First Date is a 2021 American mysterycomedy-drama film directed and written by Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp. The film stars Tyson Brown, Shelby Duclos, Jesse Janzen, Nicole Berry and Samuel Ademola.
Conned into buying a shady '65 Chrysler, Mike's first date with the girl-next-door, Kelsey, implodes as he finds himself targeted by criminals, cops, and a crazy cat lady. A night fueled by desire, bullets and burning rubber makes any other first date seem like a walk in the park.
The film had its premiere in the "Next" section of the Sundance Film Festival on January 31, 2021.[6][3] A month later, the film's US distribution rights were acquired by Magnet Releasing, the genre film label of Magnolia Pictures, with plans to release it in theaters and on Apple TV in the United States on July 2, 2021.[7]
Reception
The film received mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes surveyed 32 critics and, categorizing the reviews as positive or negative, assessed 18 as positive and 14 as negative for a 56% rating. Among the reviews, it determined an average rating of 6.0 out of 10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Although this First Date might have gone more smoothly, it remains an (occasionally very) funny crime caper – and an intriguing calling card for debuting co-directors Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp."[8]
Kristy Puchko of RogerEbert.com wrote: "Overall, this wild-ass comedy is a jolting thrill ride, packed with barbed jokes, hilarious characters, and threaded with a sweet and simple romance that pulls us through the wonkier bits. Simply put, First Date is a diamond in the rough, but a diamond nonetheless."[9]
Danielle Solzman of Solzy at the Movies praised Crosby and Knapp's direction and positively compared the film to the work of Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino and the Coen Brothers, while further adding: "I've seen some beautiful films in the NEXT program and First Date could very well be the next hit to come from it. When we look back on this unique Sundance in a few years from now, we'll be able to say that's where Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp were discovered."[10]
John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter was critical of the film, but praised the performances of Brown and Duclos, writing: "The film gets a bit more enjoyable as soon as the two share the screen together. But they have precious little time for flirty banter before Knapp and Crosby throw them back into action copped from other genre movies. This time it's a True Romance-like standoff between teams of heavily armed people arguing over drugs and money. It's amazing how much of this mayhem Mike survives before the script decides it's time for him to do something."[11]
