Elisberg Industries
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Products
    • Books
    • Movies
  • About Elisberg Industries
    • Our Corporate Board
    • Information Overstock
    • Elisberg Industries Entertainment Information
    • Elisberg Statistical Center of American Research
    • Consultancy Service
  • Contact
    • How to Find Us
  • Kudos
  • Good Things to Know
    • The BOB Page
    • Sites You Might Actually Like
Decent Quality Since 1847

Many More Myles to Go

9/17/2017

0 Comments

 
The other day, I wrote here about my good friend Myles Berkowitz, who wrote-directed-and-starred in the movie, 20 Dates, and the lovely, funny first-anniversary letter he wrote related the film as a gift requested by the newlywed husband for his wife's favorite movie.

Among many other things I wrote about the unique Myles (who has an MBA from Wharton and worked for a while as an actor and then writer, before then developing his start-up company for a diet product, LifeSize), I mentioned that for inexplicable reasons, although Fox Searchlight had released 20 Dates on VHS after it hit the theaters in 1998, they never put out a DVD.  That's such a shame because the fake-documentary (which many people think is actually a real documentary) is wonderfully done and very funny.

However -- good news, limited though it may be, it turns out that 20 Dates is available online to watch for free on Vimeo, if you know where to look for it.  And the added good news is that I know precisely where you can look for it -- because I'm able to embed it right hereI

Now, to be clear, posting an entire movie on this site is not something I would normally do.  But there are two reasons I feel fine doing so.  The first is that the movie isn't available anywhere else. (At least for the moment.  Hopefully, one day that will change...)  The other reason is because...well, Myles himself told me about the Vimeo video and said he had no problem at all with me posting it here.

So -- huzzah! -- just because you all are so nice and deserve a treat, you can watch 20 Dates below!

A few things to know about the movie. 

It tells the story of a character named Myles Berkowitz deciding to make a documentary about going on 20 dates in order to find True Love before the final credits.  As I said, it is a fake documentary.  As much as it looks like a real documentary -- and it really does -- it isn't.  It's fake.  Really, truly fake.  But one of the fun things that helps confuse people is that he did film a couple of the 20 dates as an actual documentary, completely unscripted, with young women he was set up with, and even somehow was able to get release forms from them (hey, that's Myles...), and those sequences are edited seamlessly in with all the others.  But the blending is done so well that it's near-impossible to tell which is which.  And to help the sense of reality is that a few other sequences are actual unscripted documentary -- like the phone calls he has with the film's producer, Elie Samaha...generally yelling at Myles, who decided to use them in the movie.  Also, for the "confessional" interviews with his friends, he told them to be brutally honest when talking to the camera with their opinions about him.  Those are all very real.  (And very blunt.  And very funny.  And very accurate.)  But other than these few sequences, everything else is structured, with an outline, where he and the actors -- yes, all the other "dates" are all actors (including some recognizable ones playing themselves, such as Tia Carrere (then-wife of producer Samaha and Julie McCullough), -- went over what was to take place, and they then ad-libbed everything.  Sort of like Curb Your Enthusiasm, but years before. And in a way that looks like it's actually all real.

Another thing.  As it likely clear by this point, I think the movie is very funny and clever.  However, it is also not for everyone.  The main character "Myles Berkowitz" is a funny, smart, self-effacing, open, honest, obnoxious, annoying jerk of a lovely guy.  That's just not everyone's taste.  But keep in mind -- this isn't a documentary.  Almost all of it is NOT real.  And even the parts that are real are being done to further the fictional story.  My theory has long been that many people over the years who might not like the movie feel that way because they think it is real, and can't get past the "That Myles guy who made the movie is such a jerk" sensibility.  But...again, This Is All Fake.  When you watch it as fiction, suddenly the craft opens up to you.  But then, even believing it's a real documentary, I still think it's so entertaining, as the character grows in his quest to find The One True Love -- even if one has to occasionally cringe at how raw and on a vulnerable edge that quest at times appears.

But -- it's not real.  It's fiction!

If you don't have time to watch the whole thing now (it runs 85 minutes), just bookmark the link to check back later.  And if you don't have an inclination to watch the whole movie, at least just watch the first five minutes.  It sets up the film and is extremely funny, as it shows Myles trying to put together the project and get onto movie studio lots  around town by talking his way past security guards. And know this:  making the "studio lot" montage all the funnier is -- these also are completely real, no script, the guards weren't told beforehand, they're just doing their job when clod comes driving up, filming it all.  Only later did he tell them, since he needed the guards to sign releases, and so they could get paid.  And they all did sign -- except one, who was reluctant -- adamant about not wanting to be used in the movie.  It took Myles going to the head of the studio to intervene and personally call the security guard, asking him to sign -- and the guard finally agreed.  And happily, when all the guards (including the reluctant one) saw the final film, they thought it was a hoot.

Which it is.
​
How the few real dates felt about it, that's another matter.  But then, hey, they did sign their releases!  So...in the end, they were fine with it, too.

Curtain up.  Welcome to 20 Dates.

20 Dates from Shoot4Education on Vimeo.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Picture
    Elisberg Industries gets a commission if you click here before shopping on Amazon.
    Picture
    Follow @relisberg

    Author

    Robert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. 

    Elisberg is a two-time recipient of the Lucille Ball Award for comedy screenwriting. He's written for film, TV, the stage, and two best-selling novels, is a regular columnist for the Writers Guild of America and was for
    the Huffington Post.  Among his other writing, he has a long-time column on technology (which he sometimes understands), and co-wrote a book on world travel.  As a lyricist, he is a member of ASCAP, and has contributed to numerous publications.



    Picture
           Feedspot Badge of Honor

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    Categories

    All
    Animals
    Audio
    Audio Land
    Books
    Business
    Chicago
    Consumer Product
    Education
    Email Interview
    Entertainment
    Environment
    Fine Art
    Food
    From The Management
    Health
    History
    Huffery
    Humor
    International
    Internet
    Journalism
    Law
    Los Angeles
    Media
    Morning News Round Up
    Movies
    Music
    Musical
    Personal
    Photograph
    Piano Puzzler
    Politics
    Popular Culture
    Profiles
    Quote Of The Day
    Radio
    Religion
    Restaurants
    Science
    Sports
    Technology
    Tech Tip
    Theater
    The Writers Workbench
    Tidbits
    Travel
    Tv
    Twitter
    Video
    Videology
    Well Worth Reading
    Words-o-wisdom
    Writing

    RSS Feed

© Copyright Robert J. Elisberg 2023
Contact Us    About EI    Chicago Cubs
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Products
    • Books
    • Movies
  • About Elisberg Industries
    • Our Corporate Board
    • Information Overstock
    • Elisberg Industries Entertainment Information
    • Elisberg Statistical Center of American Research
    • Consultancy Service
  • Contact
    • How to Find Us
  • Kudos
  • Good Things to Know
    • The BOB Page
    • Sites You Might Actually Like