What are the rules of dating?
Novelist Rene Gutteridge and director Rik Swartzwelder have teamed up to create a new work that could spark some conversation about how that’s changed across generations. Their novel, Old Fashioned, is being made into a film that will be released the same weekend as Fifty Shades of Grey.
Old Fashioned centers on two characters – a level-headed man named Clay and a spontaneous woman named Amber. Proving the adage that opposites attract, the chemistry between the two can’t be ignored, and Old Fashioned explores a different way of dating – courtship – that for most people has all but gone by the wayside.
There’s an external struggle between Clay and Amber – they have a hard time connecting with each other – and, as it turns out, each has experiences from the past that is interfering with their ability to create a new relationship. While the story may be intended to be like a morality play – showcasing the benefits of courtship over typical modern dating – it comes across as preachy at times. Old Fashioned doesn’t fully show the joy that comes from a relationship based on freedom within limits.
