Five Blind Dates (2024) User Reviews

Really want to support these films but...

[ChRiS-803 · 5/10 · 9 March 2024]

Loving the shift in supporting films like this and even better coming from Australia but there needs to be a better way of telling these stories. The set up whilst a little hokey is fine since it is a rom-com and they are not known for innovation. It's the script is rife with cliches, stereotypes, illogical ideas, stupidity and cartoonish banality. Sydney does look beautiful, it's well shot but the director struggles to elevate above the silliness.

Acting ranges from solid (Yosan An, Tzi Ma,Renee Lim) to odd (Desmond Chiang) to outright awful - lead Shuang Hu is just terrible. The character is also very unlikable - why anyone would want to date her is bizarre.

Again let's support these diverse films but have competent writers and directors handling the material.

Some good parts

[Jackbv123 · 6/10 · 23 February 2024]

This movie has potential and it is one that many people will enjoy. There are definitely some fun parts. But it has parts that many will find slow and others too chaotic which is how I found it.

The story may appear to be different but is really very similar to other rom/coms in many ways. Failing business entrepreneur faces family afraid to admit the truth while the family puts intense pressure on her not only professionally but even more so romantically. The plot device of the five blind dates seems unusual but boils down to forcing some awkward date scenes while the obvious choice isn't considered which is similar to many other movies. And there is a problem even there. The obvious choice really isn't obvious. They have so little screen time together and their eventual getting together doesn't make that much sense.

The blind dates have awkward elements, but they aren't all totally lame like many movies do. There is some creativity and fun in the awkward part of each one.

There is some cultural flavor especially as to how tea is used in Chinese traditions. One reviewer was offended at the "racism" where he thought the Chinese people were denigrated. I didn't see it that way and I have been close with several first and second generation Chinese people. The quirks of the main characters were more personal than national or cultural.

Watchable, but very generic...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 14 March 2024]

Truth be told, I wasn't harboring the greatest of expectations to this 2024 romantic comedy, when I stumbled upon it by random chance. I opted to sit down and watch it, on account of it being a movie that I hadn't already seen. And on the plus side, I might be positively surprised if I was missing out on a great cinematic experience here.

However, writers Shuang Hu and Nathan Ramos-Park, apparently opted to play it safe here with the script. Play it very, very safe. I mean, they cashed in on every trope available for a romantic comedy. And that ultimately made the movie end up with a bland and generic feel to it. Sure, "Five Blind Dates" was watchable, but it was insanely predictable, and you know the very outcome of the movie from the very beginning.

Of the entire cast ensemble, then I was only familiar with actor Tzi Ma. It should be noted, however, that the acting in the movie was good enough to help carry the movie, and somewhat lift it up and out of that slump it was settling into given the generic script. I am not familiar with leading actress Shuang Hu, whom also co-wrote the script, but she carried the movie quite well.

If you enjoy the run-of-the-mill romantic comedy, then you're in for quite a treat, should you opt to sit down and watch "Five Blind Dates". If you are looking for a bit more than the generic romantic comedy, then you might want to invest your 83 minutes elsewhere.

My rating of director Shawn Seet's 2024 romantic comedy "Five Blind Dates" lands on a five out of ten stars.

Lacklustre

[teresaelizabethharris · 2/10 · 16 February 2024]

I found this disappointing. I was looking forward to a rom com based in Australia but from the get go it was all very predictable. The main character is an entitled, selfish brat she treats her (very kind) friends and sister poorly while spending the entire time feeling sorry for herself. She makes her sister's wedding all about herself and her tea shop. She somehow lives in a beautiful one bedroom apartment in Sydney (so expensive), while managing a failing teashop not relatable or believable in the slightest. The acting is terrible, none of it was believable, and it never pulled me in. The actor who plays the sister in particular, was some of the worst acting I've ever seen. I would not recommend this movie to anyone plenty of other good rom-coms to watch.

Not Good Enough

[PennyReviews · 3/10 · 19 February 2024]

Romantic Comedy ' ' Five Blind Dates ' ' is a light, funny movie, that, alas, doesn't deliver.

