Dr. Cheapskate
USA 2016
produced by Jason Ancona, Scott Dean for Ancona Films
directed by Jason Ancona
starring Ray Rosales, Scott Dean, Andrew Key, Robin Hines, Beth Burroughs, Terrie Dreyfus, Joe Teitelman, Kristin Pomales, Kelsey Williams, Jessica Torres, Allison Carr
written by Jason Ancona, music by Mark Chaplin
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Back in LA, Dana (Ray Rosales), then a successful doctor, got divorced
from his wife (Kristin Pomales), who really took him for all that he has
got, and now, having since relocated to Austin, Texas, he lives life on
the cheap, which includes shopping at charity shops, reusing dental floss
and the like. Living on the cheap also means not going out and being out
of the dating scene ... but is about to change due to a chance encounter
with Beau (Scott Dean), an old high school friend, and, as it turns out,
fellow divorcee, who wants to get laid sooner rather than later - and he'd
be happy to have Dana as his wingman, and is persuasive enough to make
this happen. And he's in desparate need of a wingman, too because his best
friend Hunter (Andrew Key) is a chick magnet, leaving him with little more
than the spoils. Now Hunter, your typical air brained macho relying
solely on his looks, is a man on a mission, he wants to get 50 girls laid
in 50 weeks ... and he has just laid his eyes on number 48, Stephanie
(Robin Hines) - but he makes up a bet for Dana and Beau, if they each can
get to kiss a woman before he gets Stephanie laid, he'll be their servant
for two weeks ... or vice versa of course, in case he wins, which he's
sure of. Now Beau cheats his way out of it making out with an ex, but for
Dana it seems hopeless, he's no good at chatting up women, doesn't have
the looks or physique to inspire love at first sight, and he's anything
but a seducer. He tries online dating, but only with moderate success at
first, until Beau takes it upon himself to bolster Dana's profile, filling
it up with exaggerations, blatant lies and the like. Now Dana at least
gets dates, but also gets into embarrassing situations. Ultimately, Beau
is so desparate he tries to get Hunter dead drunk before his date with
Stephanie, but with little success. But surprisingly, Dana has an ace up
his sleeve ... Dr. Cheapskate is pretty much a movie for
the little guy who has dared to question what they call "the dating
game" and has probably come to the same conclusions as Dana - and
might at the same times have gone through similar, unnecessarily
humiliating experiences thanks to friends like Beau - who're not
ill-intentioned, they just don't know better. And along that way, Dr.
Cheapskate hits all the right marks, treats its characters with
genuine empathy while still being rather hilarious at times, plus the
whole thing's rather well-played and subtly directed. Well worth a look
at least ...
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