Mystery Date

When someone even if it's your brother offers to fix you up on a date with the girl of your dreams, watch out because if it's too good to be true, it usually is. That's the position that young Ethan Hawke who worships his older brother Brian McNamara. McNamara is however not studying to be a lawyer, but instead is a crook who has stolen from a Chinese gangster played by James Wong and who wants his goods back. What McNamara is doing by even giving Hawke his car, his fashionable wardrobe and even his credit card is set up his younger brother while he deals in relative safety. So that first date with Teri Polo is an experience not likely to be forgotten. Mystery Date definitely has a few laughs in it, but throughout it I couldn't really get all that amused over the plight of Hawke and Polo. I mean this kid really worships McNamara and this guy is such a sleaze to take advantage of that. Kind of puts a damper on the humor. Funniest performance has to be from Fisher Stevens who plays a psychotic floral delivery guy who McNamara stiffs for a tip and then goes berserk, taking it out on poor Hawke, the schlemiel. It doesn't make up for the overall weak plot premise.

source: Mystery Date

Trailer—Mystery Date

Mystery Date

I actually didn't mind this movie when it first came out. I had it on VHS and watched it a few times over the years. Fast Forward to 2020. Decided to rewatch it. I was surprised by how much I didn't appreciate this moneyed young man spying and creeping on the attractive teenage house sitter next door. I appreciated his sleazy brother even less. The sheer unlikeablity of this pair ruined the whole movie for me. I'm surprised by this, I certainly still appreciate some of the non PC movies churned out in the 80's and I'm not generally uptight, but these two left me cold and made me not want to watch on. Also, it's not the greatest movie of this era. It's not like I ever thought it was, even back in the day. I can't remember what I ever liked about this. Teri Polo is likeable and the flower delivery boy has a few moments. That's the best I can say about this.

A very funny film 🎞 starring impossibly young Ethan Hawke & Terri Polo. Hawke has an older brother who he thinks is studying to be a lawyer, but in reality his brother is someone else entirely. Terri Polo is the girl of his dreams, and the older brother gets him set up on a date with the help of a classic car 🚗 from 1959. The date is going really well; Polo likes him. Unfortunately slight complications begin to arise, such as dead bodies in the trunk of the car, the Chinese Mob thinking Hawke is his sleazy older brother, and everyone looking for a rare antique Chinese vase. By the time the date is along, there are three dead bodies, Polo is kidnapped by the Tong, the cops are after Hawke, Hawke is after the vase, and the entire film 🎞 has devolved into a comic mess. An underrated comic film. Lots of other great actors who you'll spot in this 1991 vintage film. A very funny film.

Tom McHugh (Ethan Hawke) has been eyeing the beautiful house-sitter next door, Geena Matthews (Teri Polo), but he hasn't had the courage to speak to her all summer long. His amoral womanizing older brother Craig McHugh (Brian McNamara) arrives home right after his parents leave for their holiday. Craig gets him a date with Genna with some smooth talk. He has to take Craig's 59 DeSoto and the date becomes one crazy incident after another. Honestly, I thought that this stars one of the Coreys. I didn't know that it's Ethan Hawke although he can't save this one. It's a wild and crazy night and a rather annoying series of misunderstandings. His first move should have been dumping the body out of the trunk and end the date. The bigger problem is that I hate Craig and Tom is only better by comparison. Tom's pathetic neediness is annoying in a different way. I also don't like Geena that much. The audience has to like these people and at best, I'm indifferent to them.

I bought this movie for two dollars at a table full of used movies. That was the best two dollars I've ever spent. Though the film was made in the early 90's and now it's the end of 2001, the topic was amazingly interesting and outdated elements were not overly distracting. Something to really appreciate about this film is that is looks to be shot with mostly natural lighting which is unusual now, but more common during the time Mystery Date was shot. It's a tense movie that's interesting to the end.

I just loved Teri Polo. I think she is so beautiful in this movie. I've been trying to find this movie so I can find it but with no luck. It's about a boy who has a crush on a girl next door who is house-sitting. His older brother comes home and gives him some types, some clothes, and his credit card. Little did Tom know that a lot of people don't like his older brother. I guess it didn't help stealing his car. I recommend this movie to everybody.