OFF BOOK | Omeleto Romance

A woman goes on a date with an actor.

Natalie is a bright, smart small-town girl who just moved to the city, waiting in a hip coffee shop for a first date. When Steve enters, it's clear he's an in-the-know man of the city, as well as a cool and handsome actor, and Natalie quite can't believe her luck.

But Steve has brought to this first date a strange neurosis that seems at first silly and eccentric -- a literal script of how he thinks the date should go. At first Natalie tries to humor Steve, but his insistence on them following the script derails the date, exposing Steve as a bit of a lunatic and leaving Natalie in a bind as she tries to extract herself from the situation.

Written and produced by Mindy Fay Parks and Eric Feltes, and directed by Robert Bruce Carter, OFF BOOK is a nimble, quick-witted romantic comedy that casts a smart, ironic and knowing eye at the rituals of modern dating, as well as the insecurities and neuroses that underlie it.

Narratively compact, the story is essentially a long scene -- a first date that becomes anything but a "meet cute." The writing has an ear for the bright, cheerful yet slightly "presentational" dialogue that accompanies first dates, all fueled by the desire to make a great first impression. Natalie's hopeful optimism is echoed as well by the sunny, warm cinematography, which gives a lovely sheen to the setting and proceedings. When Steve enters the coffeehouse, our potential romance seems off to a promising start.

But just as the date gets underway -- and Steve presents not just Natalie but the servers with a script to follow -- Natalie realizes what was first a strange quirk is legitimately weird and not a little delusional.

What works is that Steve's behavior is outlandish and ridiculous, but actor Eric Felte plays it straight, as if insisting on following a script on a first date is absolutely normal. Actor Mindy Fay Parks also plays Natalie with a sense of emotional groundedness and sweetness, which function as a kind of stand-in for the audience.

The script that Steve presents is also slyly funny, poking fun at the various ways he hopes Natalie will massage his ego, and how the date offers him a chance to "show off." Nowhere in the script is an actual effort to get to know Natalie on her own terms, and the story and humor escalates as Steve increasingly leans on his script, doubling down on his rigidity when things don't seem to be going his way.

When Steve insists on Natalie playing a role that she doesn't fall into, she realizes there's no hope for Steve and must find a way to extract herself as gracefully as possible out of this very bad, no-good, terrible first date -- though she also finds a note of hope at its end.

OFF BOOK is an elaborate and unique take on the bad first date. But with its central riff on "following the script" and being forced to "play a role," it's actually based on the emotional truth that too often we're following a script in our minds of what love, romance or relationships should look like, instead of focusing on figuring out if there's a chance for authentic chemistry and connection.

It may be easier to follow societal ritual and unspoken rules when it comes to romance and love -- and it certainly can allay the anxiety of dating -- in the end we all have to be ourselves. For the right person, your authentic self should be enough... though clearly it takes a few wrong dates to find them.

[carmensaify]

This was clever- I do feel like people say a lot of things based on their own script not genuine concern or interaction- this def called that out.

[v.]

I think what it's trying to show is that good things often come to us unexpectedly or "off-script", so we should be open to opportunity

[srgkzy]

Oh no !! It was all planned to make the barista look good!
Its the meta-script

[marvelfan]

The waiter was initially reading from a script, too. And later the mother did the same. I think this illustrates that everyone in life is just playing the role. Your life, in general, is a movie, and people in it play their part but as soon as you meet that person who has the potential to understand you, like really feel what you want, they throw their script into the trashcan and start interacting with you unconventionally, giving those butterflies in your tummy.

[ironox]

I think the script thing is suppose to show how some people "act" as a character when they start relationships, that they are afraid to show their true selves. And if they continue with that mindset, the relationships they made will break apart. It's better to be true to yourself to form a genuine relationship.

[megofiachra]

When she finally rips the script from him, you see his fear and insecurity. Very well acted!

[faridehnaghsh]

This was a mind blowing one. Oh my God, show the poor society and the poor culture we're in, where everyone follows the same routine. Great great job. Absolutely loved it.

[randomlyhumanqn]

This is so real we all imagine how a conversation or meeting will go before it happens, and sometimes loose a connection because it doesn't go how we saw or heard it in our heads.
We are forgetting how to communicate person to person.

[proxi]

Make sure you hang around to see 7:16! The plot thickens!

[beepboopbeep]

I think the script is what the society has embedded onto us. To say or behave in a particular way 🤔

[victorhettema]

I'm amazed at the amount of confusion this film has created.

[haleemasherkhan]

So sad. Even the Mother was reading a script.

[swethap]

Ohk why isnt anyone talking about it..





Steve's acting was on point.
ON POINT!

[aasthakapoor]

This reminds me of Truman Show. Everyone around her is acting, while she's the one that's oblivious. The waiter chooses not to act because of his interest in her, breaking the chain.

[markread]

[Later that evening, Steve, alone in his bedroom] "Oh, Oh...(pants) OMIGOD!!
Wow, was it good for you?"
[Steve in a girl's voice]
"Oh, yes, Steve...I came like, three times... You're an awesome lover! Why don't you show me how good you are at Fortnite now?!"

[DraGnFly]

The fact she didn't walk out right away tells me she's desperate to be in a relationship. When it doesn't feel or seem right from the get-go...GET GOing! It's NOT your job to fix him!

[aprilpenname]

I just learned about how 95% of what we think/do is wired into our subconscious. I know it's something separate from this but that's kind of like a script. The things we've been conditioned to do by how we were raised, our role in society and so on is out subconscious script running in the background

[PantheraAlbus]

I think it fits the rules we force ourselves and others to obey very well.

Basing them on expectations/prejudice regarding women, masculinity, motherhood, small town/big town, expectations about waiters should behave, giggles shouldn't be forced...

[alwayserik]

And I think what this tells is how one person imposing their script on another can leave the other frustrated and trapped. Expectation vs reality. If you don't recognize reality and make compromises to share scripts, your relationship won't work.

[Antisceptic]

It would be better if, at the end, Dez the Barista thanked everyone for their involvement and complemented Steve on a job well done. Dez was actually Natalie's date, and wanted to make sure things go well, and so crafted a scenario where he comes across as the silver lining in what Natalie thought was a disaster.