Though Ben Aston’s latest short film recently played the Sundance Film Festival, today we look back at his delightfully dramedy Dinner and a Movie. Taking a chance on the online world of dating, Randy Stubleski (Nathan Hennenfent) is excited to finally meet the love of his life Crystal (Anne Wittman), a woman he met via a prison pen-pal site. As Crystal is fresh out of prison, with no place to go, the shy Randy decides to take her back to his place for their first date. Their romantic evening takes an unexpected turn when Randy discovers that he may not know Crystal as well as he thought he did. Funny, and surprisingly heartwarming, Dinner and a Movie does a wonderful job of keeping the viewer on their toes. Aston avoids many of the obvious gags one would expect in favor of something that is both amusing and earnest. Dinner and a Movie succeeds in making light of the horrors that can come with online dating, but also reminds the viewer that even the bad experiences are no reason to give up on the search for true love.

Dinner and a Movie
Director: Ben Aston / USA / 2013 / 14 Minutes
Starring: Nathan Hennenfent, Anne Wittman and Martin Ashley Jones