MovieChat Forums > The Tao of Steve (2000) Discussion > Tao of Steve theory invalidated by his c...

Tao of Steve theory invalidated by his choice of women


The women we saw Dex hooking up with or who we learned he had seduced in the past were not all that attractive. The waitress in the deli at the end is probably the best bad example. Syd herself would not rate better than a "5" on the 1-10 scale. Dex was spouting his Tao of Steve theories the whole movie when in reality none of that stuff is necessary to pull a 5 or less. His game only worked on women with few romantic options. The married woman he was sleeping with was decent looking, but her options were limited by her situation (marriage).

reply

Well it's the 90s version of the contemporary eras player culture. I'm quite read up on the subject, but I myself am not a huge fan of it at this point. Dexter was basically a lazy mans pick up artist. His main argument was that he shouldn't be getting laid in general, which given the characters obesity, I can buy.

Using psychology in and of itself to meet women is fine, but I've seen the back-end damage that can ensue, and I'm no longer a big fan, but I respect it.

This movie is more about attitudes towards relationships in the late 90s than it is pick up culture.

To your point, it's true, there isn't a woman >5 in the entire film.

reply

Sorry, but Syd and the young philosophy student were both 7s.

reply

This is BS. In the real world, those women are higher than you are rating them, and Dex is lower. Not just because he's fat, but he has zero physical fitness and no professional prospects.

--------
My top 250: http://www.flickchart.com/Charts.aspx?user=SlackerInc&perpage=250

reply

Really? I thought Dex was kind of sexy.

reply

First of all, obesity on a man is WAY less of obstacle to attracting wimminz than the reverse. So sorry to the knee-jerk "that's not fair" crowd, but deal with it.

Secondly, all the actresses in this flick were deliberately dressed down and uglied up and portrayed as going through life in a harried manner.

The deli waitress pointed out by the OP was actually young, tall, and with a slammin' bod, but MADE to look frumpy... her name IRL is Garland Hunter (old money alert!), and in her 20's she was easily a 7-8 on the dating scene, and that's withOUT the +1 bump that all redheads get for rarity/novelty... here she is, older... KILLER cheekbones:

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5481/14249925151_3894409f8a_b.jpg

http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/legacy/i/partypictures/06_06_12/charlie/4.Judith-Shea,-Cindy-Sherman,-Yvonne-Force-Villareal,-Garland-Hunter-.jpg

Scripting and acting aside, the premise-point of this film, that a firm grasp of the psychology-of-attraction/evo-psych can allow a man to "bat out of his league" is actually valid. I've done it, and I've witnessed men as short as 5'6" (and pudgy) do it. Sure, wimminz will look at a Ken Doll, but they want to be with a man who pushes their cavewoman buttons... subtlely.

reply

As a woman, i find Dex extremely unattractive and his selfishness a turn-off to boot, his laziness very sad. I give him a 2. He is smart and clever. I'll give him that. He has made me want to turn off this damn movie he is so repulsive. He'd be lucky to get a 5.

reply

To the OP,

I agree to a large extent, but also wanted to point out that Dex seemed to be living in the sticks of New Mexico somewhere. And had limited options to find attractive women to practice his theory of Tao upon.

reply