eCupid

eCupid
eCupid
	Film festival poster
Directed by	J.C. Calciano
Written by	J.C. Calciano
Produced by	J.C. Calciano; Joe Dain; Nicholas Downs; Matthew Solari;
Starring	Houston Rhines; Noah Schuffman; Morgan Fairchild;
Cinematography	Joshua W. Smith
Edited by	Phillip Blackford
Music by	Christopher Farrell
Production; company	Cinema 175
Distributed by	TLA
Release dates	May 23, 2011 (Inside Out Festival); May 5, 2012 (United States; DVD);
Running time	95 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$2 million

eCupid is a 2011 American romantic comedy film directed by J. C. Calciano^[1] and starring Houston Rhines,^[2] Noah Schuffman^[3] and Morgan Fairchild. The title is a portmanteau of the names of dating websites eHarmony and OkCupid. The film found success at a variety of notable gay & lesbian film festivals including The 29th Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, The San Francisco Lesbian & Gay Film Festival (Frameline) and Newfest.

Plot[edit]

Marshall Thomas (Houston Rhines), an advertising designer, and his partner of seven years, cafe owner Gabe Horton (Noah Schuffman), who live in Los Angeles, California, are in a rut. Gabe seems too busy for intimacy and Marshall is feeling the pressure of a frustrating dead-end job. Marshall discovers a smart phone application called eCupid and agrees to install it without reading the terms of agreement (despite multiple warnings.) The application (voiced by Morgan Fairchild) proceeds to take over Marshall's phone and computer, and by proxy his life. Gabe finds out and the two split. eCupid begins arranging various encounters and situations designed to help Marshall find the things he thinks he wants: the recapturing of his youth via fun, romance and freedom.

Cast[edit]

Houston Rhines as Marshall Thomas
Noah Schuffman as Gabriel "Gabe" Horton
Morgan Fairchild as Venus
Mike C. Manning as Myles
John Callahan as Mr. Hutchington
Galen Drever as Dawson
Matthew Scott Lewis as Keith
Brad Pennington as Richard
Gary Riotto as Carson
Chris Rubeiz as Jimmy
Andy Anderson as Chris 1
Joe Komara as Chris 2
George Gray as TV Announcer
Matthew Gittelson as Customer
Peter A. O'Riordan as Go Go dancer
Scott Pretty as Party Goer (uncredited)

Reception[edit]

Critical response[edit]

Robert Koehler of Variety gave the film a mixed review, noting that it would "find an edge in niche markets" but that it featured "uninspired writing (and) acting".^[4]

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

^ Lyons 2012, p. 74.
^ Rosewarne 2016a, p. 177.
^ Rosewarne 2016b, p. 163.
^ Koehler, Robert (July 31, 2011). "eCupid". Variety. United States: Variety Media, LLC. (Penske Media Corporation). Retrieved March 29, 2020.

Sources[edit]

Lyons, Suzanne (2012). Indie Film Producing: The Craft of Low Budget Filmmaking (1st ed.). Waltham, Massachusetts: Focal Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-0240817637.
Rosewarne, Lauren (2016a). Cyberbullies, Cyberactivists, Cyberpredators: Film, TV, and Internet Stereotypes. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger Publishing. ISBN 978-1440834400.
Rosewarne, Lauren (2016b). Intimacy on the Internet: Media Representations of Online Connections. Routledge Research in Cultural and Media Studies (1st ed.). Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge. ISBN 978-1138824171.

External links[edit]

Official website
eCupid at IMDb
2011 Los Angeles Gay & Lebian Film Festival Archived 2015-02-13 at the Wayback Machine
Newfest Archived 2015-02-13 at the Wayback Machine

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[FOOTNOTELyons201274-1] Lyons 2012, p. 74.

[FOOTNOTERosewarne2016a177-2] Rosewarne 2016a, p. 177.

[FOOTNOTERosewarne2016b163-3] Rosewarne 2016b, p. 163.

[4] Koehler, Robert (July 31, 2011). "eCupid". Variety. United States: Variety Media, LLC. (Penske Media Corporation). Retrieved March 29, 2020.

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