First Date, Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp’s feature debut, is a wildly perplexing film. The film is an homage to the teen comedies of the past where unsuspecting teens find themselves on an epic quest throughout the night with odd run-ins with the locals and law enforcement. There is a tinge of Quentin Tarantino and the Coen Brothers with how these characters seemingly exist in an alternate reality steeped in a macabre sense of humor. However, the execution is utterly devoid of charisma or sense. First Date is a hodgepodge of familiar tropes and homages to teen romcoms and, while there is a sliver of promise, the film is lacking in charm.
Mike (Tyson Brown) finds the courage to ask his neighbor Kelsey (Shelby Duclos) out on a date. However, he soon realizes he needs a car. Despite an almost debilitating case of shyness, Mike manages to buy (also get conned) into getting a beat-up ‘65 Chrysler which he believes will help him win over Kelsey. Too bad for Mike, the car is tied to some shady business and soon he is in for a wild night of being chased by a criminal gang, run-ins with an odd pair of cops, and a vengeful cat lady. First Night weaves together elements of a basic teen romantic-comedy with a crime drama and dark comedy, all to make an entertaining ride.
As far as debut films go, First Date is at least ambitious. With a premise that is chock full of madness and mayhem, Crosby and Knapp do their part to live up to the promise. It is only unfortunate that all the pieces don’t come together in the way one would hope. For instance, the performances hurt the film. Aside from Brown’s performance, which relies almost entirely on being socially awkward and is nearly inaudible, the ensemble is gratingly obnoxious. Each character is a caricature of another character one would have seen elsewhere. Kicking off the film is Mike’s best friend Brett (Josh Fesler), who is a generic carbon-copy of a potty-mouthed teen obsessed with sex. Despite the trope existing long before Superbad, Brett would fit neatly into Seth and Evan’s friend group from the film. From then on, every character that graces the screen in First Date is just another trope, a hollow imitation of someone else.
The premise of the film starts with an unusual decision: for just one date, Mike purchases a car with all the money he has left and also the money he steals from his parents. To the filmmaker’s credit, they lean into the ridiculousness of the story with everyone existing in this strange world that lacks logic or sense. At every turn, there is a revelation that adds to the comedic absurdity of First Date. It is in the execution that all does not go right, and it begins and ends with Mike. His passivity and compliancy are his only character traits. There is no chemistry between him and Kelsey and they don’t spend enough time together to even flesh out a relationship worth caring about.
Although Mike is given an unearned upgrade by the end, the film is held down by some major oversights regarding this character. Mike is the most visible Black person for the duration of the film. The other is a cop, which adds to the dark and almost unsettling feeling that the filmmakers at the helm don’t see how nauseating Mike’s experience is through the eyes of a Black person. Mike’s passivity and naiveté lead him into situations that no Black teen would ever survive nor are these set-ups remotely funny. If the film had a robust diverse ensemble, the racial implications would not be so glaring. It is difficult to watch a Black teen get tangled up in a mess that involves him being hunted by white criminals and tailed by a pair of corrupt cops.
First Date has potential, but is severely lacking in charm. There is certainly some entertainment to be had and the script is compelling enough to carry you through to the end. However, with the downside of sitting through some not-so-great performances, a lackluster lead character, and situations that are more triggering than funny, it is perhaps safer to find something else to watch. Perhaps the tonally similar Dope, written and directed by Rick Famuyiwa, is a better option. It, too, follows a socially awkward Black teen that gets tangled up with some criminals, but is actually earnest, funny, exciting, and far more generous to its lead than First Date ever could be.
First Date was released in theaters and is available on demand July 2, 2021. The film is 103 minutes long and is not rated.