A Surprising Comeback for “Dinner in America”
On a recent weeknight at the IFC Center in Manhattan’s West Village, staff members deftly managed a bustling crowd of 400 eager attendees, guiding them in and out of the theater doors. The excitement was palpable as they gathered for a sold-out screening of Dinner in America, an angsty romantic comedy that first made waves at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020. Despite struggling to secure distribution, the film found new life when it was self-released in 2022, but it has only recently seen a significant resurgence in popularity thanks to the viral nature of social media, particularly TikTok.
The film, which follows the unlikely romantic and musical connection between two misfits, Simon (played by Kyle Gallner) and Patty (portrayed by Emily Skeggs), has transformed from an under-the-radar title to a cult sensation in a matter of weeks. This unexpected revival has inspired the filmmakers to rally their fans for a chance at a theatrical run that eluded them initially. “You don’t get second chances in this business,” noted the film’s writer-director, Adam Carter Rehmeier, during a lively post-screening Q&A session.
The resurgence began around September when a sudden spike in TikTok’s algorithm propelled the film and its catchy original song, “Watermelon,” into the limelight. Almost overnight, Dinner in America became a trending topic across various platforms, including Hulu, Letterboxd, and Google. One of the first theaters to respond to the demand was The Frida Cinema in Santa Ana, California, which announced a screening that sold out in under 24 hours. According to the nonprofit cinema, requests for Dinner in America surpassed those for any other film they had ever screened.
The plot intricately weaves the story of Simon, a rebellious punk on the run, and Patty, a socially awkward 20-year-old confined by her overprotective parents and a regimen of five different medications. In search of solace from the bullies and monotony of suburban life, Patty finds an unconventional escape by mailing Polaroid nudes and heartfelt love poems to her favorite hardcore band’s enigmatic lead singer—who turns out to be Simon himself.
Upon its initial release in 2022, Dinner in America received a mixed review from The New York Times. Critic Concepción de León remarked that while the film “delivers on surprise and explosiveness,” much of its edgy language, including elements of racism and homophobia, felt gratuitous in what could have been an otherwise charming offbeat love story.
However, the film has garnered support from content creators who have passionately championed it. Screenwriter Nic Curcio described the film to his TikTok followers as the “love child of Napoleon Dynamite and Todd Solondz,” after noticing its sudden popularity surge beyond the usual niche audience of MovieTok enthusiasts. Curcio observed that the millions of viewers engaging with the film are likely solitary individuals, finding a shared experience through the screening elements that bring this entire phenomenon full circle.
Thanks to its newfound traction on social media, Dinner in America is poised to achieve an underground status much sooner than films of similar ilk, marking a significant chapter in its journey from obscurity to cult classic.
