IFC Film scores rights to Dating & New York ahead of Tribeca Film Festival debut
The cast and crew features fresh talent, including newcomer director Jonah Feingold, who makes his feature film debut.
As the fairytale storybook goes, “They met on a dating app.” Right?
Oh no, it’s “Boy swipes left, girl swipes left, then boy meets girl for an awkward night of small talk.” Yes, that sounds right.
IFC Films acquired the rights to Dating & New York—a romcom for the current messy age of dating and hookups—about two millennials, Milo and Wendy, who meet on a dating app.
The storybook romance for the modern age follows: “After the requisite ghosting following a one-night stand, the magic of New York pulls them back together, and the jaded pair draws up a friends with benefits contract to avoid the pitfalls of a relationship. With one foot in the single life, their intentions and inner dating demons are tested as they run into exes, exchange profound text messages, and contend with a seemingly perfect new relationship between their best friends. For Wendy and Milo, their fate is decided when one of them catches real feelings, and the two must figure out how to remain friends, knowing they love one another, or decide to never text each other again.”
IFC Films plans to release Dating & New York in theaters and on digital platforms in September. The film will have its world premiere on Sunday, June 13 at Tribeca Film Festival.
The cast and crew features fresh talent, including newcomer director Jonah Feingold, who makes his feature film debut in Dating & New York. The film stars Francesca Reale (Stranger Things and Yes, God, Yes), Arturo Castro (Broad City), Jaboukie Young-White, Catherine Cohen, Brian Muller (Bridge And Tunnel), and Jerry Ferrara (Entourage).
If Young-White and Cohen sound familiar, you’ve probably seen them on Twitter, where they’ve gained notoriety in comedic circles over the last few years. As a standup comedian, Young-White’s career catapulted after building a following on Twitter through viral memes. In 2020, he was briefly banned from the social media platform on MLK Day for posing as the FBI and “confessing” to the the assassination of the the civil rights icon. He made his film debut in 2017's Rough Night, and currently works as a correspondent of The Daily Show With Trevor Noah. He stars opposite Joaquin Phoenix in the upcoming A24 Mike Mills directed feature C’mon, C’mon, set for release later this year.
Catherine Cohen grew a similar following on Twitter through sharing her “comedy cabaret performances” and her charming, borderline narcissistic tweets focused on her experiences dating as a woman. In 2020, she released her poetry book titled God I Feel Modern: Poems From A Gal About Town, and currently hosts a podcast called Seek Treatment with Pat Regan. Cohen’s appeared in a comedy television episode from time to time, but this will be her feature film debut.
Not everyone on the cast made their name on Twitter. Ferrera is a long time actor best known for his role as Turtle in Entourage. Arturo Casto broke out as Jaime in Broad City, moving on to create his own Comedy Central series, Alternatino with Arturo Castro.
Fingers crossed, these newbies will bring about a new renaissance for romantic comedies for a millennial audience, we’re tired of rewatching Nora Ephron films (just kidding, we will never tire of that).