20 Dates
Encyclopedia
20 Dates is a 1998 American mockumentary
film. Myles Berkowitz directs and stars as the film's protagonist trying to find love and start a film career at the same time by filming himself going out on 20 dates with different women.
and Metacritic
recorded scores of 40% and 36 out of 100, respectively.
Film critic Christopher Null of Filmcritic.com awarded the film four and a half stars out of five and called the film "hysterical" while Leonard Clady of Variety
magazine called it "a mockumentary of inordinate skill", concluding that it's "a satisfying and entertaining movie." James Berardinelli
of ReelViews.net called the film "inconsequential" but, at the same time, admitted that some parts of the film are "often hilarious."
On the other hand, film critic Roger Ebert
of Chicago Sun-Times
awarded the film a half star out of a possible four stars, opinining that "the film has the obnoxious tone of a boring home movie narrated by a guy shouting in your ear" and concluding by calling the film "incompetent and annoying." Jeff Millar of the Houston Chronicle
said the film is "a joke" and that "Berkowitz is a rather annoying person".
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
film. Myles Berkowitz directs and stars as the film's protagonist trying to find love and start a film career at the same time by filming himself going out on 20 dates with different women.
Cast
- Myles Berkowitz as Myles
- Elisabeth Wagner as Elisabeth
- Richard ArlookRichard ArlookRichard Arlook is a prominent American talent manager, film producer and the President of , a talent and literary management, production, and consulting company based in Beverly Hills, California. Prior to founding The Arlook Group in 2008, he was a senior partner and the Head of Motion Picture Lit...
as The Agent - Tia CarrereTia CarrereTia Carrere is an American actress, model, voice artist, and singer, perhaps most widely known for her role as Cassandra Wong in the feature films Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2, Queen Tyr'ahnee in Duck Dodgers, and as Sydney Fox in the TV series Relic Hunter.-Early life:Carrere was born in...
as Herself - Robert McKeeRobert McKeeRobert McKee, born 1941, is a creative writing instructor who is widely known for his popular "Story Seminar", which he developed when he was a professor at the University of Southern California. McKee is the author of a "screenwriters' bible" called Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the...
as Himself - Elie Samaha as The producer (voice)
Reception
The film received mixed reviews from critics. The aggregate review websites Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
and Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
recorded scores of 40% and 36 out of 100, respectively.
Film critic Christopher Null of Filmcritic.com awarded the film four and a half stars out of five and called the film "hysterical" while Leonard Clady of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine called it "a mockumentary of inordinate skill", concluding that it's "a satisfying and entertaining movie." James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli is an American online film critic.-Personal life:Berardinelli was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and spent his early childhood in Morristown, New Jersey. At the age of nine years, he relocated to the township of Cherry Hill, New Jersey...
of ReelViews.net called the film "inconsequential" but, at the same time, admitted that some parts of the film are "often hilarious."
On the other hand, film critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
awarded the film a half star out of a possible four stars, opinining that "the film has the obnoxious tone of a boring home movie narrated by a guy shouting in your ear" and concluding by calling the film "incompetent and annoying." Jeff Millar of the Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
said the film is "a joke" and that "Berkowitz is a rather annoying person".