Ever tried finding love on the internet? Ever tried doing so and succeeded? Well, if you did, then you are one of the lucky few. The truth is, the web often provides a cunning mask for weird losers, who, on occasion, manage to find 'virtual' romance though lies, deception and untruths. Margot, the female protagonist, falls prey to one such weirdo. After months of technological courtship, she flies 3 000 miles across the United States to meet for the first time Charlie, her internet lover, the man she believes she will spend the rest of her life with. Great disappointment and disaster ensue. Charlie's 'apartment' is not quite what he made it out to be, but is instead a squalid, dingy place he shares with his nutty sister and equally strange flatmate. The 'swimming pool' is a merely a muddy pit out the back which tends to fill up with rain water.
      Surprise, surprise: Charlie is himself someone very different from the person Margot was expecting him to be. And when she comments on this fact, and points out the web of inconsistencies, Charlie tries to turn things around, by telling her that he isn't after all "the" Charlie; he's his friend, whom he's helping out, so that he doesn't get in trouble with his wife. For the audience, this story is exactly that: a story this perverse man concocts on the spot in an attempt to get himself out of the mess he has got himself into.
      What starts out as a rather witty depiction of the dark truths of internet-dating rapidly deteriorates into a tediously predictable tale without much plot. For the first few scenes, Margot bag in hand keeps threatening to leave, as any normal person would. An hour on and she is still suffering the nonsense of this man, gullibly believing his tale of 'two Charlies'. To her credit though, Charlotte Pyke gives a good portrayal of a young woman so desperate to find love that she is willing to compromise her rationality and instincts as many people are when it comes to loneliness versus companionship. And Josh Cole in a performance infused with humour and irony presents a convincing version of a sad, but nevertheless grotesque, creep. Still, there is no denying the fundamental weakness in the script: the storyline runs out almost as soon as it has started.
Florence Mackenzie