28/50
Her name is actually spelled Sheryl, which was correct on the cast list
Tale
Sheryl Bradshaw, a single woman looking for a suitor on a hit 1970s TV show, chooses charming bachelor Rodney Alcala, unaware that behind the man’s kindly facade he hides a deadly secret. Some of Sheryl’s bad experiences as an aspiring actor mirror those of Anna Kendrick. The comment about Sheryl’s breasts is “taken verbatim from something that happened to me when I was 19.” Near the end of the film, her name is spelled Cheryl in one of the narratives revealing what happened after the film.
Ed: That signals the end of our game
Well, Cheryl, it’s time to make a decision!. Referenced on CTV News in Six Toronto: September 8, 2023 episode (2023). A very fascinating and incredibly creepy film, an excellent directorial debut for Anna Kendrick.
Her handling of the misogynistic clowns in ‘The Dating Game’ is brilliant
This film serves as a sobering reminder that as women, we go through life as prey. Prey in the physical sense, to psychopaths like ‘Bachelor Number Three’ (real-life serial killer Rodney Alcala), as well as being prey to a sick patriarchal system in which we are constantly treated as inferior. Those who rejected this film are boys, not men, whose fragile egos can’t stand being reminded that they’re part of the problem, and I really can’t stand watching a woman refuse to be treated as inferior, as Kendrick’s character does.
Listen to your instincts, ladies, always, they have literally been designed to keep you alive
Later in the film, the restaurant scene, and her subsequently telling Alcala “I’m not going anywhere with you” is a powerful example of how to see the danger you’re facing and how to save your own life. In a patriarchy that perpetuates the treatment of women as second-class citizens, unworthy of dignity, respect, and protection, we have to be our own best protectors and advocates. Excellent film from Kendrick, I look forward to seeing more of her work as a director.
