"If you don't take risks, you'll have a wasted soul." – Drew Barrymore
Brian Herzlinger has had a crush on Drew Barrymore ever since he was seven years old and saw her in E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial; he even joined her fan club. Twenty years later, he won a game show pilot for which the winning answer was, prophetically enough, Drew Barrymore. Spurred by this coincidence, Brian and his two best friends decide to make a movie of Brian's attempt, armed with his meagre prize money, to fulfill his lifelong dream of getting a date with Drew. They didn't have a video camera, so bought one from Circuit City, aiming to avail themselves of the time-limited money-back guarantee. So the terms of the quest were set by default: they had $1,100 and 30 days to secure Brian a date with Drew Barrymore. Thus this movie was born.
Brian is, to put it mildly, not typical date material for a star like Drew. He's just a regular guy from New Jersey who went to film school and moved to LA, and is now pursuing his filmaking aspirations while working at lowly production jobs to make ends meet. He's self-conscious about his copious body hair, not very rigoorous about personal hygiene, and insecure about his chances to get a date with Drew. He knows they don't have a future together: he just wants one date.
So he and his buddies proceed to exploit every possible connection to Drew, no matter how tenuous they might be - and some of them are quite tenuous indeed! As the days tick by and the budget dwindles, they speak to Eric Roberts (Julia Roberts' older brother, himself an actor, who advises Brian to work out); an aesthetician who gives Drew facials (and gives Brian one too); John August (who wrote the Charlie's Angels screenplays); and Andy Dick (a friend of Drew's, he declines to be interviewed for the film, claiming he doesn't want to overexpose himself).
To introduce their idea to Drew's people and to show Brian as sincere and unthreatening, the friends film a trailer for their movie and send it to Drew's production company, Flower Films, hoping against hope that it will actually get watched. In the meantime, they consult with a psychic for advice and audition Drew look-a-likes for a "practice" date. They even stoop to a little lawbreaking, forging backstage passes to the Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle premiere party so that Brian can pop the question to Drew in person. At the event he's too freaked out to approach her himself, so his buddies' wives introduce him to Drew, but he still doesn't have the nerve to ask for the date.
This might sound a bit creepy and stalker-ish, but it doesn't come across that way at all; in fact, the movie is surprisingly charming. The tightknit group of friends is touching in their devotion to the seemingly impossible task; when Brian's confidence fades, his buddies unfailingly encourage him. Acquaintances and strangers are drawn in to the quest and offer free services: personal training sessions (so Brian can get buff for his date), hair cuts, referrals to people who have actually met Drew, and even a voice-over from the Movie Trailer Voice Guy (trust me, you'll know him when you hear him). Finally, with just a few days left, they put their trailer up on a website, www.mydatewithdrew.com, and announce it on the radio, hoping to penetrate the wall of publicists, agents, and assistants that surrounds Drew.
Surely everyone who watches this movie lets out the same groan of disappointment I did when the movie suddenly turns to photos, and the video camera is packed up and returned to Circuit City. But the website proved very popular, and word about Brian and his quest spread. Eventually the video portion comes back again, and the story carries on. Did Brian get his date with Drew in the end? Watch this sweet little documentary and find out for yourself. Oh, and check out the website: it's still up! www.mydatewithdrew.com