20 Dates
| 20 Dates | |
|---|---|
 DVD release cover | |
| Directed by | Myles Berkowitz |
| Written by | Myles Berkowitz |
| Produced by | Phoenician Films |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Adam Biggs |
| Edited by | Lisa Cheek Michael Elliot |
| Music by | Robert F. Mann Steve Tyrell |
| Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 87 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $60,000 (est) |
| Box office | $536,767 (domestic) |
20 Dates is a 1998 American mockumentary film. Myles Berkowitz directs and stars as himself, a man who decides to combine "the two biggest failures in my life--professional and personal" by setting out on a filmed quest to have 20 dates and come out with both a movie career and a love interest. While most of his dates are disasters of varying stripes, Myles ultimately meets the lovely Elisabeth on his 17th date and they completely hit it off, leaving him with a new dilemma when he wants to finish the movie anyway and puts his new romance at risk.
Cast
[edit]- Myles Berkowitz as Myles
- Elisabeth Wagner as Elisabeth
- Richard Arlook as The Agent
- Tia Carrere as herself
- Robert McKee as himself
- Elie Samaha as The producer (voice)
- Emily Arlook as Emily
Release and reception
[edit]After screening at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, it was picked up by 20th Century Fox's indie division Fox Searchlight Pictures. An early version of the film had previously screened at the 1997 Slamdance Film Festival.[1] It received mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 35% of 34 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The website's consensus reads: "20 Dates explores relatable romantic and career frustrations -- unfortunately, it does so through the exploits of someone who's hard to watch and harder to root for."[2] Metacritic recorded a score of 36 out of 100,[3]
Film critic Christopher Null of Filmcritic.com awarded the film four and a half stars out of five and called the film "hysterical"[4] while Leonard Clady of Variety called it "a mockumentary of inordinate skill", concluding that it's "a satisfying and entertaining movie."[5] James Berardinelli of ReelViews.net called the film "inconsequential" but, at the same time, admitted that some parts of the film are "often hilarious."[6]
On the other hand, film critic Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film a half star out of a possible four stars, opining that "the film has the obnoxious tone of a boring home movie narrated by a guy shouting in your ear" and concluding by calling the film "incompetent and annoying."[7] Jeff Millar of the Houston Chronicle said the film is "a joke" and that "Berkowitz is a rather annoying person".[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Hot dates Crafty filmmaker documents his romantic pursuits". 26 March 1999.
- ^ "20 Dates". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
- ^ 20 Dates, Metacritic. Accessed November 15, 2009.
- ^ Null, Christopher. 20 Dates Archived 2008-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, Filmcritic.com, 2000. Accessed November 7, 2008.
- ^ Clady, Leonard. 20 Dates, Variety, January 26, 1998.
- ^ Berardinelli, James. 20 Dates, ReelViews.net. Accessed November 7, 2008.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. 20 Dates Archived 2012-09-26 at the Wayback Machine, Chicago Sun-Times, March 12, 1999. Accessed November 7, 2008.
- ^ Millar, Jeff. 20 Dates, March 11, 2004. Accessed November 7, 2008.
External links
[edit]- 20 Dates at IMDb
- 20 Dates at AllMovie
- 20 Dates at Rotten Tomatoes
- 20 Dates at Metacritic
- 20 Dates at Box Office Mojo