Mike (Tyson Brown) only wanted to buy a cheap car to pick up his dream date Kelsey (Shelby Duclos), the problem is that he gets conned into buying a shady '65 Chrysler, and surely enough finds himself to be the target of criminals, cops, and … a crazy cat lady? Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp‘s latest feature, “First Date,” has criminals desperately searching for something valuable hidden inside this shitty ‘65 Chrysler. In fact, it’s such a prized treasure that they’d go as far as to to kill any bystander that gets in their way. Clearly inspired by Quentin Tarantino, and the Coen Brothers, with a little “After Hours” sprinkled in for good measure, “First Date” is the kind of movie that could have probably benefited from having had a bigger budget. No one can deny the passionate filmmaking Crosby and Knapp bring to their neo-noir, one fueled by desire, fast cars and lots of ammo, but their nightmare-ish vision also feels like a retread of much better movies. There’s a sense of familiarity here, you know, the violent comedy that sets up an average Joe in the middle of one crazy night. It doesn’t help that the acting is one-note, filled with amateur performances that dissolve amidst the film’s many implausible coincidences. To make matters worse, there is no groove to this movie, no tempo to be gained, Crosby and Knapp mix comedy, drama, action and horror in such scattershot ways that the film turns unintentionally comical.
SCORE: D+