My Date with Drew

3 June 2006. This every man low-budget movie is an inspiring documentary of one man's attempt to secure a date with Drew Barrymore. Recorded on a bare budget, this quest is personal and intimate, dramatic, emotional, and inspiring. It is rich with authenticity, strategy, and realism that all of us can relate to. The pacing of the editing, the whole voyage is captivating as the up and down trek is attempted down blind alleys, guesses, wishes, ideas that offer the audience a behind the scenes look at networking and the Hollywood connection as the real personality behind the curtain of the movie industry. The real story is the down to earth and entertaining events that unfold and the realness of most of the people on screen even those that appear to be out of reach. This is funny, sometimes tense-filled, thriller that has all the intensity of wish-fullfillment held by us all. Highly recommended. Nine out of Ten Stars.

Even casting aside memories of the infamous summer of 2005, (during which the Internet Movie Database's Film General message board was overrun for months by the director's friends relentlessly hawking this documentary - and getting extremely unpleasant when challenged about their behaviour, trolling the board - in a monumentally misguided attempt at viral marketing that ensured everyone who encountered them waited for it to arrive on television rather than pay to see it) this film is impossible to like.

Much of that stems from the unlikable Brian Herzlinger, a man with no personality to speak of. He's a poor enough actor to betray the fact that at times he's clearly reading scripted material or improvising imaginary see-I-got-you-back phone conversations with an ex girlfriend who cheated on him. And that's not even his most pathetic moment.

Every attempt is made to enliven the concept but because it simply doesn't lend itself to a feature length film these attempts are doomed to failure, even if they weren't so hopelessly amateurish and inappropriate. They frequently employ six degrees of separation graphics as if they expect the audience to care that some guy's friend is a friend of some other guy's agent who knows someone who once worked with Barrymore. This kind of information is often presented in dramatic freeze frames as if to underline how important it is.

Presumably resulting from a dearth of imagination and creativity we're left with seemingly never-ending footage of Herzlinger approaching teenage girls outside malls and telling them what the film's about. "Oh, cool" they respond unenthusiastically - and this footage made the final cut! Next we see him unsuccessfully stopping people in the street and asking them to take part in "A survey about Drew Barrymore." It continues like this until the final scene, which I won't spoil. Things get mildly interesting (and decidedly awkward) for a few minutes and then - thankfully - it's over.

My Date with Drew isn't just a movie about a guy trying to get a date with a celebrity crush, it's a film about taking chances and reaching for seemingly unattainable goals. You can't help but grin as the goofy protagonist goes about his quest. This is a heartwarming and uplifting documentary.

I received a screener from the video store that I work at and I decided to give it a look. I didn't know what to expect because the premise is really odd. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The movie is good. Some scenes are inappropriate, and make the movie less about the date with Drew and more about Brian Herzlinger's personal life, but this is forgivable because the rest of the film, the Drew-centered parts that is, are really fun. Without ruining anything, some of the things he does to try to meet Drew Barrymore are pretty funny, and pretty creative. Another beef would be that it is filmed in MiniDV, but you could argue it's part of the appeal of the movie. The strongest aspect of the film, in my opinion, is the editing. Although the production value is extremely low ($1100 from a game show) the editing is amazing.

After I saw it, I came to IMDb to find out more about the filmmakers (the editor, particularly, whom I thought was really good). What I found was amazing... People were fighting over the message boards. Now that's just sad. I never usually post, I just visit for info, but I felt that this movie needed a fair review, from someone who's actually seen it. Some bits are too long, some bits aren't as funny, but overall it is an enjoyable experience.

The movie starts off dry and with a "Supersize Me" feel to it. However, if you can sit through the first fifteen minutes, it'll get better. I started this movie with my wife thinking that she would enjoy it more than I, although I had a pretty good time watching it. I am a prior-service US Marine and am currently a Deputy Sheriff and I can still identify with Brian even through all of the goofy not-so-suave antics displayed. I applaud him for making the movie and the wherewithal to follow through with his mission. The mind is like a parachute, it doesn't work unless it's open. Give the flick a chance.

PS Hey, Brian where's your mydatewithdrew.com website? I couldn't find it.