MY DATE WITH DREW

Documentary

BACKGROUND
Drew Barrymore was born on February 22, 1975. Being from a family of legendary actors (John, Lionel, and Ethel Barrymore), she quickly found her way to the spotlight. When she was only 11 months old, she made her first television commercial for Puppy Choice dog food. Other TV spots soon followed for Pillsbury chocolate-chip cookies and Rice Krispies cereal. She made her first movie at the age of two when she appeared as a boy in the made-for-television film Suddenly, Love. At the age of five, she moved to the big screen and played William Hurt’s daughter in the philosophical science-fiction film Altered States.

In 1982 she was cast as Gertie in the Steven Spielberg blockbuster E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The success of E.T. made her quite popular and she did three movies in less than three years. But at the same time, Drew's personal life was taking a drastic turn. At the age of nine, she discovered alcohol when she got drunk at a party thrown for actor Rob Lowe. A year later, she had moved on to marijuana; cocaine came soon after. During this time, she made a series of television movies but by 1989, she was caught in a downward spiral. Her risqué role in the thriller Far From Home caused a lot of controversy and her heavy partying forced her mother, Jaid Barrymore, to commit her to a drug rehab clinic.

She soon escaped from the clinic and using her mother's credit card, she returned to California, but she was quickly apprehended. To make amends, she appeared in an after-school special, 15 and Getting Straight, about the virtues of a drug-free life. Nevertheless, she was still heavily addicted. It was so bad that, in July 1989, she attempted to commit suicide. Another stint in a rehabilitation clinic followed, but this time the treatment was successful.

What she did next shocked many: she decided her mother was a bad influence (her father, John Drew Barrymore, had never been part of her life) and obtained a legal separation from her. She was only 15.

In 1990, she wrote her autobiography, Little Girl Lost, with the help of Todd Gold. It mostly dealt with her struggle with drug addiction and her life in the fast lane. Knowing she had to get a grip on her life to re-establish her career, she appeared in five movies in just two years. At this point, she had reinvented herself into a wild girl with roles in movies such as Bad Girls, Boys on the Side, and Mad Love. She also appeared nude in the best-selling January 1995 issue of Playboy magazine.

By then, she was getting older and seemed to start realising that there is more to life than publicity stunts and shock value. She set out to build a distinguished career and took on more serious acting roles. In 1998, she also established her own production company, Flower Films. From then on, she had more control over her projects. She acted in and produced Never Been Kissed, Charlie's Angels, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. She also appeared in Freddy Got Fingered, Riding in Cars with Boys, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind , and 50 First Dates .

Her romantic life has been as rocky as her childhood. In 1994, she was married to Jeremy Thomas for a little over a month and, in 2001, she was married for five months to Canadian funnyman Tom Green. She really seems to have a thing for musicians. She was once briefly linked to singer Jamie Walters and is currently engaged to Fabrizio Moretti, drummer of the band The Strokes.

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Brian Herzlinger: instigator and principal narrator
Fellow East Coast film-school grads Jon Gunn and Brett Winn
Producer Kerry David (collectively known as the Drew Crew)

REVIEW
Sometimes even the wildest dreams are worth pursuing. What transpires can be both amusing and at times, very touching and personal. Such is the case with this movie although it suffers a bit from being a tad too long.

CLASSIFICATION
for mild thematic elements and language.

P.S.
Brian’s website is still up and running at http://www.mydatewithdrew.com/index.html