The movie has its moments, with the tea shop theme and the relationship between the main character and her grandmother being sweet and cute.

However, the rest of the story felt flat and underdeveloped. Especially when it came to the family drama, it was like they knew something that the audience didn't and we were trying to figure it out, while they were sharing an inside joke.

The idea of the movie, moreover, was itneresting though predictable. And, it was nice that they had it set in Australia.

Finally, the performances were decent, the best friend was the best one in the cast!

So, overall, three out of ten.

Traditional Tea

[nogodnomasters · 2/10 · 2 March 2024]

Lia Ling (Shuang Hu) leaves Townsville for Sydney to open a traditional tea shop, brewing a perfect cup of traditional tea she learned from Granma PoPo (Linda Hsia). She operates the shop with her gay friend Mason (Ilai Swindells). She is going to be the maid of honor at her sister Alice's (Tiffany Wong) wedding. She returns to Townsville and has her fortune told that she will meet her soul mate on five dates that must take place before the wedding. She goes on five dates and her choice is not surprising.

This is a chick flick on estrogen. I am not sure how it could be enjoyed by anyone above 12. It is predictable and sickening sweet. Worth missing.

Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.

Exactly as expected

[afventress · 7/10 · 24 February 2024]

Five blind dates is a perfect TV film. If you love a cheesy hallmark type of style film you'll enjoy this.

Don't expect it to be winning any oscars any time soon, but if you are like me and go into a film just wanting to watch something that you know how it'll end this is the film for you.

I don't know much about Chinese culture so not sure if any of that is completely off the mark but enjoyed the cute little bits about tea Not sure why people have slated it so much, unless they expected something with the title 'five blind dates' to be something else?

Anyway if you need something to watch on a staurday morning or just a general Sunday vibe give it a go.

Not uplifting

[kclee-65029 · 3/10 · 15 February 2024]

As a 3rd generation Chinese American, I am offended by our depicton in the movie. When people say the movie is for tea lovers, I am beyond confused. It's about racism which is still rampant in your country. Why don't you address that fact. Recently. There have been so many gorgeously wonderful Asian films, and I do understand not everyone has the budget, but I'd like to think you at least had some sense of modicum. Someone reviewed this move and rated to at 10. A 10! Think on the last great move you've ever seen. Does this compare or exceed? As an Asian American, I find this film somewhat insulting and overall underwhegmining.

Better than Hallmark

[pattyrusciano · 7/10 · 27 February 2024]

We enjoyed this movie. While it was basically predictable, it had some unexpected secondary plots that played out well enough. Parts we sweet, crazy, queer, and gentle. The tea plot was interesting to me (but it appears to offend some Chinese). I enjoyed the lead actress, think she is very talented and likable as well as the 2 lead men. The best friend truly was a best friend once they got past the silly caricature of him. All the dates had surprises to them, very funny. There were a couple of situations that got ridiculous but it all evened out and brought good results. The pace was so much better than any hallmark movie thank goodness or we would have turned it off. Great? No, but good for an entertaining few hours. I recommend it over most of the usual and poor stuff on tv today.

Soooo Slow

[LizKenny-06763 · 2/10 · 29 March 2024]

I really wanted to like this movie. I just got back from traveling around Australia and I'm a young single female that's struggling to date so I thought this would really connect for me but it fell so flat. There are so cute and funny moments but for the most part this movie draggggs on soooo slowly with so much of it being unimportant. None of the characters are likable at all; they're all petty, immature, self centered, weird, awkward, pushy, whiney, and unauthentic. No one seems to learn any lessons to make them better people.to be honest I kept wanting to give up on watching it but I decided to finish it and still don't feel like it's worth it.

Cheesy but cute

[panda_plushie12 · 9/10 · 19 February 2024]

I'm not sure why the reviews are so low! Yes the plot is predictable and it's very cheesy. But I still really loved it! It's not Oscar worthy but it's a nice movie to just turn off your brain for a bit and just relax to. I'm a sucker for Hallmark/predictable romance story lines. And this movie falls right into that category.

