First Date

Year: 2006

Grade: C+

Country: USA

Director: Huggins

Review

SCREENED AT SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST FILM FESTIVAL

sometimes funny, sometimes frightening film about an ex-con who arranges a meeting with a gay guy via a chat room. the middle portion of the film is dedicated to his quest to find transportation. first he goes to a job counselor (or something similar) to borrow a car under the premise that he needs to use it for a job interview, then he goes to a bar and yells at a friend (?) hoping to use his car, lastly he goes to a market and steals the keys to a woman’s minivan. the ending was chanced upon by the filmmakers and it’s obvious. it’s a car crash and the ex-con wanders around as if to help the victims, but mainly just asks questions. doesn’t make much sense.

the two most interesting things about the film were that the lead is played by a cop who does a lot of undercover work who met the director while he was working at a library and the cop was checking out kurosawa films. the cop does a good job of acting. the other is the excuse his character gives to the man he picks up when he asks the ex-con why he doesn’t consider himself gay. he says that, in latin culture, he’s not considered gay because he’s still the aggressor. interesting.

Watched on TV    Short