New U.S. Release

My Date With Drew

 (Docu)

By JUSTIN CHANG

Filmmaker Brian Herzlinger makes a trip to Drew Barrymore's facialist in hopes of scoring a connection with the actress in his docu, 'My Date With Drew.'

A Slow Hand Releasing release of a Rusty Bear Entertainment, Lucky Crow Films production in association with DEJ Prods. Produced by Kerry David, Jon Gunn, Brian Herzlinger, Brett Winn. Executive producers, Clark Peterson, Andrew Reimer. Co-producer, Steven Break. Directed by Jon Gunn, Brian Herzlinger, Brett Winn.
 

What starts off as a self-serving promotional exercise takes on almost unreasonably charming dimensions in "My Date With Drew." The story of filmmaker Brian Herzlinger's personal quest to score a date with his idol Drew Barrymore in 30 days or less, this maddening yet deftly made, and finally disarming, documentary comes through with enough heart and hilarity to sell its celebrity-stalking shenanigans to genuinely moving effect. Already a crowd-pleaser on the festival circuit, where it won the HBO Comedy Arts Fest's audience award, "Drew" could be a real draw for arthouse and mainstream auds, not least Barrymore's multitudinous fans.

Buttressed by a shrewd marketing campaign (as soon becomes clear, the movie is a marketing campaign), docu is sure to at least recoup its budget of $1,100, which Herzlinger won on a gameshow pilot. (The prophetic winning answer? Drew Barrymore.)

Otherwise broke and unemployed, Herzlinger teamed with film school buddies Jon Gunn and Brett Winn, bought a digital video camera and, banking on Circuit City's 30-day return policy, gave himself a month to meet the actress he's had a crush on since seeing "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" at the age of 6.

Not without Hollywood connections, the trio (who directed, produced and took turns filming and editing) take a "six degrees of separation" approach to their quarry. They interview anyone and everyone with even a tangential relationship to Barrymore, including such obliging Hollywood types as Corey Feldman, Eric Roberts (who advises Herzlinger to put on some muscle) and "Charlie's Angels" screenwriter John August.

Simultaneously, Herzlinger and producer Kerry David repeatedly call the Barrymore camp as well as her Flower Films production shingle to try to get the actress to simply watch a 30-second trailer for the project. Pic becomes a study of the impenetrability of Hollywood, not to mention its inefficiency, frequent miscommunication and flat-out laziness.

Like so many ostensibly nonfiction films, "My Date With Drew" is a chronicle of its own making (it even keeps a running tally of the dwindling budget). Recognizably linked to the aggressive, personality-driven documentaries of Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock, it is also, quite consciously, Herzlinger's attempt to break into the film biz, and it's not always clear which goal -- love or money -- is his top priority.

Onscreen for the entire film and an endearing presence for most of it, Herzlinger is goofily good-looking, with a wide-open grin and a permanent 5 o'clock shadow that give the impression of a rosy-cheeked clown. He's also chronically anxious and makes quite a show of his insecurity, never passing up an opportunity to point out what a freak he is (lifting his shirt multiple times, for example, to show off acres of chest hair) in ways that are rather too obvious as both comedy and a bid for sympathy.

Some of the interview subjects seem to have been dragged on merely to indulge Herzlinger, mop up his self-pity and shower praise on his high-concept premise. (Offering a contradictory blast of fresh air is his outspoken mother, who dismisses both the project and Barrymore with a priceless, "I think she's a slut!")

Fortunately, pic improves immeasurably as it goes along, delivering a handful of terrifically inspired comic sequences, including a casting call for Drew look-alikes that goes hysterically awry. There's also a climactic moment when Herzlinger sneaks into the premiere of "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" using a fake pass -- a brilliant scene that allows Herzlinger, Gunn and Winn to display tremendous filmmaking chops on the fly.

Their secret weapon turns out to be Barrymore herself, who is every bit as luminous as this cinematic shrine would lead one to expect. An actress with seemingly effortless screen chemistry, she's the inspiration for Herzlinger's best, most guileless performance.

Aside from the sound work, which requires some of the more garbled bits of dialogue to be subtitled, tech contributions are solid. Original tune "(I'd Have It All) If I Had Drew," written and performed by Tony DeSare, makes for a very sweet cherry on top.

Camera (color, DV), Gunn, Herzlinger, Winn; editors, Gunn, Herzlinger, Winn; music, Steven Stern, Stuart Hart; music supervisor, Joe Fischer. Reviewed at Raleigh Studios, Los Angeles, Aug. 1, 2005. MPAA Rating: PG. Running time: 90 MIN.