Courting Courtney

A few chuckles here and there, a predictable friendship-romance love story. Meh! I came across this on Amazon prime streaming, who had it listed as released in 2019, far from it, 20+ years is pushing it as it was like 1997 and it showed. Amazon needs to get their act together regarding this as they have a tendency of doing this quite a bit. There weren't any cellphones or pagers or computers anywhere in the film. People actually interacted face-to-face and they weren't as mean spirited as they are now. Especially since this was filmed in LA. Scary that late nineties are nostalgic. Dana Gould who does the voice-over and male lead is amusing, but does better stand up. All other characters have gone on to better roles and have done better things... I can't say the same regarding the writer-director-producer.

This is quite a wonderful film. Touching and funny, above the level of most Indie films in terms of script, acting and film-quality. In fact the quality was *very* high, higher than I would ever have expected.

The script is clever, and a great cast only makes it better. Especially Dana Gould, who is perfect for his role! And look for great roles by Kathy Griffin, Ryan Stiles and Ian Gomez before their days on Newsradio and the Drew Carey Show, as well as a fun bit part by SNL cast member Julia Sweeney fresh from her bit role in Pulp Fiction.

There were some glitches, some scenes were a but rough, and Courtney was a bit bland (though her parents were *priceless*!!, but they weren't enough to bring down the film…until the end. The end was a total disappointment, mainly because it was predictable from the beginning of the film that it would end that way, and I was really hoping it would surprise me. A generic, cheezy, schlock ending.

Overall: a great watch, I'd definitely recommend this as a quality Indie film deserving stronger recognition. If it weren't for the ending I'd give it an easy eight, but as it stands: 7/10.

This film really won me over with its consistently snappy dialogue and likable characters. It was really great to see so many familiar young comedians given a chance to strut their stuff in a movie, people like Dana Gould and Kathy Griffin. (before her network TV breakout) I watched these people on those seemingly endless comedian showcase TV programs in the late eighties and early nineties and actually remembered some of them. When I caught this film while pre-screening for a film festival, I thought I would definitely be hearing about it again. But, no distributors or major festivals picked it up and it made its way quietly to video.

It is by no means perfect, however. The documentary filmmaker approach is pretty hackneyed and since little is made of it during the course of the film, is seems superfluous. Also, the female lead comes off as bland when compared to the comic zest of the other performers. Still, I have to say, there were genuine laughs for me in almost every scene, which I certainly can't say of most of the dreadful "dating in the nineties" romantic "comedies" that have been clogging up the market recently. Hopefully, this film will get its due in video distribution.

Nick (Dana Gould) announces to the viewer that he's about to make a documentary of the love life of his best friend, Courtney (Eliza Coyle). She is a single woman living in the Los Angeles area and she's about to turn thirty (ugh!) As the supposed documentary begins, Courtney is just ending an on-again, off-again relationship with her live-in boyfriend. The search for true love continues. Nick follows Courtney's next ventures as she tries video dating and becomes part of a therapy group for singles. No romance blooms from these attempts; they are profound failures. Will Courtney find her way to an engagement ring?

This sweet pseudo-documentary is clever and diverting. Nick is an acute observer and gives a humorous, running commentary on Courtney and her exploits. Courtney, too, is attractive and likeable; one hopes she will be able to meet her match. Adding much to the overall enjoyment of the film is the therapy group; they spout comments that are quite funny. The end of the film may be easy to guess but it is satisfying nonetheless. Although the film 20 Dates may be a slightly better realized film in the same category, Courting Courtney will appeal to the romantic in all of us. Recommended for an evening's worth of smiles and sighs.