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Content:
Moderately strong romantic worldview where sensual pleasures (romance & success) are the main goal in a man's life, mitigated by moderately strong moral elements, including remarks about the need for self-sacrifice in relationships; 96 obscenities & 5 profanities; minimal slapstick violence, such as cameraman stumbles over fire hydrant; two crude references to oral sex, implied fornication & statement about sleeping with woman; obscured nude photo of woman in her bedroom & longshot of man wearing underwear in window; alcohol use & man visits bars in two brief scenes; smoking; lesbian kiss in sleazy bar protagonist visits that seems to be rebuked; and, man manipulates others, making them the butt of his many jokes, but he also makes himself the butt of his own jokes.
More Detail:
20 DATES is a funny, biting, but profane, satire of the dating experience in America during the late 20th Century. It is also a hilarious send-up of Hollywood and the movie business.
Out-of-work actor and screenwriter Myles Berkowitz, now 36, says he conceived of the idea for 20 DATES as a sort of talk show host going out on the street. Instead of interviewing people on the street, Myles decides to film a documentary of himself going out on 20 dates with 20 different women, to find “true love.”
In a hilarious opening bit, Myles drives up to studio entrances in Hollywood, trying to get permission to film on the lots. Then, Myles describes his idea for the movie (and who helped him shoot and finance the movie) in a funny monologue. Recently divorced and unable to make it in Hollywood as an actor or a writer, Myles says he has decided to take on his two biggest failures: “My professional life and my personal life.” (In other words, his whole life has been pretty much a washout.) Myles’ plan: To film himself going out on 20 dates and, by doing so, not only find the perfect mate, but also say something profound about romantic love that will get him that movie gig he desires most to have.
On the first date, the woman is clearly uncomfortable about being filmed, so Myles decides to use a hidden camera, but that results in lawsuits from two of the 20 women. (One the suits is still pending according to the Los Angeles Times [Feb. 26, 1999, page F22].) Eventually, Myles falls for one of his dates, an interior designer named Elisabeth Wagner (the two are now engaged, even though Elisabeth is not Jewish).
In the movie, Elisabeth starts to get upset when Myles is still doing the remainder of his 20 dates. Also, his producer, Elie Samaha, pressures Myles to spice up his movie with models, actresses and sex, but Myles resists, saying that it would compromise the integrity of his movie, which is supposed to be a realistic view of the dating life, not a hyped-up Hollywood fantasy.
At times, Myles seems to use the people around him as the butt of his many jokes, but he often makes himself the butt of his jokes, too. He comes across as a much handsomer version of the nerdy character portrayed by Woody Allen in most of his movies and played by Ben Stiller in THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY.
20 DATES reflects a romantic worldview because Myles’ goal is to find happiness through his own hedonistic desires for romantic love and professional success, rather than through love for God and divine love for other people. The movie includes lots of foul language and some minor, immoral sexual references. 20 DATES also contains many clean, honest laughs about romance and the movie business. In addition, it includes some strong moral elements, such as remarks about the need for self-sacrifice among romantic couples and comments about how our sinful needs and desires can destroy relationships. The movie ends on a positive word of advice from Myles about romantic love: “Love is like a really great movie. Run and catch it before it disappears.”
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