When Strangers Click: Five Stories from the Internet

In this HBO-aired documentary, director Robert Kenner (Food, Inc.) explores modern dating habits, with an emphasis on the Internet. Interspersed among the five stories featured here are interesting observational tidbits, such as “Women are afraid of meeting a serial killer. Men are afraid of meeting someone fat.” New Jersey divorcée Kim had no luck with blind dates, so she went online and found a man from Prague, whom she wound up marrying (nine years later, they're still together). Dave, a diminutive New Yorker, lacked the confidence to approach women in person, but the virtual world opened up occasions to flirt, have sexual encounters, and form a lasting relationship. Fellow New Yorkers Beth and Andy also found love through the web. The only foreign interviewee, Jonas, reinvented himself through Second Life, since his remote location in Sweden made socializing difficult. Within the game, his avatar performed music for other players, including a woman with whom he enjoyed a virtual romance with real-world repercussions (in an odd touch, Kenner interviews him as a Second Life avatar). The fifth subject, Ryan, grew up in a conservative Montana home and had nowhere to turn as a gay teen, but when his dad brought home a computer, he discovered chat rooms. His story takes the most surprising twist after he moves to Spokane to attend college, where he forms an online bond with the least likely individual, leading to a scandal that broke nationwide. DVD extras include an interview, deleted scenes, and a Q&A session. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)