A Guide to Second Date Sex

A GUIDE TO SECOND DATE SEX - Addington Films

Rachel Hirons’ A Guide to Second Date Sex is a romantic comedy that starts out somewhat promising, but it does not take long for the effect of star George MacKay to wear off as the movie deteriorates into absolute nonsense.

 The premise of what happens between characters Ryan and Laura, played by George MacKay and Alexandra Roach respectively, is very simple: they are two awkward people going on a second date together. A situation many audience members may be familiar. Hirons’ approach to writing and directing awkward personalities is charming at first, it feels accurate and true to many awkward situations that people have been in before. Unfortunately, there is not much for the viewer to enjoy while watching two people be unbearably awkward for under ninety minutes. It is clear that this was a failed attempt at making the characters quirky, and it especially does not help when every character around them is trite and unlikeable.

 A Guide to Second Date Sex goes from bad to worse when Emma Rigby’s character is introduced out of nowhere in the films third act. Her appearance is meant to be a twist, but it throws the entire plot off-track. At that point, the film becomes a tired parody of itself, filled with outlandish gags and clichéd tropes. It comes to a point where getting through the remaining twenty minutes of the runtime is an absolute struggle. The main issue with her character is that the actress’ screen presence is unwelcome. Every second she is on screen she tries to steal the spotlight from every other actor. This attempt at being the centre of attention makes her character somewhat of a caricature.

 The cinematography is incredibly dull. There are few scenes aside from the opening that are genuinely interesting to look at or listen to. The colour palette is flat, and most of the shots are framed and composed like the ones in television shows, with a soundtrack that is mostly absent and merely adequate.

In certain moments, Hirons’ desire to create a great film is here. However, it seems to have been lost amongst the process of actually making it happen. The audience does not know much about the lead characters and therefore, don’t have any reason to care or root for their respective character arcs. A Guide to Second Date Sex feels like the result of everyone putting in the most minimal amount of effort and dedication in creating a solid feature. On occasion the film decides to be serious, sometimes it tries to be funny, and other times it goes for relatability. The only constant throughout the entirety of its mercifully short runtime is that it is a miserable experience all the way through.

A GUIDE TO SECOND DATE SEX is streaming on VOD