Posted: 08/12/2005

My Date with Drew

(2005)

by Hank Yuloff

Having had the same crush on Drew Barrymore as Brian Herzlinger, I watched for the opening of My Date with Drew with interest. Could Herzlinger, with $1100 won on a game show, actually put together a documentary that would attract enough attention that he would get a date with Drew Barrymore? I had to know. ‘Cause if he does, I have $1100 just burning a hole in MY pocket if it works.

So how do you make a movie with $1100? First, go to Circuit City and buy the best camera available using their 30-day full refund guarantee. That frees up all of your cash for content. It also helps to have lots of friends with movie industry experience and post-production equipment to go along with lots of contacts (hmmmmmm…. Brother in law does sound editing, wife put in 10 years in the industry, and I have LOTS of friends with contacts…. This is looking great so far).

It is this 30-day grace period that puts the urgency of the quest into the movie. Herzlinger and his friends put together a game plan and head on down the road. Though late in the month they had to change direction in a way they could have early on, I have to give them lots of kudos for enthusiasm and moxie.

What could have been improved was the quality of the “film stock” used (it was a digital production) because on the big screen, this documentary has a very amateur finish that could have been better. But this “Lets put on a play” attitude is one of the things that make this film so charming and the special effects make it very funny as well.

The lengths that they are willing to go, from hiring a look alike Drew (Lily Rains) so Brian can go on a test date, to setting up a web site (www.MyDateWithDrew.com), to enlisting celebrities like Cory Feldman (Goonies) who dated Drew, Eric Roberts (National Security), and veteran TV director Bill D’Elia (West Wing, Boston Legal, Chicago Hope) to get a message to Drew that Herzlinger is trying to gain her attention.

So how did Herzlinger do on his Man of La Mancha type quest? Sorry, not going to ruin it for you. But I will say I am pulling some cash out of my pocket and making some calls.

Hank Yuloff is our senior staffer in L.A. and a huge Drew Barrymore fan. Or was that Carey?

Got a problem? E-mail us at filmmonthly@gmail.com