20 Dates

Malarkey is the best word to describe this trashy film. Presenting itself as a documentary on one man's search for love in LA (yawn), the film is even more about the trials of trying to get this movie finished. Myles Berkowitz in the man in charge here. He wrote it, stars in it, and directs the film. To say that his presence is unpleasant is being nice. I cannot imagine anyone finding this guy attractive, and yet the film never shows that either. Knowing beforehand that most of this picture was staged doesn't help the matter any better. Berkowitz never mentions that part of his film is faked. Although I usually don't care about cursing in films, I couldn't help but be very sickened that such a light-hearted movie would have such a plethora of F-words. Most of the people on-screen are dreadful human beings, and I question Berkowitz to why he must follow a dream that he so obviously isn't cut out for. It's like being nail-gunned to a wall at a party you cannot bear. The best moments are suspiciously off camera, which might be accounted for in the "I made this up" part of the documentary. Loathsome to say the least, I hope Berkowitz never gets behind a camera again.-------- 1

Myles Berkowitz is newly divorced after his 10-month marriage ended badly. He also is keen to make his debut film that will launch his movie career. He decides to combine the two biggest failures of his life - his film `career' and his love life to make a film about the real search for love in LA. He sets out to film 20 dates to capture the moment where two people fall in love. However he is in for a rocky road - not only does he have trouble with his dates but the guy funding his film wants it to be something other than what Myles envisages it to be.

This film was made on the cheap and is a mix of documentary and mockumentary; there is no way that all the stuff in this film is real - certainly I never accepted that Elie the producer was the character that the film painted him to be. However, the majority of it seems to be relatively real and the majority of it is funny - which is the important thing here. Forget Myles arty pretensions about filming true love as it happens, the point here is wit and fun. The film is a very particular type of wit and if you're not into it then it is likely that you will hate the film; for me I really enjoyed the light humour of the whole piece and found it amusing even if I wouldn't call it hilarious.

I really liked the invention of some parts of it: the comparisons of the budget in military terms (his film would be the equivalent of one French soldier surrendering to whoever it happens to be at war with), the stuff around Elie, the `meetings' with his agent etc. In fact most of the funny stuff is staged - and it is for the best. If I was being cynical I would question whether or not 95% of the film was scripted and acted as natural. But it didn't bother me because I found it funny.

Myles himself is a strange guy; he is quite abrasive and pretty unpleasant at times and is a bit of a jerk. He definitely doesn't deserve Elisabeth but it is easy to be amused by his cruel humour at times. He holds the attention pretty well when he is on dates, but as an actor I didn't think much of him: at one point we learn he refused an offer for a script on the basis that he would only sell it if he could star - he really needs to focus on writing as neither directing or acting appears to be his thing on the basis of this. The support crew are hilarious. Myles sound guy and cameraman are funny when they have the chance, while both Richard the agent and Elie are hilarious and don't mind sending themselves up!

Overall, treat this film as a comedy rather than a documentary - large chunks of it are staged, but it actually helps the film. It is very rough but it is different and quite enjoyable; it is funny in witty ways and it is funny in inventive ways and both styles work really well. It is not a perfect film (Myles' comes across like a daytime tv presenter at times) but it is fun; and that's all I was really looking for.

this is one movie that i wasn't sure i'd be interested, but i ended up watching it and laughing out loud. its a sweet change from the norm. i highly recommend this movie to anyone that enjoys comedies, independant movies, and/or romance. it's a great laugh, definatley worth watching more than once. i enjoyed it immensely, and so have everyone i have referred it to.

If you are going to make a mockumentary (and sorry, folks, but that is exactly what this movie is), then make it obvious. Spinal Tap. Don't fake something and then shoot it as if it is real. It goes against the old adage "truth is stranger than fiction". If you are going to write fiction, then don't try to make it 100% believable. What is the point?

Again, it has been shown that this is not a true documentary. There are things that would be easily verifiable had all this really occurred. Things (marriage licenses, hospital records, restraining orders, etc) would be public record. None of these records exist.

One thing i dont like about film like these , Mokumenteries, if you like is the fact that i so wanted it to be real yet i knew that it was all acted and wasn't real at all. 20 dates is a good little film that does have a real feel about it without it ever hitting the comedy documentary heights of ,lets say,The Ruttles or Spinal Tap. Myles Berkowits makes this film watchable with his narration of the so called dates even though it does get a little monotinous and the last 15 minutes are a bit of a cop out. The interaction with the funder of the movie are funny as is the most of the diologue but the thing that does let this film down are the dates themselves! They just arent that interesting.Perhaps that is because they all involve people from L.A they are very shallow people in my eyes. Not all bad though. 6 out of 10.