MY DATE WITH DREW (2004)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
I suppose many of us have lifelong dreams. For those of us who were teenagers in the 1980's, there were dreams of meeting your favorite movie stars or your favorite rock stars. None of us probably thought much about more productive dreams, like world peace (as one keen observer in this film points out). Yeah, I would have loved to have met America's former sweetheart, Molly Ringwald, but a date with her? Not really. There is a separation from the reality of meeting a movie star and the realization that they are only human after all. "My Date With Drew," a charming documentary, never quite makes that distinction. Still, in "My Date With Drew's" 90-minute length, you'll probably be rooting for the main leading star to get a date with Drew Barrymore.
Essentially, that is what the documentary is about. Brian Herzlinger is an aspiring filmmaker who is fascinated and obsessed with Drew Barrymore. He wanted to meet her when he first saw her in "E.T." Then he joined a Drew fan club, and put up posters of mostly Spielberg films on his bedroom wall (No Barrymore film posters, though, except for "E.T.") Brian is desperate to meet her and, after winning some prize money on a TV contest show where the correct answer happened to be the actress, he decides to film his lifelong dream to meet Drew. Problem is he has 30 days to do it, ostensibly due to returning a video camera he bought at Circuit City which has a 30-day return policy. So Brian gets in physical shape, gets waxed, gets a facial, and even holds auditions for a Drew Barrymore lookalike so he can test a "dream date" scenario. Oh, boy.
Through many obstacles and potential run-ins, well, don't want to ruin it for you but you'll be in suspense. Brian is a charmer and a definite dreamer, but his point in meeting Drew is never made clear. Sure, he is not interested in a romance and clearly he is inspired by her, but the source of his inspiration beyond the fact that it is Drew Barrymore is ambiguous. Perhaps, she was the stepping stone to many of the events of Brian's life, or maybe they are soulmates in a six-degree-of-separation sense. Not much insight is provided in this area and not much criticism of his seemingly stalker proposition - his mother's only criticism is that Drew is a slut.
I liked "My Date with Drew" and I certainly enjoyed watching the immensely likable Brian and his determination. I was reminded of something though. I once saw Gene Hackman sitting on a curb outside the CCA theater in Santa Fe, NM. Everyone knew who he was and I clearly knew it was him. I could've asked for an autograph but I didn't. My feeling is that sometimes movie stars don't want to be bothered. Drew Barrymore may not care but it doesn't mean every movie star is as down-to-earth.
