Alright, I just watched a chick flick. Normally my reaction would be to redeem myself by drinking a case of beer, whistling at prostitutes, shooting guns and bouncing a basketball off my head, but not this time around. I actually enjoyed “Dinner and a Movie.” Will wonders never cease?
Struggling artist Katie wants to make films that matter and her next intended piece is a striking documentary on a Russian dissident. Nobody wants anything to do with the material until Katie pitches the idea to a producer at PBS who agrees to help her bring her project to fruition, but under one condition – she must first make a documentary for PBS on dating. Seeing that she has very little choice, Katie takes the job, which entails following around one hunky male as he wines and dines various women, supposedly on the look out for that one special lady.
The hunky male is Jed and Jed is a jackass. Instantly clashing with his arrogant personality, Katie finds her dating documentary going down in flames before it even begins. Her sense of doom is heightened when the crew gets Jed out onto the dating field and watches him make an a*s out of himself in front of every woman he comes across. One of his pick-up lines includes something about how he once met Mr. T. That bastard…that’s my line, damnit!
In a last ditch effort to save the film, Katie decides that she’s gonna give Jed a personality makeover and in doing so, she winds up falling for the big lug, leaving her cameraman, Spider, bitterly stewing in the feelings he’s had for her over the past several years. But the PBS producer frowns upon a relationship between Katie and Jed as it is proving to be damaging to the documentary. So, Katie is faced with a decision to either run off with her newfound love or stick to the film in order to further her filmmaking career.
A terrific cast compliments the sharp wit of writer/director/producer Lisa Kors’ script. Marianne Hagan (Katie), Mike Dooly (Spider) and Dave Gibbs (Jed) are a joy to watch as is Paul Bartel in his last role as Katie’s father.
I think that maybe the relationships between the characters needed to be cooked a little longer, but in the end, I found myself pleasantly entertained anyways, even if some events seemed a little premature. “Dinner and a Movie” is a chick flick with wide appeal.
