First Date (film)

First Date is a 2021 American mystery comedy-drama film directed and written by Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp. The film stars Tyson Brown, Shelby Duclos, Jesse Janzen, Nicole Berry and Samuel Ademola.

First Date
Film poster
Directed by
  • Manuel Crosby
  • Darren Knapp
Produced by
  • Manuel Crosby
  • Charles Horak
  • Brandon Kraus
  • Darren Knapp
  • Lucky McKee
Written by
  • Manuel Crosby
  • Darren Knapp
Starring
  • Tyson Brown
  • Shelby Duclos
  • Jesse Janzen
  • Nicole Berry
  • Samuel Ademola
Music by
  • Manuel Crosby
  • Kevin Kentera
  • Noah Lowdermilk
CinematographyManuel Crosby
Edited by
  • Manuel Crosby
  • Zach Passero
Production
companies
Visit Films
Cinexus Pictures
Release date
Running time
103 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The film had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 31, 2021.[1]

Plot

Conned into buying a shady ’65 Chrysler, Mike’s first date with the girl-next-door, Kelsey, implodes as he finds himself targeted by criminals, cops, and a crazy cat lady. A night fueled by desire, bullets and burning rubber makes any other first date seem like a walk in the park.

— Variety[2]

Cast
  • Tyson Brown as Mike
  • Shelby Duclos as Kelsey
  • Jesse Janzen as The Captain
  • Nicole Berry as Sergeant Davis
  • Samuel Ademola as Deputy Duchovny
  • Ryan Quinn Adams as Vince
  • Angela Barber as Ricky
  • Josh Fesler as Brett
  • Dave Reimer as Shannon
  • Leah Finity as Darla
  • Jake Howard as Donnie
  • Scott E. Noble as Dennis

Release

The film had its premiere in the 2021 Sundance Film Festival on January 31, 2021 in the Next section.[3]

Reception

The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes surveyed 17 critics and, categorizing the reviews as positive or negative, assessed 11 as positive and 6 as negative for a 65% rating. Among the reviews, it determined an average rating of 6.6 out of 10.[4]

Kristy Puchko of RogerEbert.com wrote "Overall, this wild-ass comedy is a jolting thrill ride, packed with barbed jokes, hilarious characters, and threaded with a sweet and simple romance that pulls us through the wonkier bits. Simply put, "First Date" is a diamond in the rough, but a diamond nonetheless."[5]

Danielle Solzman of Solzy at the Movies praised Crosby and Knapp's direction and positively compared the film to the work of Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino and the Coen Brothers, while further adding "I’ve seen some beautiful films in the NEXT program and First Date could very well be the next hit to come from it. When we look back on this unique Sundance in a few years from now, we’ll be able to say that’s where Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp were discovered."[6]

John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter was critical of the film, but praised the performances of Brown and Duclos, writing "The film gets a bit more enjoyable as soon as the two share the screen together. But they have precious little time for flirty banter before Knapp and Crosby throw them back into action copped from other genre movies. This time it's a True Romance-like standoff between teams of heavily armed people arguing over drugs and money. It's amazing how much of this mayhem Mike survives before the script decides it's time for him to do something."[7]

References
  1. "Sundance - FPG". Sundance. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  2. Debruge, Peter (December 15, 2020). "Sundance Film Festival Lineup Features 38 First-Time Directors, Including Rebecca Hall and Robin Wright". Variety. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  3. Barfield, Charles (January 29, 2020). "'First Date' Exclusive Clip: A Teen Buys A Terrible Car To Impress A Girl In This Sundance Comedy". The Playlist. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  4. "First Date (2021)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  5. Puchko, Kristy (January 31, 2021). "Sundance 2021: Searchers, R#J, First Date". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  6. Solzman, Danielle (January 31, 2021). "Sundance 2021: First Date". solzyatthemovies.com. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  7. DeFore, John (January 31, 2021). "'First Date': Film Review - Sundance 2021". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
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