What starts out as yet another reality TV show which follows three 20 year-old-something couples who have just broken up and are about to enter the dating scene again, turns into something a little more complex.  At first some of them seem a tad uncomfortable having their own camera crew tag behind them 24/7 (but no nudity/bathroom/sex scenes as the contracts state) but soon they get used to them and start playing up to the cameras.

Jake, the most interesting of the men, was ‘dumped’ by Rachel when he was caught cheating on her.  He felt trapped in their relationship thinking all his peers were single and having fun.  Now that he is back on the market again, after a few rebuffs from girls he approaches, he is panicking thinking that everyone else is already paired off.  Kate the ‘lead’ girl is still sharing an apartment with her ex and is trying to hook up with a somewhat reluctant Derek, and is almost as frustrated as Jake.  The two accidentally bump into each other with their camera crews in tow, and as there is an obvious spark, decide to go on a date with each other.

Chris on the other hand, another of the subjects of the film, is still having the occasional bedroom romps with his ex, and not going on any new dates at all, until he meets the stunning Natalie who hits him up at the Pool where he works.  She’s clearly out of his league, but its not until their third date that he discovers she has been been paid by the Producers to go out with him just to add some color to his rather boring life.

That’s when the penny drops for us all.  This is not actually a reality show at all but a fictional parody about one.  It’s a cute premise and works as well as any rom-com could do on a micro-budget like this one had.  The deceit played on them (even one of Rachel’s dates was a set-up) was funny to watch, but I feel that the reality of their reactions would have been much angrier in real life after being duped like this.

An attractive and young cast add to make this an easy and enjoyable ‘date night’ movie  which does at least have a happy ever after ending for some of them.  ‘Unreal’ is I guess, about as real as any situation like this can be.

P.S. I have just come across this DVD although is was made in 2004, and it  looked like it could have been filmed this year…… except for the fact that Kate was a Supervisor at Tower Records in Soho, NY ….. one of my favorite haunts that is sadly long gone.

★★★★★★★

Available at Amazon