I am posting this again because it was deleted by an administrator:
I never watch reality shows but based on previews/commercials of reality shows, My Date With Drew did not exhibit any of the obvious unreality, the obvious excessive emotiveness, the obvious fake personas, that tarnish reality shows.
I had the impression that Brian Herzlinger and Jon Gunn never actually intended to make a film or documentary for public distribution; I thought that they were making a personal record of a seemingly impossible quest for two distinct reasons - to create a video diary of a pivotal, decisive, intimate moment in Herzlinger's personal life (if we film what we are doing, maybe that will inspire us to work harder, to do something constructive, maybe that will help us discover other career goals that are attainable and advantageous), and to use the video diary as a demonstration of Herzlinger and Gunn's semi-professional filmmaking skills (for their resumés).
Throughout everything that happened, Herzlinger, unlike how people appear in reality shows, was perfectly normal, focused on completing preset goals, and not self-obsessed about being filmed intimately.
I do not think that they thought, during the initial 30 days, especially after Herzlinger went to the film premiere and was unable to really connect with Drew, that they were in any position to assemble all the footage into a film that a general audience would enjoy, or even understand.
Without that date, and several of Drew's remarks, there would be no "point" or "theme" to the film, other than Herzlinger suffering a severe personal and professional setback, which I doubt he wanted to transform into a film.
She provided both the closure and thematic cohesiveness that Herzlinger was searching for; not until that dinner-date occurred did they realize they had a bonafide marketable film.
Most reality television shows are filmed with the knowledge they will be aired, and the real people act like, "oh! I'm being filmed! I'll be on tv!" and they oftentimes act, they are overly excited, they show-off, their dwellings are professionally overhauled and transformed into expensive set-designs, or they are moved into a highly-fashionable dwelling, they have cosmetic make-overs and professional haircuts, and are given brand-new fashionable wardrobes with accessories.
This film did not possess those tawdry, unrealistic, premeditated qualities at all.
So, no, I do not think the style or format of this movie paralleled reality television at all - there was an appealing naturalness and genuineness inherent in the film, which, not suprisingly, failed to impress a larger audience.
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