Dr. Not Yet Dr. Ag said:

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My post is going to have spoilers regarding the movie and real-life events.

I've had some slight interest in Robert Alcala in the past, so I know his story, and have seen the clips of the Dating Game show numerous times. I was put off by the fact that they deviated so significantly from the footage that is still available online. It got eye roll inducing when Kendrick's character decides that she is going to take over the show with her aggressive line of questioning (which never actually happened). This "empowered" woman then still goes on a date with the creep (which doesn't actually happen in reality as the real life woman refused to go on a date because she found him creepy).

I honestly do love a good story about strong women, but I hate it when they shoehorn it into stories where it's not necessary. The portion about the kidnapped woman was way more engrossing, and should have been the main focus, rather than something that was essentially a tiny anecdote in his otherwise depraved life.

I did think that Kendrick and the writers did a good job of highlighting the daily struggles women go through to appease men, but the "strong woman" moment of the movie felt so corny and out of place. I also felt that Anna Kendrick did a terrible job of attempting look and act like she was from the 70s. Every scene she was in felt anachronistic and like she was just playing Anna Kendrick. Also, I hated the shoehorned in subplot of the audience member recognizing him (which again didn't happen), and was really only probably felt to be necessary because they dedicated the majority of the screen time to the least interesting thing about this case.

Overall I give it a 6.1/10. It's entertaining but forgettable, and a little silly. Also, don't go in expecting anything close an accurate story, which was definitely my fault.

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bonfarr said:

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Pretty sure the character that recognized him on the show was an amalgam character. She represents all of the women that went to authorities about the guy that either werent believed or cops bungled the investigation.

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Dr. Not Yet Dr. Ag said:

---

My post is going to have spoilers regarding the movie and real-life events.

I've had some slight interest in Robert Alcala in the past, so I know his story, and have seen the clips of the Dating Game show numerous times. I was put off by the fact that they deviated so significantly from the footage that is still available online. It got eye roll inducing when Kendrick's character decides that she is going to take over the show with her aggressive line of questioning (which never actually happened). This "empowered" woman then still goes on a date with the creep (which doesn't actually happen in reality as the real life woman refused to go on a date because she found him creepy).

I honestly do love a good story about strong women, but I hate it when they shoehorn it into stories where it's not necessary. The portion about the kidnapped woman was way more engrossing, and should have been the main focus, rather than something that was essentially a tiny anecdote in his otherwise depraved life.

I did think that Kendrick and the writers did a good job of highlighting the daily struggles women go through to appease men, but the "strong woman" moment of the movie felt so corny and out of place. I also felt that Anna Kendrick did a terrible job of attempting look and act like she was from the 70s. Every scene she was in felt anachronistic and like she was just playing Anna Kendrick. Also, I hated the shoehorned in subplot of the audience member recognizing him (which again didn't happen), and was really only probably felt to be necessary because they dedicated the majority of the screen time to the least interesting thing about this case.

Overall I give it a 6.1/10. It's entertaining but forgettable, and a little silly. Also, don't go in expecting anything close an accurate story, which was definitely my fault.

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