Dopamine

R

Released Jan 23, 2003

1h 19m

Romance

Comedy

List

50%

Tomatometer

52 Reviews

53%

Audience Score

1,000+ Ratings

Software designer Rand (John Livingston) creates an animated computer program for children and tests it on a preschool class that happens to be taught by Sarah (Sabrina Lloyd), whom he has a crush on. He manages to begin a relationship with Sarah, but after he witnesses his parents' relationship deteriorate when his mother starts to suffer from Alzheimer's, Rand develops cynical, scientific opinions about the nature of love. Unfortunately, this upsets Sarah, who is more earnest and romantic.

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Geoff Pevere

Toronto Star

At bottom, what we've got here is a movie about a boy who meets a girl, loses her and tries to find a way to get her back. Which returns us to the original question: Can romance be reduced to scientific formula?

Rated: 2/5

Mar 26, 2004

Full Review

Liam Lacey

Globe and Mail

Mostly a drab affair, unfolding in restaurants, office cubicles and anonymous apartments, in which characters talk endlessly about relationships in ways that suggest they think they're being intelligent.

Rated: 1.5/4

Mar 25, 2004

Full Review

Jack Mathews

New York Daily News

An amiably slight independent film that probably should have gone directly to the Sundance Channel.

Rated: 2/4

Oct 29, 2003

Full Review

Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

...gut-wrenchingly awful--should be avoided at all cost. Rated R 84 mins. (D-)http://www.colesmith

Rated: D-

May 8, 2009

Full Review

Betsy Bozdech

DVDJournal.com

While Lloyd and Livingston both turn in earnest performances ... their on-screen chemistry is never strong enough to give true legitimacy to either of their positions on love.

Rated: 2/4

Oct 29, 2006

Full Review

Film Threat

Rated: 4/5

Dec 6, 2005

Full Review

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Audience Member

"Dopamine" is a very slow moving movie. I bought it at "Hollywood Video" for $1.06 and I think I paid too much. A large part of the movie revolves around a little yellow bird named Koy Koy. Koy Koy is a character in a computer program. The graphics used to create the bird are very similar to the graphics in "Avatar". OOPS. I didn't mean to say "Avatar"; I meant "Pong". After I watched the movie, I put it in my box for Goodwill donations. This movie lasts 85 minutes. There is one positive thing I can say about this movie and I will add it to this review as soon as I think of something.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A good story, asks genuine questions, and performed fairly well.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Overall, this film is a little too indie/hipster. The science in this film (the source of its title) is just poorly-researched, badly-explained techno-babble. The film stumbles over itself when explaining the "chemistry" referenced in the title, often reducing the biochemistry of love to obvious stereotypes (e.g. "lots of testosterone"). Seeing as the entire film revolves around this topic (the biochemistry of love)... well, you get the idea. As a previous reviewer has said of the film, "poor execution killed it right off the bat". ... (but as a fan of "Sliders", I enjoyed Sabrina Lloyd's performance. Coincidentally, "Sliders" also takes place in San Francisco.)

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

maybe it's interesting if you've never heard of the chemistry behind love before, but this left me a little bored. the parts with the computer programmers draggggged. it picked up when the lead actress was on the screen but got then it got to be too much *talking* about love vs. chemistry rather than *showing* it.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It is a very interesting concept that love is not an emotion but a hormonal output- a reaction to the action.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

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Audience Member

Strange, but romantic. Nice to watch.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

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Mark Decena

Director

John Livingston

Rand

Sabrina Lloyd

Sarah McCaulley

Bruno Campos

Winston

Rueben Grundy

Johnson

Kathleen Antonia

Tammy

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Synopsis

Software designer Rand (John Livingston) creates an animated computer program for children and tests it on a preschool class that happens to be taught by Sarah (Sabrina Lloyd), whom he has a crush on. He manages to begin a relationship with Sarah, but after he witnesses his parents' relationship deteriorate when his mother starts to suffer from Alzheimer's, Rand develops cynical, scientific opinions about the nature of love. Unfortunately, this upsets Sarah, who is more earnest and romantic.

Director: Mark Decena
Screenwriter: Mark Decena, Timothy Breitbach
Production Co: Kontent Films
Rating: R
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 23, 2003, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $69.5K
Runtime: 1h 19m
Sound Mix: Surround