Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Stylish but barely mediocre overall

A Major Disappointment

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

David Packer wants to find success, love, and his path in sunny California. Leaving his parents and home behind, he goes to live with a friend (Scott McGinnis.) The whole plot of the film is his experience of joining a dating service "Love Connection"-style and hooking up with supposedly nice girls and the quandaries they put him in. For such an obviously simple film, it has enough charm to make you relax and feel at home. This is not terribly inspired or original, but you get to see plenty of 1980s stars, such as David Leisure, Kristy McNichol, Sally Kellerman, Charles Grodin, Anthony Geary, Lu Leonard, Frank Bonner, Merete van Kemp (from Dallas and TV miniseries) and Bridget Fonda. I don't usually read other reviews, but I agree with a lot of them when I say "I ashamedly admit to enjoying and liking most of it." It's so unpretentious and is not in your face with crude jokes like others of its kind. In other words, this is better than it has any right to be, given the likable and down-to-earth lead actor and colorful and professional supporting players. The director rightly made a who's who cast to keep the viewer interested. While this is peppered here and there with some skin scenes for those who enjoy that sort of thing, on the whole, this is a better than usual 1980s film about a guy trying to find love.

Fans of the obscure 80s comedy, 'Odd Jobs' (in which Scott McGinnis, who plays Skip here, also co-stars) might want to try out this rather silly romantic comedy, although it lacks much of the stupid humor of the former (but still contains some wry humor). This is the story of a well-meaning, somewhat naive guy named Eddie (David Packer) from Akron, Ohio who goes to live with his suave cousin, Skip (McGinnis) in Los Angeles where he finds out that success comes from pretending to be successful. It's advice that Eddie is at least willing to try, having no luck in his advertising pursuits (he's a handbill solicitor on the beach for a rental shack) and romance. Most of the movie focuses on Eddie's romantic pursuits as he enlists in a video dating service and, with one false persona after the next, he meets girls with all sorts of bizarre hangups that seem to get him no where. So Eddie thinks that maybe Los Angeles has him beat. (Think of it as like the West Coast version of Michael J. Fox's character in "Secret to my Success").Most of the humor comes from the odd situations Eddie finds himself in with all of the strange people he meets in L.A. Look for Diz McNally in a bit part as a cab driver. For those who grew up in the 80s, you may remember her from the old Nickelodeon show, 'Out of Control,' which starred David Coulier. And, aside from my usual favorite, Scott Miginnis in his trademark role of the wealthy stud, I thought David Leisure as Eddie's boss, Lu Leonard as the dating service manager, and Frank Bonner and Luanna Anders who play Eddie's parents, were terrific and hilarious supporting characters. The lead, David Packer, has always done well with this sort of naive, well-meaning character. Those who enjoyed The Running Kind might want to give this one a try (and vice versa).

Hardly a great picture, but the guest stars lift it up beyond the usual retread romantic comedy. Charles Grodin has probably 2 minutes of screen time and yet manages to create a complete character out of a few lines. Sally Kellerman and David Leisure are also good. Other minor characters are well-cast. I hate to admit it, but I liked this one.

David Packer (whom you may remember from the NBC-tv miniseries' "V" (1983) and "V: The Final Battle" (1984)) is so wonderful in this film. His acting is so natural and very easy to watch. His voice is nice and soft to listen to. His personality is kind and gentle. No attitude here. David Packer makes this film worth watching. The cameo appearance by Kristy McNichol is fun to watch. Wish there were more scenes of her. Yes, that is Sally Kellerman singing nicely during the end credits.