"Dinner at Fred's" is not necessarily a bad film. Someone must have been nervous about it in some respect, though, because the first time I saw it was at a film festival in September 1997. I heard more of it in the spring of 1999, when plans to release it were falling into place. Strange. Anyways, it was made before Gil Bellows of apparent "Ally McBeal" fame was famous, and it includes a charming performance from former indie-queen Parker Posey and flat-out weirdness from most of the rest of the cast. The thing is, it comes across as if this film is almost trying to be too oddball, and it seriously chokes the "unlikely" romantic sub-plot developing between the characters of Bellows and Posey. Most of the plot reminded me of similarly themed fish-out-of-water romances including snow, such as "Trapped in Paradise" and the like. The writing is not incredibly inspired either, but the actors do well with what they have in this predictable but mildly cute romantic comedy. See it if you're bored, and don't expect to remember much of it a day later.
Review of Dinner at Fred's
