The tagline for Brian Herzlinger’s documentary says it all. “30 Days. $1,100. 1 date” However, that date isn’t with just anyone. The date has to be with Drew Barrymore. Herzlinger has recently won $1,100 on a gameshow (the answer that gained him the cash? Drew Barrymore, of course) and has taken advantage of Circuit City’s flimsy 30 day return policy to “borrow” a video camera. Brian, forever broke, has to return the camera in 30 days or else it will be charged permanently to his buddy’s credit card. Thus, what appears to be a nice, simple little movie is born. Brian has cash and 30 days to get a date with his lifelong crush. The movie is cute but as it motors along, we start to sense that there’s much more to this story than the basic, yet insane, premise.
Brian Herzlinger is best described as a Hollywood wannabe. He’s out in L.A., fresh off the bus from the East coast trying to get his career in the entertainment biz rolling. We learn what so many have learned before: it ain’t easy. As Brian embarks on his quest for Drew, we also get a pretty good lesson in trying to succeed in Hollywood as well.
In showbiz it’s all about who you know and Herzlinger doesn’t really know anyone. Thus he and his crew resort to the “6 Degrees Rule” to try and get close to Barrymore. They get in contact with facialists, limo drivers and distant relatives to try and gain access to the white hot Barrymore. Just as a young screenwriter might try and get his scRipt to the desk of a big shot producer any way they can, Herzlinger kind of does the same and winds up schmoozing with the doldrums of celebrity. We’re talking Corey Feldman level celebs. Literally.
Yet, Herzlinger simply will not give up until every stone is turned and this is what makes the movie so damn endearing. At first I thought Herzlinger’s normal schmoe/down-on-his-luck personality was going to get on my nerves. However, before you know it, you’re fully along for the ride. Laughing, hoping, praying that this guy gets his date. His perseverance and energy is downright infectious and it seems like the more he relies on the kindness of connected strangers, the more it appears to pay off. Well, sort of. But thirty days isn’t very long to try and get into the upper ranks of Hollywood royalty.
“My Date With Drew” is less about borderline stalking and more about following your dream no matter how hopeless it may seem. Not only is that message loud and clear but the movie is also funny, exciting and awkward as we literally go through every emotion with the extremely self-conscious Herzlinger. Any film that can make you cringe at its honesty, laugh at its insanity and yet follow along hook line and sinker is something special.
