The film also received an average rating of 8.4 on IMDB.
Based on the plot of the film and the websites it was advertised on, it’s safe to say that the demographic of this film would primarily be males between the ages of 16-24. Also confirming this theory was the high percentage of men who commented on the film on Vimeo.
Narrative and Textual Analysis
The film opens with a fade in to a medium shot of a stressed-out businessman, struggling to be heard over the sound of his co-workers arguing loudly. The camera slowly pans outwards as the businessman stands from his chair, in doing so tilting slightly to create a low-angle medium-long shot to represent dominance, perhaps showing us that he is the team leader. His co-workers quieten as he delivers a motivational talk in attempts to reorganise the meeting, with two of the co-workers hands and arms creeping in to the corner of the shot.
The camera then cuts between medium-length shots of two of the “co-workers”. During this shot-reverse-shot, we can see that the meeting is between different manifestations of the protagonist Marc’s personality, and is supposedly taking place inside his own head.
The manifestations are portrayed in stereotypical fashion, to reinforce the idea that they’re all different sides of Marc’s personality. For example, one of the “Marcs” is a classic jock, reclined in his chair with his feet rested on the table, wearing a polo shirt with a popped collar, talking about how much he loves football.
The film also parodies a classic convention of thriller movies, where one of the characters would make a dramatic entrance into an important meeting, with a crucial mission update. At this point, the viewers of the film should understand, if they hadn’t already, that it’s a metaphorical meeting taking place in the mind of a nervous man on a date.
The camera then cuts out to a shot-reverse-shot between Marc and his date, Stephanie. Tranquil, diegetic music plays softly in the background of a low-key lit fancy restaurant to establish an intimate setting. The second shot on Marc is a close-up on his face as he nervously sips on his water, desperately trying to “buy some time” to think of an answer to Stephanie nonchalantly prying him about his last girlfriend.
The camera then cuts back to the meeting, where the different sides to Marc’s personality argue over what’s the best move to make. The arguing continues until the sensitive-appearing side to Marc rises from his chair, claiming he has an answer. The camera then cuts out to a long-shot of the room, perhaps to show off his pink-polo white-trouser combination, reinforcing the idea that this is Marc’s sensitive, almost “feminine” side. Also backing this up is the solution he proposes to Stephanie’s question, which is that they should “open up” to her, by telling her about “their” last girlfriend. Although they initially reject this idea, the masculine, testosterone-fuelled sides of Marc eventually succumb to his solution when they realise it’s their best chance of having sex with her.
The soft music fades slowly in again as Marc confesses to Stephanie that he was engaged to his previous girlfriend just a year ago. After Stephanie asks him more about the details, the camera cuts to a medium-long side shot of the couple, to give the viewer a better view of Marc sighing, perhaps in exhaustion due to the topic of what he’s being asked about.
The conversation draws to a close as they both stand up, assumingly bringing an end to their date. A clever scene transition is used here when Marc asks if Stephanie would like to head back to his place for a nightcap.
A high-angle shot of Stephanie is used to begin the scene transition. Marc has just asked her the question and finished helping her put her coat on. As she is mid-way through spinning round, the camera cuts to a shot of Stephanie at similar shot length completing her 180 spin, but now she’s located in the same room as Marc’s inner thoughts, wearing a business suit, not unlike the team leader of Marc’s manifestations.
The camera then cuts to a medium-long shot of a meeting held in Stephanie’s mind, where the attendees are the different sides of her personality. Two of the notable members are a cheerleader and a dressed-up version of Stephanie wearing a dress and tiara. This is the final shot to the film and acts as a punch line, the message behind the short perhaps being that men and women are equally nervous on dates, and sometimes treat it like a business meeting, maybe even too seriously.
Production Trivia
The protagonist Marc is played by Matthew Rhys, and the woman who plays Stephanie is Paula Rhodes, both of whom are actors on Brothers and Sisters, the show which Peter Calloway is best known for.
