Mate-ing
Two twenty-something friends, Mark and Nat, maneuver their way
through the contemporary dating scene with disastrous results.

I, for one, was never a fan of the single life. The awkward dates, the insecurity of even approaching someone, the weak pick-up lines, getting shut down, the online dating horror stories you hear… it’s just not for me. But, if there ever was a silver lining, it was having entertaining stories to tell your friends after a bad date.

In Robert Spence’s hilariously raunchy dating comedy, Mark and Nat (Natalie) are both single twenty-somethings who happen to be platonic friends. And both have their share of dating disasters, which they enjoy sharing with each other.

The story opens with Nat having a clumsy and weird sexual soiree with a man named Brad. As the writer hilariously describes, they’re “having something that resembles sex”.On top of the awkward and labored dirty talk, Brad ends up having a bit of an accident: let’s just call it a case of premature evacuation – bowel evacuation.

But Nat, the sweet girl she is, tries to make Brad as comfortable as possible, helping him change the sheets after his poo incident. Nevertheless, it doesn’t look like they’ll be having another date.

Meanwhile, Mark is a brash and confident playboy who gets around. He has his own set of rules that he likes to follow on dates. Especially after his most recent farce of a sexual encounter with a raging cocaine addict who ends up having an overdose – at the same time the fire alarm is pulled and everyone has to evacuate outside. Talk about bad timing. Luckily, it turns out the girl was okay. It was more of her just passing out than an actual overdose. However, unluckily, Mark left his wallet in the girl’s hotel room. And he later finds out that she used the card, spending $600 – talk about an expensive date.

Now, this was written as a pilot, but it can stand alone as a short film. That being said, I really think, as a show, it has plenty of potential for some really funny episodes with interesting story lines. The writer already sets up a nice “will they, won’t they” subplot with the platonic friends who may or may not have a history of their own.

Carried by smart, funny, yet raunchy dialogue, “Mate-ing” has a lot of potential with likable and relatable leads – highly recommended to any filmmakers looking to tickle some funny bones.