Reviews & Quotes | The Dating Game

Los Angeles Times | Vanessa Franko, Amy Nicholson, Mark Olsen and Joshua Rothkopf
"An empathetic universe of insecurity, flirtation, and, hopefully, LOVE."

BBC | Helen Bushby
"a journey of SELF-DISCOVERY for all"

Variety | Naman Ramachandran
"While intimately focused on China’s unique social dynamics, the documentary resonates globally through its examination of modern romance."

Indiewire | David Ehrlich
"...drills into the relationship between the uniquely modern emphasis on performative identity and the indivisibly honest need for human connection."

Cineuropa | Davide Abbatescianni
"Technically polished, with excellent pacing and crisp cinematography by Wei Gao, the film successfully balances observational comedy with deeper sociological reflection. The result is an engaging and accessible documentary that resonates beyond its immediate cultural context, offering a universally relatable exploration of modern dating anxieties. As dating increasingly becomes a performative act, with AI companions and self-improvement regimens replacing organic interactions, The Dating Game serves as both a mirror and a cautionary tale."

MovieMaker Magazine | Tim Molloy
"The Dating Game is fascinating on many levels. There’s inherent, universal awkwardness and tension in dating, and in this case the stakes are incredibly high: The film uses the dating crisis to explain how China’s one-child policy led to its falling birthrate."

Screen Daily | Allan Hunter
"An insightful, appealing film touches movingly on the human need for connection."

The Utah Review | Les Roka
"Entertaining, stylish and snappy in the best possible blend, The Dating Game gives viewers an engrossing, well-informed and wisely balanced look into contemporary China society."

Vulture | Bilge Ebiri
"In an openly phony world, who cares about being genuine? The Dating Game captures that idea in deceptively chilling fashion."

From students at Rowan University:

1) The Dating Game is more than just a film about dating. It is about identity, honesty, and the need for human connection. Violet Du Feng does a great job of showing the emotional side of these men and helping the audience understand their challenges without judging them. The film is powerful because it feels real and personal. It shows that the desire for love and acceptance is something everyone can relate to, no matter where they live.
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2) The Dating Game is an incredible documentary that tells us the story of what many men go through in the dating world. The research done gives the reasons why dating is difficult, the communication done made it safe for the men to tell their story and helped give a good story to follow, and the aesthetics done make you remember the story and the documentary as a whole. The story was relatable and needed so that we as people may grow to understand each other more.
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3) The Dating Game is a superb character-driven documentary with moments of humor and heartbreak, told in a fresh mix of styles.
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4) This was a very strong and thought provoking film, especially as a cultural piece. I am much more educated on, and empathetic towards the social situation in China as a result of watching it…The environment and culture being different from other parts of the world, particularly the west, is on full display. But it doesn't take long for those surface level things to fade into the background, and the humanity of the characters to be brought into focus.
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5) For me, the film reinforced the power of documentary storytelling to reveal not just what people do, but why they do it.

The Bay Area School of San Francisco | Alina Wang
"THE DATING GAME reshaped how I think about the path ahead. It reminded me that ambition shouldn't come at the cost of authenticity."