Writer(s): Kelly Peters and Amy Katherine Taylor
Starring: Natalie Dreyfuss, Andrew Dunbar, Carmel Amit and Nathan Witte
Where do you even begin to describe a movie like The Dating List? It’s impossibly foolish, though I suppose that’s part of its charm; it’s completely implausible, though again, so are all of these wannabe rom-coms. I guess a better question would be, how do movies like this continue to be made? And then I realize that my wife and I are only adding to the problem, no matter which context we are watching it under. I mean, even if people are watching it to poke fun at the neverending silliness, it still counts as a view, right?
Abby is a young(ish) editor who is looking for both love (aren’t they all?) and a job. She has a chance at one of them when she arrives for an interview at Bell and Howe, one of the most popular publishing firms in the nation. Susan, the Senior Editor, informs Abby that she doesn’t have any openings available, but does offer her the chance to work on a weird side-job, with the promise that she will get a permanent editing position if she succeeds.
Susan, you see, wants to get married (don’t they all?), but has a little problem: She’s too busy with her career to make time for dating. So she wants Abby to sift through 3,000 (?!) potential men, all of whom she apparently “connected” with on a dating app, in order to find the one(s) most suited to her. How will Abby know exactly what to look for on behalf of a woman she just met? Easy…Susan supplies her with a(n exhausting) list of things to look for in a potential mate.
And so Abby begins the process of pre-screening potential dates, first by whittling them down using pictures and social media, and then by actually meeting the more promising ones in person. But none of them seem to be suitable for Susan.
And that’s when she meets Dan. He’s a tall author who comes of as a snobbish dick in most of his scenes (I guess they were going for realism), yet we’re expected to believe that he is slowly growing feelings for her. But the problem is, she’s not supposed to be looking for someone to love her, but rather her boss! And if she fails, she’ll be short a job, which is always the sign of a successful woman in these doldrum movies! Whatever will she do?
There’s more convolution to the story: It turns out Dan’s hiding his true identity as a bestselling author who has taken too long of a break between books, but that is neither here nor there. And there’s also Beatrice, the “villain”, who’s a longtime receptionist at Bell and Howe who will do whatever it takes to get rid of Abby. And some tripe about how - on top of sorting through thousands of potential dating candidates - Abby also has to bring Susan a new book that Bell and Howe can publish. Because, you know, even though she’s doing her a huge favor, she still also has to do her job…that she doesn’t technically have…because there were no editor positions available. Whatever. You know the drill…just go along with it, okay?
This one is slightly amusing, although it’s mainly for Dan’s coldness. He just has a distance about him that makes all of his lines seem completely insincere, especially when he realizes he is growing feelings for Abby. Again, I guess that could be considered a little bit of realism on the part of Andrew Dunbar, who plays the character (lots of authors and creative types are socially awkward), but considering nothing around him is anything even remotely grounded in reality, just makes it feel off. I can't tell if he's taking the role too seriously, or not even making any effort whatsoever. I guess it's impressive that he can consistently toe that line so well.
Unfortunately, when it’s not “slightly” entertaining, it’s really quite boring. There’s not much in the way of humor, so it’s all just watching one crusty author fall in love with one dull, book-obsessed woman. Just because they might be a match made in heaven, doesn’t mean it's one that anyone should be subjected to.
ENTERTAINMENT RATING: 4/10
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