/apparatus generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco,or other herbal substances.In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and more portable...
when she arrives to pick him up.
Syd is not entirely unreceptive to Dex's overtures. But there is a major obstacle to be overcome, for it turns out that Syd was one of Dex's college conquests and the fact that he has completely forgotten about it does little to endear him to her.
Cast
- Donal LogueDonal LogueDonal Francis Logue is an Canadian actor perhaps most famous for his role as Sean Finnerty in Grounded for Life.-Personal life:...
- Dex - Greer Goodman - Syd
- David Aaron Baker - Rick
- James 'Kimo' Wills - Dave
- Nina Jaroslaw - Maggie
- Ayelet Kaznelson - Beth
Production
Director Jenniphr GoodmanJenniphr Goodman
Jenniphr Goodman is a film director best known for directing and co-writing the 2000 film The Tao of Steve. She received her B.A. in creative writing and film making in 1984 through Pitzer College. She is also a graduate of New York University's film school at the Tisch School of the Arts.-External...
, after finishing her studies at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
's film school, returned with her husband to her childhood home of Santa Fe, where they shared a house with North, a friend from college. Much like his fictional counterpart, North was an overweight kindergarten teacher who nevertheless had astounding success bedding women, including two of Goodman's own friends.
Out of work, Goodman began to have long conversations with North over the next two years, fascinated by his success and philosophy. This led to her wanting to make a film about North, either a documentary or some sort of one-man show. When her sister Greer became involved in 1996, they developed the project into a narrative film.
The Goodman sisters and North spent the next two years writing multiple drafts of the script as it evolved from a personal odyssey story into a romantic comedy. Pre-production began in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, and Jenniphr hired another NYU alumn, Teo Maniaci, as the cinematographer. Unfortunately, the start date for filming had to be pushed back when the actor they wanted for the lead turned out to be unavailable. During this time, Maniaci had given the script to Anthony Bregman, with whom he had just worked on a film that was made for Bregman's employer, Good Machine
Good Machine
Good Machine was an independent film production, film distribution, and foreign sales company started in the early 1990s by its co-founders and producers, Ted Hope and James Schamus. David Linde joined in the late 90s to start the international sales company...
.
The delay was fortuitous, as Bregman and Good Machine came aboard as producers. The script went through 10 more drafts that year with Bregman, who comments, "That's one of the luxuries about independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
, you often have time to make the script perfect. You're always waiting for something — an actor's schedule to free up, more money to appear — so you have lots of time to reschedule, re-budget, and rewrite."
The actor in question was Donal Logue, who had been off making what would be John Frankenheimer
John Frankenheimer
John Michael Frankenheimer was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films...
's final film, Reindeer Games
Reindeer Games
Reindeer Games is a 2000 American film, directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Ben Affleck, Gary Sinise, and Charlize Theron. It was Frankenheimer's final theatrically released film and received poor reviews.-Plot:...
. Shooting began on July 7, 1999.
Reception
The film enjoyed mostly positive reviews, with Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
calling it "...an easygoing but bright comedy that focuses on Logue's effortless charm (he won the best actor award at Sundance). It creates the feeling of settling in comfortably with old friends... One of the things I like about the movie is the wit of its dialogue, the way sentences and conversations coil with confidence up to a conclusion that is totally unexpected."
David Edelstein
David Edelstein
David Edelstein is the chief film critic for New York Magazine, as well as the film critic for NPR's Fresh Air and CBS Sunday Morning. He lives in Brooklyn, New York....
of Slate.com also praises the dialogue: "
Ben & Jerry's
Ben & Jerry's is an American ice cream company, a division of the British-Dutch Unilever conglomerate, that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet, and ice cream novelty products, manufactured by Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings, Inc., headquartered in South Burlington, Vermont, United...
Bovinity Divinity."
In addition to Jenniphr (director, co-writer) and Greer (lead actress, co-writer), younger sister Dana Goodman also appears in the film as the bartender that Dex beds early in the film.
The house used as Dex's home is in fact Duncan North's house. The disc golf course shown in the film is an actual course. In addition, the house used as Rick and Maggie's is the director's home she shares with her husband Erik.
The character of Rick is based on Jenniphr Goodman's husband, Erik, who is a friend of Duncan North's.