Five Dates
Directed By: Bruce O'Brian
Produced By: Gary Kurtz, Bruce O'Brian
Distribution: Lucasfilms Unlimited
Starring: Bruce O'Brian, Carrie O'Brian, Mark Hamil, Joseph O'Brian, Debbie Reynolds, Michael Jackson, Robin Williams.
Film QualityD100 + 60 => 106
Audience Roll:D100 + 40 => 90
Critic Roll:D100 + 20 => 21
Budget: 2.5 Million
Domestic Gross: 81,187,856
International Gross: 66,402,537
Total Gross: 146,090,393
Bruce's Cut (50%): 73,795,196
Honestly, if it were not for Star Wars Burnign up the chart, and you forgetting that a love story in February may have been better… you did not care. Good ole audiences were happy to see another great film by Carrie and Bruce, especially with Star Wars being the talk of the town still, and raking in so much money.
The fact you could see people coming in to watch Star Wars with Five Dates was something that filled you with a great deal of joy. It was not the best picture ever, hell you never once denied it. But there was always something that felt nice, doing something on your own, while also proving you could do something else other than being a pretty face or a presence on the camera.
It was a gift, that you and Carrie made for one of each other. And you loved it.
And it seems everyone else was too.
One of the truly fun things about the success was simple.
Joseph O'Brian was back in the talk of Hollywood. The old veteran of war and television finally shows up in a triumphant return where his son helps him. Everyone had a favorite, yet despite the obvious praise to you and Carrie, it was Joseph that was on everyone's lips. Dad finally got his big break.
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Yet not everyone was happy. And by Everyone, you meant the critics.
"The film is a schlocky mess of two tones, a comedy that strikes out, and a love story that is too slow and boring to be anything else other than a slow-burning mess that overstays its welcome, even when the film is 90 minutes long. Should have focused on the most interesting part, the relationship between two parents and their children, rather than the two leads, struggles.
Bruce O'Brian is supremely talented with the camera, and his shots are good, even great when he is showing the true intimacy between himself and his wife Carrie, but they serve no purpose besides worshiping something that does not exist, not allowing the subject and the scene to breath naturally.
Michael Jackson, for all his greatness on stage, seems like an afterthought on the script and fails to be interesting as a character. Robin William's Character causes some of the word mistakes in the film, and I fail to see any picture edited in any way, where his presence improves the picture.
The saving grace of this film, besides his attempts at artistic merit, was that of the mature relationship between the leads and their parents, who I think was superbly played by Joseph O'Brian and Debbie Reynolds. Yet even for their talents on celluloid, they could not save a film that should have been a masterpiece, where the director chose to try two things, rather than stick to one thing that would have made it great.
But for all my harshness of this review, I give it 2 Stars out of 4. It is a valiant first effort with greatness that is brimming underneath the surface if only the director could stay focused."
Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun.
AN: Ouch.
