On the Line
Kevin Gibbons (Lance Bass) is singing in his prom night with his band. Everything is going alright, until the girl of his dreams arrives with her boyfriend, and Kevin fucks it up big time: he starts sweating, freezes and then passes out.Seven years later, Kevin works for an advertising agency which wants to prepare a campaign for Reebok. For that, his boss Mr Higgins (Dave Foley) tells him that he needs a lot of charisma and confidence, which is the image Reebok wants to portray. Boss assings Kevin to work in a team with Jackie (Tamala Jones), who basically thinks that Kevin is a bit useless and a pain on the neck. She doesn't like much the ideas put forward by Kevin.The next morning, Kevin goes to work in the same train as always. Taken away by the music he is listening to, he stands up and sings it aloud. All the rest of commuters look at him like he's a weird guy, except for one girl, -nameless, but which the audience will know later that her name is Rod- (Joey Fatone) who says she's liked his performance. They start talking. She studies archaelogy, and she notices his company pass saying he works for FKR agency. They keep on chatting, and they get off in the same station. While they are leaving, he asks her to tell him something which she would only tell a complete stranger she will never see again. So she says that her dad is a pilot and that she loves creating paper planes. She makes one, throws it up and it crashes onto some guy's thick afro hairstyle. His secret is that he can name all the presidents in order. She can name them as well. When they have to go separate ways, there is a weird moment of silence but she leaves to go wherever she needs to go.Kevin admits to his friends that the only thing he was able to say was "It was a pleasure committing with you.". They laugh about him. Eric (GQ) talks about Kevin's legendary lack of confidence. They are at a rock bar, discussing the matter. They all remember Kevin's disastrous night during his prom while playing with his school band.At home, Rod makes another paper plane, and she remembers her weekend in Chicago. Her friend Sam (Kristin Booth) asks her about the weekend she met with her boyfriend, but Rod is not so enthusiastic about that. She is more interested in that guy she met on the train.Boss presents the slogan for Reebok, "Step into the Future", but they expected a warmer tagline. Kevin is blamed for the disaster, and in frustration, he starts daydreaming. A song starts to sound, and he makes plenty of photocopies "Are you her? We met on the train. We talked about the presidents" with his telephone number. He distributes this all over town.A journalist called Randy "Freaky" Francis (James Bulliard) sees it and his editor thinks he's got a story. It happens that he was the guy who was dumped by the girl who went to her prom with Kevin instead of him. He is still on the story.When Kevin comes back home, the phone is ringing but none of his two flatmates picks it up. He does, and it's a girl who says she is the girl from the train. They will meet at 1:00. Of course, it's not her, because Rod is dating with her boyfriend, whom she has less and less in common. The weirdo who wants to date Kevin felt a "cosmic connection" with him by reading his poster. Rod's boyfriend is answering his phone all the time and keeps on forgetting her. She starts making a paper plane, bus his boyfriend buys her out with two tickets for the Al Green (himself) concert.Brady phones Kevin to interview him. The next day, the story gets printed, and everybody in the office giggles at Kevin behind his back - and in front of. The people at Reebok wants Kevin officially on the team which is working on their campaign, as they want that kind of passion. Margie the Receptionist (Jenny Parsons) is the one who has to deal with some of the prank callsKevin and his friends go to a baseball match where Eric is hit with a ball for the third time. The Reebok campaign goes on, but so many calls from different girls are starting to get disruptive. Mr Higgins thinks that Kevin is still lacking drive and confidence. Jackie is constantly pouting at Kevin's childish behaviour. He wants more involvement from Kevin in Reebok. When he says "yes" at this proposal, Kevin is also agreeing by phone to the night plans Eric has for him. Kevin thinks he's finally found Rod at a bar, but it was not her, only somebody who looked like her from behind. Eric is thrown out of the bar while Al Green is performing a song about Kevin's search. While Eric and Kevin leave the bar, we can see Rod entering, looking for her boyfriend and not happy at all. They didn't see each other.The next morning, in the same train, Kevin is commutting. The girl appears and tells her name to him, but he can't quite hear it because of the noise. Suddenly, he wakes up: he's just reached his station and it was only a dream. Kevin's friends start pretending to be him when answering the phone. Nathan (Jerry Stiller) goes out with some freaky girls.One of these calls was Randy's call. He is outraged that so many girls want to meet Kevin.Back in Chicago, Rod finally sees the newspaper article about Kevin. She phones him but it's one of his friends who picks it up. All his friends are dating these girls pretending to be Kevin, so one of them sets a date on Saturday evening with Rod. Obviously, when Rod arrives to the restaurant she realises that he is not Kevin. Rod is first surprised, then annoyed and leaves without having even sat up. The friend runs after her and he realises that this time, she is the real deal. He makes her believe that Kevin knows and approves of his friends dating the lonely girls who call him.Randy's girlfriend Julie (Amanda Foreman) tries to set a date with Kevin. She comes back home with a broken nose, a plastered leg and crutches. The next morning, The Chicago Post says that it was all a scam. The first thing Kevin notices is that Margie doesn't want to talk to him. Higgins also calls him to his office and takes him out of the Reebok team.Jackie has to make some photocopies for the Reebok team in a hurry, but the clerk is on his coffee break, so it's Kevin who helps her out. At the end of that day, at the station, Kevin notices Rod also waiting for a train, but for another train in the other side of the lane. He calls out for her, but she doesn't hear him. He runs to her, but she is already in the train. The doors close. He taps on the window on her compartment, but she shows him The Chicago Post's headline saying that it was all a scam.Kevin tells Eric while playing baseball that he found her but that she blew him off. Eric tells him that she had called and that he went on a date with her. Kevin gets angry and punches Eric. CUE to images of Rod and Kevin, both strolling around the city, feeling lonely and depressed.Kevin's friends want to straighten things up. Following Eric's description of Rod, they renew the efforts to look for this girl.Kevin visits his father, in an elder people's home. He gives him a baseball and advises him to find that girl. Jackie has told the Reebok people that it was Kevin's idea. Kevin puts billboards all over Chicago saying that he was sorry and further asking the "train girl" to meet him at 7 at their stop. All the media and the general public is there waiting for him and the train girl.Meanwhile, Eric presents his new song to Julie. It's getting late, and all the camera crews leave because the train girl is not going to appear. A paper plane appears. It's from Rod. Kevin looks up and it's Rod. He asks for her name and they kiss.The next day, there is a picture of Rod and Kevin on the first page with the headline BOY FINDS GIRL!EXTRA FOOTAGE: N-Sync singers / dancers / whatever they were show fake behind the scenes footage.
romantic