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The Terrestrial
Nailing a celebrity is the real American dream. Whether you've got your eye on a supermodel, an athlete, a porn star, or like to dream big (how about a three-way with Brad and Angelina?), you shouldn't feel guilty. It's their job to provoke such fantasies. If you're not fantasizing they're not doing their job. The difference between a stalker and a filmmaker is a camera. Brian Herzlinger has a video camera but only for 30 days, thanks to a certain chain's return policy. If he can't score My Date with Drew (Barrymore) in that time he'll have to revert to stalking her...or give up on his dream. Since My Date with Drew is rated PG, "date" is not used euphemistically. Brian knows – or soon finds out – the object of his affection is in a committed relationship, which becomes an engagement (at least according to the Star) before his 30 days ends. Brian hails from New Jersey. He lives in Los Angeles and has worked a series of "entry-level jobs." He's had a crush on Drew Barrymore since he saw E.T. The Extraterrestrial when he was six. He made it official when he was ten by joining her fan club. Now he's 27, is between jobs and has just come into a vast sum of money on a game show. He decides to invest this $1100 in making a movie about his quest for a date with Drew. He enlists the aid of two friends, Jon Gunn and Brett Winn. They "buy" a camera, which won't have to come out of the budget because it will go back. The good and bad news is that Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is opening at the end of the month (June 2003). That means there will be a premiere Brian can weasel his way into with fake credentials, but it also means Drew will be on the go all month, doing publicity around the world. You don't know how much to believe in what passes for a documentary these days, but it looks like the guys get started without much of a game plan. The first day they tape reactions to the concept from people on the street; the second day they sit down for a brainstorming session. Not until Day 27 does Brian launch a website. Most of the game plan involves talking to people with as few degrees of separation from Drew as possible, from a facial artist and a limo driver to screenwriters (John August, Allison Burnett) and actors (Eric Roberts, Corey Feldman). They put together a trailer for the project and send it to Nancy Juvonen, Drew's partner at Flower Films, but get no response from her. My Date with Drew is supposed to offer an outsider's perspective on how things work – or don't work – in Hollywood, but you can learn a lot more from a few throwaway lines in any episode of Entourage than from this whole movie. Because of the personal nature of the endeavor, and because the camera never leaves Herzlinger for long, your reaction to him will be your reaction to the film: it's that subjective. My reaction was, I wouldn't date the guy and I wouldn't wish him on Drew Barrymore. Sorry, dude, but you put yourself out there and you have to expect a full range of responses. Obviously the concept was clever enough to get theatrical distribution for Brian's effort, and the idea will probably resonate with people who can relate to his obsession; but when you compare what Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) accomplished in 30 days with what Brian Herzlinger has done...there's no comparison. Steve Warren is a local actor and film reviewer. His reviews can also be seen weekly in the Sunday Paper. |
My Date with Drew
Directed by: Jon Gunn, Brian Herzlinger, Brett Winn 
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(1½ out of 4)