Dinner and a Movie (2001)

A serious filmmaker takes on a not-so-serious subject, and finds love along the way in this romantic comedy. Katie (Marianne Hagan) is a struggling documentary filmmaker whose career seems to be going nowhere as her 32nd birthday looms on the horizon. While pitching a project about the life of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn to a public television outlet, Katie makes the acquaintance of Arlene (Barbara Gulan), a TV producer who offers her another project -- a series on the ups and down of dating and single life. Katie isn't especially interested, especially since her last relationship has soured her on romance in general, but she's in no position to turn down work; with the help of Spider (Mike Dooly), a cameraman who has known Katie for years (and long had a crush on her), she begins following Jed (Dave Gibbs), a handsome but self-centered single guy. Jed has no clue as to how he should behave around women, and most of the dates Katie films are nothing short of disastrous, but the more time she spends with Jed, the more she likes him, and she starts to wonder if perhaps with a little work he could be groomed into a better grade of boyfriend material. Dinner and a Movie also features actor and filmmaker Paul Bartel in one of his final roles; acclaimed singer/songwriter Dar Williams contributed to the musical score.