Dates From Hell

Running time: N/A

Dating and mating are the subjects of this series of short films. That quest for Mr. or Mrs. Right is as timeless as it is annoying. Michael Clancy's Emily's Last Date chronicles Emily's last ditch effort to find a vaguely human male with whom to have a relationship. Marriage a la Mode is a fish-out-of-water comedy by Rick Hays. Our mail-order bride heroine, Svetlana, comes to America to her new husband, who promptly dies. The resulting hunt for a husband spins out of control. Rendez-Vous is the flipside of the first film in our series, giving the male perspective on blind dates from hell, and you may be surprised to find that the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence. David McLennan's Kismet is a black comedy about a group of strangers who learn the importance of karma and avoiding people with guns. 4 Tokens II, a short dance film by Mart Dominicus, beautifully conveys the themes of our series through the art and magnificence of dance. Erik Jambor's Gamalost tells the story of a professor and his wife who invite his graduate assistant and her husband over for dinner. Things soon turn ugly when the invited couple is served news even more unsettling than the Norwegian cheese that is the film's title. A game of chess is the test men must take to date the woman in CheckMating, by William Azaroff, but what happens when she finally meets her match? Roslyn Schwartz's I'm Your Man..., set to Leonard Cohen's song of the same name, offers a playful meditation on romance and the clichés that go with it. A man has a little Surprise for his sleeping lover, involving weights and an elaborate system of pulleys and well-placed explosive charges.  - Matthew Aquino