I'm not Chinese so I would not be able to comment on the cultural parts of the movie. However I am Asian American so it was nice to see people who look like me on screen.

I did wish they put a little more screen time with the "five dates" since that's the premise of the movie. Also the "best friend" felt like a one dimensional character. Wish the friend had more character development.

A Tea Commercial?

[thalassafischer · 2/10 · 23 March 2024]

It seems like every 10 minutes or so of this cheesy flick there's a montage, you know like the South Park episode where they're making an 1980s movie and they sing "you need a montage!" to upbeat pop music. Five Blind Dates apparently needed fifteen montages to prevent the audience from falling asleep.

This is like a Hallmark film for drunk people. Or is it supposed to be a tea commercial? "Light" is a wild understatement for how shallow and stupid this movie is. It really yearned to be Crazy Rich Asians but couldn't even muster that level of humor or cohesion of story. They also make it way too obvious who the main character will end up with at the end.

I can only recommend this movie if you have the attention span of an eight year old.

Leading lady was so unlikeable

[heidee-57445 · 2/10 · 1 May 2024]

I was excited to watch this Asian-led Rom Com as an Asian myself, and nice to see that it is set in Australia, instead of the usual spots in USA or UK.

But I was so disappointed in this movie and spent the whole time cringing at the biggest character. I'm glad I did not pay to watch this in a cinema because that would have been a waste of money. As it is, it was a waste of my time!

This movie has one of the most unlikeable leading ladies I have ever encountered (and I have watched so many Rom Coms). I agree with what someone else said in another comment here - why anyone would want to date her is bizaare. She is so insufferable.

Finding Mr. Right

[kosmasp · 5/10 · 25 April 2024]

They could have gone with that title I assume, but I'll say it for them this time: no pun intended. Because none of the dates involve anyone who is blind you see? This also is not a pun - but hopefully fun. Which is something the movie is supposed to be. And it does achieve that from time to time. The actors do try their best to get you there (laugh, chuckle and all that) ... the script has some funny ideas too.

That all said the movie is quite light and especially the lead actress is carrying it all the way. If you are into romantic comedies, I reckon this is something you might find interesting - knock yourself out (cliches included)

Sweet Rom Com Could Have Been Better...

[abthom · 5/10 · 19 April 2024]

This film had some many good plots but it didn't live up to them.

Lia moves away from her awful family to follow the only person who loved hers dying wish (her nan) to open a tea shop. But you don't see them be awful, you see them be supportive and loving and nice, Lia is the one who is nasty to them in the bridal shop.

Lia has to go on 5 dates to find her true love. Her date with Ezra was funny and light hearted, I liked the face he was secretly in love with her mum, Lia's blind date that her dad arranges isn't really a date but more an interview to be a rich man's beard and for some reason she has the completely change outfit beforehand and the date her sister arranges isn't a date either, he's a guru of sorts who helps her face her fear of water. The final date you see her go on is with her gay best friend which is just a pleasant but none of these 'dates' encourage personal growth, none of them help her in any way.

The guy she ends up with is her old flame Richard who you see sporadically throughout the film but they spend the time snipping at each other but no hidden chemistry, no hidden kisses, no energy exchanges, you aren't screaming at the TV for her to open her eyes and see him, if you are looking for Mr Darcey this film isn't for you.

Then finally there is the tea shop given to her by the nan. I really liked learning a little about the heritage of tea and how the Chinese celebrate tea but you here very little about it really apart from it being very important to her. After the family fight in the dress shop she gets an eviction notice from the shop and when a young man comes in looking for bubble tea, Lea goes mad and starts throwing things at the boy and screaming and generally being horrible and he's filming in. A few days later she re organises the shop so it looks pretty then the next morning the shop is a massive success because the video of her yelling has gone viral, as if that's a good business strategy. Throughout the movie Lea mentions her hate of bubble tea repeatedly, then in the very last scene she's selling bubble tea!! Yes fall in love give up all your ethics and personal feelings! No thanks movie.

I did kinda enjoy this film but it was the bubble tea that really got to me!!

