''Mystery Date'' is a 1991 American

teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Jonathan Wacks Jonathan Philip Wacks is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He has directed a number of films including ''Powwow Highway'', produced by George Harrison. The film won the Sundance Film Festival Filmmaker’s Trophy, was nominate ...

and starring

Ethan Hawke Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor and film director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three off-Broadway plays, and a doc ...

Teri Polo Theresa Elizabeth Polo (born June 1, 1969) is an American actress. She starred as Pam Byrnes-Focker in the ''Meet the Parents'' trilogy and played the role of police officer Stef Adams Foster in the Freeform series '' The Fosters'' (2013–201 ...

, and

Brian McNamara Brian McNamara is an American actor. His first major role was in the film '' The Flamingo Kid'' (1984). He then went on to appear in a few films, such as ''Short Circuit'' (1986), ''Caddyshack II'' (1988), ''Arachnophobia'' (1990) and ''Mystery ...

. Shock-rockers

Gwar Gwar, often stylized as GWAR, is an American heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1984, composed of and operated by a frequently rotating line-up of musicians, artists and filmmakers collectively known as Slave Pit Inc. After th ...

have a brief cameo in the film.

Plot

Tom McHugh quickly learns that his perfect big brother Craig isn't all he's cracked up to be while on a night on the town with the girl next door, during which Tom is harassed by unpleasant strangers, threatened by mobsters, pursued by police, attacked by an irate florist, accused of murder, and has his date kidnapped—all because everyone thinks he's Craig...and the classic 1959

DeSoto Firesweep The DeSoto Firesweep is an automobile that was produced by DeSoto from 1957 through 1959. Interior and exterior description The Firesweep was a lower-priced entry that combined a Dodge shell and chassis (which featured a 122-inch wheelbase, four ...

he borrowed off his brother has two dead bodies in the trunk.

Cast

as Tom McHugh *

as Geena Matthews *

as Craig McHugh *

Fisher Stevens Fisher Stevens (born Steven Fisher; November 27, 1963) is an American actor, director, producer and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Ben in ''Short Circuit'' and '' Short Circuit 2'', Chuck Fishman on the 1990s televi ...

as Dwight *

BD Wong Bradley Darryl Wong (born October 24, 1960) is an American actor. Wong won a Tony Award for his performance as Song Liling in ''M. Butterfly'', becoming the only actor in Broadway history to receive the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Crit ...

as James Lew *

Tony Rosato Antonio Rosato (26 December 1954 – 10 January 2017) was an Italian-Canadian actor and comedian, who appeared in television and films. He was best known as a cast member on both '' SCTV'' and ''Saturday Night Live'', and for voicing Luigi in '' ...

as Sharpie *

Don S. Davis Donald Sinclair "Don" Davis (August 4, 1942 – June 29, 2008) was an American character actor best known for playing General Hammond in the television series ''Stargate SG-1'' (1997–2007), and earlier for playing Major Garland Briggs on t ...

as Doheny *

James Hong James Hong (; born February 22, 1929) is an American actor, producer and director. He has worked in numerous productions in American media since the 1950s, portraying a variety of roles. With more than 650 film and television credits as of 20 ...

as Fortune Teller * Victor Wong as Janitor *

Ping Wu Ping Wu (born May 16, 1956) is an American television and film actor. Personal life Wu is Chinese American, Chinese–American. His father was author and educator Nelson Ikon Wu, and his sister, Ting Wu, is a genetics professor at the Harvard M ...

as Vince *Duncan Fraser as Crully *

Jerry Wasserman Jerry Wasserman (born November 2, 1945) is an American professor and film and television actor. Wasserman was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is working on his role in ''Alien Trespass'' in post-production. He is a Professor of English and Thea ...

as Detective Al Condon *

Terry David Mulligan Terry David Mulligan (born June 30, 1942) is a Canadian actor and radio and television personality based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Life and career Born in New Westminster, British Columbia, Mulligan worked as a Royal Canadian Mounted Pol ...

as Mr. McHugh * Merrilyn Gann as Mrs. McHugh *Stephen Chang as Ben *Russell Jung as Jerry *

Michele Little Michele Little (born c. 1960) is an American former actress, best known for her appearances in the 1980s and early 1990s. She retired in 1995 to raise a family after giving birth to a daughter with husband Brett Cullen. Filmography *''Radioactiv ...

as Stella *Allan Lysell as Mr. Lusky *Donna Lysell as Mrs. Lusky *Keith Beardwood as Mr. Culp *Sharlene Martin as Suzette *Celia Martin as Sandy *Ian Black as Limo Driver *Karen Campbell as Suzy *Sean Orr as Aldo * Dave 'Squatch' Ward as Earl * Peter Williams as Bartender *Constance Barnes as Bonna *Todd Duckworth as Motorcycle Cop

Reception

''Mystery Date'' holds a 25% approval rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on eight reviews; the average rating is 4.7/10. Desson Howe from ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' wrote: "''Mystery Date'' is an exclamation point movie. Built on nothing but zany high points, it survives entirely on plot surprise. Maybe this kind of Date is for you! But guess what! I'd rather be at the pub!"

References

External links

* * *{{AFI film, id=58953, title=Mystery Date 1991 films 1991 romantic comedy films 1990s teen comedy films 1990s teen romance films American romantic comedy films American teen comedy films American teen romance films Films scored by John Du Prez Films shot in Vancouver 1990s English-language films 1990s American films