Speed Dating will premiere this Saturday, December 10 on YouTube, so follow Jean-Paul Ly on Instagram below ahead of its release.
Actor and martial artist Jean-Paul Ly has worked on a number of shortfilm projects to top off his own film and television career over the years, enough to accrue the experience he needed to engage his latest shortfilm, Speed Dating. The project is billed as a proof of concept aimed at one day launching Ly’s own feature-length action comedy debut, which in turn would be amply prospective for the man best remembered for winning fans over with featured roles in Cambodian action comedy, Jailbreak, UK thriller Nightshooters, and even his previous collaborative short, The Division, with co-star and producer Laurent Plancel.
Enter Emma (Eloise Lovell Anderson), coerced by roommate Katy (Mia Foo) into a reluctant speed-datenight after supposedly losing a bet, only to be resigned to a string of weirdos and perverts at every rotation. Moments later and feeling dejected, Emma settles at the bar when her luck suddenly changes for the better upon meeting one lucky suitor named Julian (Michael Kodi Farrow). The two manage to hit it off, but the momentous tête-à-tête proves to be brief when a criminal agitator (Rob Locke) bogards the establishment with a small army in his wake in search of a notorious agent known only as “The Silver Fox”, and it’s only a matter of time before they flush the Fox out.
At thirteen minutes, Speed Dating delivers a straightforward cohesive action comedy thriller with a strong and solid cast, and featuring several terrific action actors in the mix, including Plancel, actress Phoebe Robinson, and actor Michael Lagin who lends his own comedic touch. Anderson carries herself brilliantly with charm and poise as Emma, joined by very cool supporting performances by Foo in the role of Katy, who quarterbacks Emma’s trepidating night out, and by Farrow who shows great chemistry opposite Anderson as Emma’s short-lived potential suitor. It’s got a few surprises as well, and Ly’s action design adds just the right amount of icing to top it all off, with Anderson showcasing the results of her training with gravitas and gumption.
At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if Anderson was the choice for the lead in Ly’s forthcoming feature debut, and I have some people in mind who I think would do lovely to partake in this British indie action affair. As things stand now, this review comes courtesy of a look at Ly’s shorter version with a longer version to include more dialogue. Time will tell if either gets released, or both, although certainly a good feature action movie in something like Speed Dating deserves all the right tools, time, people, and effort it needs to come together, so it’s safe to say I’m pretty biased and rooting for Ly right now. All are welcome!