''Dare'' is a 2009 American

romantic drama film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

directed by

Adam Salky Adam Salky (born 1978) is an American television and film director. He is also a discipline head in film directing at the American Film Institute. His debut film as a director was the romantic drama ''Dare (film), Dare'' (2009). Early life and ed ...

and written by David Brind. The film is based on Salky's 2005 short film which was met with acclaim at film festivals. The feature-length version, which premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

, stars

Emmy Rossum Emmanuelle Grey Rossum (born September 12, 1986) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. The accolades she has received include a Saturn Award and Critics' Choice Movie Award, alongside nominations for a Golden Globe Award, an Independ ...

in a story about how "three very different teenagers discover that, even in the safe world of a suburban prep school, no one is who she or he appears to be." The film has been described as a cross between ''

Pretty in Pink ''Pretty in Pink'' is a 1986 American teen romantic comedy-drama film about love and social cliques in American high schools in the 1980s. The film stars Molly Ringwald, alongside Harry Dean Stanton, Jon Cryer, Annie Potts, James Spader, a ...

'' and ''

Cruel Intentions ''Cruel Intentions'' is a 1999 American teen romantic drama film written and directed by Roger Kumble, and starring Ryan Phillippe, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Reese Witherspoon, and Selma Blair. The film, set in New York City among rich high s ...

''.

Cast

Production

In 2003, David Brind and Adam Salky were classmates in the Graduate Film Program at Columbia University in New York. Their first-year assignment was to pair up to create an 8–12 minute short film—the caveat being that one could not direct one's own script. Adam took his own personal dare when he went out of his comfort zone to take on David's story of two very different high school boys who come unexpectedly together one night in a confluence of champagne, a swimming pool and adolescent bravado. The short film starred Michael Cassidy as Johnny and Adam Fleming as Ben and took a successful run in many film festivals in 2005.

Reception

, the film holds a 59% approval rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, based on 22 reviews with an average rating of 5.26/10. ''Dare'' was listed as one of the "best films of 2009" in ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'' by movie critic Rafer Guzman. He wrote, "This little-seen movie stars Ashley Springer, Emmy Rossum and Zach Gilford - all delivering top-notch performances - as three high-schoolers whose wobbly psyches collide. One of the smartest and most honest teen movies in years." A.O. Scott of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote, "''Dare'', written by David Brind, directed by

and based on their short film of the same title, stakes out familiar territory and, true to its name, strikes out in some risky new directions. This high school semi-romance, which blends comic and tearful moods, is at once more provocative and more contemplative than most of its big-screen counterparts." James Greenberg of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' wrote, "''Dare'', a smart and well-observed entry in the genre, is a cut above the usual hijinks. What elevates ''Dare'' above the usual high school fare is the quality of the writing by David Brind, crisp direction by

and a uniformly attractive and compelling cast led by the delightful Emmy Rossum" Gerrick Kennedy of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' wrote, "With its dark, hyper-sexualization of teens, it offers an engrossing if not soap opera-esque tale of self-discovery." Stina Chyn of

Film Threat ''Film Threat'' is an American online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. ...

gave ''Dare'' four stars, writing, "What might otherwise be an exercise in ordinary adolescent stories turns powerfully intimate through the wonderful performances that Salky coaxes out from the cast." Owen Gleiberman of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' wrote, "''Dare'', a sweetly sexed-up high school triangle movie, is like a John Hughes comedy trying to pass itself off as transgressive" and gave it a C+ rating. Emmy Rossum won the Young Hollywood Award at the

Savannah Film Festival Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France. It was founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not yet offered in the southeast of the United S ...

, because of her acting performance in ''Dare''.

Sequel

In 2017, David Brind and Adam Salky started a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

campaign for a sequel to the original short film, with Cassidy and Fleming reprising their roles. Launching the campaign in August, asking for $30,000, by September the film had been backed by over 200 backers and resulted in a total funding of approximately $32,000. Filming began on December 22, 2017 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, with the film wrapping on December 26, 2017.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dare 2000s American films 2000s English-language films 2000s teen drama films 2000s teen romance films 2009 directorial debut films 2009 films 2009 independent films 2009 LGBTQ-related films 2009 romantic drama films American independent films American LGBTQ-related films American romantic drama films American teen drama films American teen romance films Features based on short films Films directed by Adam Salky Films set in Philadelphia Gay-related films Films about male bisexuality English-language independent films English-language romantic drama films