My Date with Drew (2003)

70% of critics liked it
(64 reviews)
53% of users liked it
(10,024 ratings)

For years, Brian Herzlinger has had a crush on a pretty girl. There's nothing so strange about that, or even that the girl in question is the famous actress Drew Barrymore. What is unusual is that Herzlinger decided to do something about it. Herzlinger was flat broke and out of work when he won… More For years, Brian Herzlinger has had a crush on a pretty girl. There's nothing so strange about that, or even that the girl in question is the famous actress Drew Barrymore. What is unusual is that Herzlinger decided to do something about it. Herzlinger was flat broke and out of work when he won 1,100 dollars on a game show, and decided it was time to make his dream come true -- and make a movie about it at the same time. Herzlinger and a friend bought a high-end video camera at an electronics store with a 30-day, "no questions asked" return policy, and with his 1,100-dollar bankroll, they set out to find a way to meet Drew Barrymore and have Brian take her out on a date before they ran out of cash and had to return the camera. My Date With Drew is the document of Herzlinger's struggle to live out a regular guy's dream. My Date With Drew won the Audience Award at the 2004 HBO Comedy Arts Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 35 min.
Directed By: Brett Winn, Brian Herzlinger
Genres: Documentary, Television, Comedy, Special Interest

In Theaters: Apr 3, 2004 Wide
On DVD: Jan 3, 2006
Studio: First Look Pictures

Critic Reviews

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
Brian wants to meet Drew. By the end of his movie, we want to meet him.
Sheela Raman, Boston Globe
In this TV reality show masquerading as a movie documentary, Brian Herzlinger is a creepy voyeur, a run-of-the-mill loser who obsesses about living the celebrity high life but lacks the talent to pull it off.
Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune
If this unemployed gofer can land a date with a superstar, maybe there's hope for all of us.
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
[Barrymore's] radiant, sexy 'n' sweet manner provides a happy heart for this silly little love song of a movie.
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star
If you're weirdly disinterested in the promotion of Herzlinger's career, this movie may offer all the delight of being slowly dragged by a pickup truck along a stretch of remote rural flat-top.
Jennie Punter, Globe and Mail
Don Quixote meets Bowfinger meets Swingers for the reality-TV generation.
Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed
The creator of this odd film that wants to be considered a documentary (fat chance) is an idiot.
Kam Williams, Upstage Magazine
A reality movie which turns entirely on the likeability of a nerd in heat.
David Noh, Film Journal International
Definitely one of those "stand up and cheer for the little guy" type of films, which probably has old Frank Capra grinning wherever the hell he is.
Jesse Hassenger, Filmcritic.com
essentially a well-assembled home movie
, Film Threat
Any film that can make you cringe at its honesty, laugh at its insanity and yet follow along hook line and sinker is something special.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...inspiring and uplifting.
Ryan Cracknell, Movie Views
Although charming at times, My Date With Drew comes across as more than a little bit creepy given the present context of celebrity stalkers - not to mention the sight of a middle-aged man fawning over the portrait of a young child.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
The film's apparent naïve charm started working on me until I was hooked by its schleppy hero-filmmaker and its screwy -- borderline stalker -- premise.
Tasha Robinson, AV Club
Herzlinger comes across as kind of a nebbishy Everyman, except funnier, luckier, and in possession of the most tolerant, supportive friends on the planet.
Jack Garner, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
The result is amusing, although it offers little insight into concepts of fame or fandom.
Phil Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star
In equal measures joyous, bumbling and insecure, Herzlinger deftly captures the man-on-the-street appea.
Steve Rhodes, Internet Reviews
I am getting sooooo tired of bad home movies getting theatrical releases.
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
This film, like the actress who inspired it, has an appealing sweetness that sneaks up on its viewer.
Connie Ogle, Miami Herald
It's like reality TV, only twice as irritating.

Read all 22 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Cynthia S

Interesting enough to follow through to the end. Drew Barrymore is a sweetheart.
Melvin W

"30 Days, $1100, For an Ordinary Guy to get a Date with Drew Barrymore" I did not anticipate liking this documentary as much as I did. Brian takes a risk and tries to get a date with his dream girl, Drew Barrymore. He goes through endless amounts of people to try to get… More
"30 Days, $1100, For an Ordinary Guy to get a Date with Drew Barrymore" I did not anticipate liking this documentary as much as I did. Brian takes a risk and tries to get a date with his dream girl, Drew Barrymore. He goes through endless amounts of people to try to get the date. We see Eric Roberts and Corey Feldman interviewed. Barrymore's facialist is in it. A couple of screenwriters have interviews, including John August who wrote Charlie's Angels. The cool thing about it, is just how into it the three filmmakers are. Brian's friends care; I'm not going to say as much, but they truly care if Brian ends up getting the date. Why this movie is easy to enjoy is because Brian is a likable guy. He's nice and basically just a normal guy. He doesn't have the most confidence in the world and that adds more likability to the movie. If he was a confident guy, it would have taken all the fun out of the movie. The movie actually turns out being pretty funny, but not in the way I thought it would be. I thought I would think it was funny because some loser guy is trying to get a date with Drew. That is not how it turns out in the end.
Jason S

I really enjoyed this documentary about a plain guy trying to get a date with a superstar. Filmed with a simple video camera and an $1100 budget we get to see Brian try and make his dream come true. We see as he uses every connection he has to try and get a message to Drew, we seem… More
I really enjoyed this documentary about a plain guy trying to get a date with a superstar. Filmed with a simple video camera and an $1100 budget we get to see Brian try and make his dream come true. We see as he uses every connection he has to try and get a message to Drew, we seem him dodge his bank as he runs out of cash, we see him at his worst and his best. At times I found myself yelling at him that he needed to get a job or use some of the budget to pay his bills but he didn't and I'm glad. He kept on going and in the end he made a really enjoyable documentary.
Steve B

This Herzlinger kid is such a dink. Could have been a great movie, but he wasted it.
Curt C

This is just reality TV, in the form of "reality movie". It does have some charm though.