Longest Third Date (2023)

Longest Third Date (2023)

A casual week-long vacation turns to a months-long test of compatibility in this reality TV-esque documentary

6.2

Movie

United States of America
English
Documentary
2023
BRENT HODGE
Khani Le, Matt Robertson
76 min

TLDR

“Maybe you can live a little longer and die, like, adequate,” – yeah, I’m going to be using this quote from now on.

What it's about

After two successful dates, Matt and Khani decide to spontaneously fly to Costa Rica for their third date. Things go well… until they’re stuck when the world shuts down in March 2020.

The take

Third dates usually feel more casual than that depicted in Longest Third Date, but with 2020 shifting everyone’s plans, it’s not surprising it shifted romantic relationships too. The documentary doesn’t feel like a factual and organized documentary, cobbled up together from the couple’s vlog and filmed interviews once they got back to the States, but it’s definitely a unique story, one that’s only been saved because of Matt’s influencer aspirations. It’s certainly watchable, with a spry 75-minute runtime, and with understandable conflicts, like flight cancellations and tipped over cars. The film does feel like it glosses things over, and Khani seems to be the private type of person, uncomfortable with the camera, but Longest Third Date, even with all its reality TV style, also feels somewhat like a cultural artifact. It’s not deep, but it does feel like opening a time capsule.

What stands out

Longest Third Date is a documentary, but it feels more like a vlog-reality TV mix than one. Of course, this is understandable. Most of the footage comes from Matt’s filming, and he didn’t exactly have a whole film crew with him in March 2020. The rest are filmed after the fact, with interviews with each of the duo and their respective friends. Because of this, it does definitely feel curated, the same way social media profiles would depict relationships. The film doesn’t delve into the difficult parts that they might have had, any conflicts that would make other movies emotionally resonant. That being said, of course, being a depiction of an actual, ongoing relationship, it’s understandable that they wouldn’t reveal everything and maintain their privacy. Longest Third Date thankfully recognizes this and mainly focuses on the lighthearted aspects in a fast enough pace.

Comments

Add a comment

Your name

Your comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

Fancy Dance (2024)

A thoughtful family drama that celebrates the Indigenous community, while still highlighting their missing loved ones

7.6

System Crasher (2019)

A tale of trauma and one of the most talked about movies on Netflix in 2020.

9.0

Rain (2019)

A girl finds true love in this unusual, marvelous, rain-soaked coming-of-age drama

8.1

Hail Satan? (2019)

Forget everything you think you know about the Satanic Temple

8.0

Leave the World Behind (2023)

Shyamalan meets Black Mirror in this hugely entertaining, visually inventive apocalyptic thriller with a killer ending

8.2

Wind River (2017)

Sicario's screenwriter directs this story of murder in an Indigenous reserve

9.4

Open Your Eyes (1997)

The startlingly surreal Spanish psychothriller that inspired modern cult classic Vanilla Sky

8.0

Short Term 12 (2013)

Sweet, slow-moving, and possibly life-changing, this American drama shines the light on the chaos and crises of social work in America

9.9

Jab We Met (2007)

A girl teaches a boy the joys of life and vice versa in this standout romcom road film

8.0

Booksmart (2019)

Two academic overachievers from high school set out to prove that they're a smart and fun for one last time.

9.0

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.