Fun movie

[tracell-76042 · 8/10 · 15 February 2024]

I loved this movie. It definitely deserves a much higher rating. I loved all the characters and i felt that they all had great chemistry and it felt real and dysfunctional at the same time. The movie was very funny and easy to watch. This was an uplifting story and i felt happy after watching it. I loved how it tells a story about the Chinese traditional tea making and about family. Its Good to see an Australian movie with some nice scenery of Sydney and Townsville. I would have liked to have seen more scenery of Australia though. If your looking for a fun movie then this is the one. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I highly recommend watching. It.

Uplifting movie for tea lovers

[sofiakotu · 10/10 · 15 February 2024]

I wish I could vote ten times instead of just once. It's a great movie which deserves a higher rating. I am not familiar with Chinese culture beyond what I've seen in the media, so I can't comment on that aspect. But overall lightness and airy atmosphere brought me joy and made me smile.

Enjoyed the movie set in Australia, even though it only showed glimpses of Sydney and landscapes, seeing different countries always bring that particular sense of novelty and curiosity.

I love tea, for me it's not just a drink but a source of comfort and warmth too..

I highly recommend it to all tea lovers.

The ideal comedic romance

[dlat-11525 · 10/10 · 26 February 2024]

Five Blind Dates is a beautiful, intelligent and uplifting romantic comedy that will have wide appeal. The obvious layer is comedic with many original jokes ranging from the literally slapstick to biting one-liners. You'll be bursting out loud at the most unlikely moments, but it never distracts from the poignant moments, such as at the wedding ceremony with a combination of cultures and luminous cinematography.

This movie is Lia's (Shuang Hu) journey and her story is easy to get into. She is vulnerable, yet heroic. She can play along, but also take responsibility. She begins as distant with her family, but not unreasonably. She faces choices rather than being swept along by fate. As an actress, Shuang Hu can make a spectacular scene or deliver an emotional punch with equal ease.

The standard tropes of romantic comedies are not needed for this film. Lia is not really choosing between five men, but responding to stereotypes of love. There is no grand romantic gesture, no makeover reveal or profound thesis on how love is ephemeral. Just by being practical and relatable, it tells us more about how hearts come together better than other romantic films.

All that being true, Five Blind Dates is fast-paced, original and entertaining - more smiles than tears. Highly recommended for anyone at any stage of their romantic journey.

5 Blind Dates, which one will work out?

[moviesfilmsreviewsinc · 9/10 · 4 May 2024]

Five Blind Dates is a rom-com film that focuses on the familiar elements of a love story, such as sassy best friends and makeover montages. The film leans heavily on cliches, but once the characters settle in, it becomes a film where familiarity breeds fun. The Chinese-Australian Lia (Shuanh Hu) is a woman who dreams of setting up an artisanal tea house in Sydney but has been running it at a loss. Her best friend Mason (Ilai Swindells) is more interested in love than money. Lia is using seed money left by her grandmother to stay afloat, but her sister Alice (Tiffany Wang) is about to get married. Lia is the maid of honor, which involves spending time with her former best friend Richard (Yoson An), her former best friend turned boyfriend turned ex. The film is a mix of humor and heartwarming storytelling. Five Blind Dates is a rom-com film that explores the intertwined love life and career of a Chinese-Australian woman named Lia. The film is based on the classic love story of a woman who dreams of setting up an artisanal tea house in Sydney but has been running it at a loss. Lia is the maid of honor, spending time with her former best friend Richard, who has turned into her ex-boyfriend. The film is a mix of humor and heartwarming storytelling, with the main character Lia being a Chinese-Australian woman who dreams of setting up an artisanal tea house in Sydney. The film is based on cliches, but once the characters settle in, it becomes a film where familiarity breeds fun. Lia's best friend Mason is more interested in love than money, and she is using seed money left by her grandmother to stay afloat. Her sister Alice is about to get married, and Lia is the maid of honor, spending time with her former best friend Richard.

The film is a mix of humor and heartwarming storytelling, with the main character Lia being the maid of honor and her best friend Mason being more interested in love than money. The film is a mix of humor and heartwarming storytelling, making it a fun and entertaining watch.