Woman of the Hour Subtly Mentions the Biggest Problem With Rodney’s Dating Game Looks

Notice! This post contains spoilers for Woman of the Hour.

By reimagining the events surrounding the strange dating game episode in which Rodney Alcala appeared, Woman of the hour highlights the problem with his casting on the game show. Based on the true crime story by Rodney Alcala Woman of the hour marks Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut. The film received a positive response from viewers and critics and boasts an impressive Rotten Tomatoes score of 90%. One of the biggest reasons behind its critical success is that it doesn’t play out like a typical true crime drama.

Rather than focusing primarily on the horrific actions of the central serial killer, the film highlights the perspectives of the individuals who crossed his path. With this approach, Woman of the hour shows how many underlying systemic issues at the time allowed Alcala to get away with his crimes for a long time. Anna Kendrick’s true story thriller also travels through Alcala’s time in The dating gamehighlighting a major problem with her casting on the popular game show.

Rodney Alcala already had a criminal record before being cast in the dating game

He had a long history of crimes before appearing on the show

Before Rodney Alcala moved to Los Angeles in 1978 and became a contestant on The dating gamehe had previously been added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives and committed at least two murders. Nearly a decade before his appearance on the show, Alcala kidnapped and sexually assaulted an 8-year-old girl, Tali Shapiro. Although he initially fled to California to escape the arrest warrant for the crime, he was later arrested and sentenced to 3 years for child molestation. Just weeks after he was released in 1974, he was arrested again for assaulting a 13-year-old girl.

As shown in Woman of the hourRodney Alcala also murdered a 23-year-old flight attendant, Cornelia Crilley, in her Manhattan apartment. Rodney Alcala is also believed to be responsible for the death of 23-year-old Ellen Jane Hover, who disappeared in July 1977. At the time Rodney Alcala was cast in the role The dating gamehe was already a registered sex offender and had been arrested and paroled several times for a series of crimes.

How the Woman of the Hour mentions the dating game’s vetting process for contestants

Laura’s Arc criticizes the show’s negligence

Although many characters Woman of the hour are based on real people, the film features a fictional character named Laura. Laura appears The dating gameis defined as one of the audience members and realizes that Rodney Alcala had killed his friend in the past. Realizing how dangerous he is, Laura tries to file a complaint with the program authorities. However, your request is not taken very seriously. Even when she tells her boyfriend about Rodney’s identity, he doesn’t believe her and claims that the show likely went through a vetting process before selecting contestants.

Laura’s arc may be fictional, but it begs the question of how someone like Rodney Alcala ended up on such a renowned game show. Her story in Woman of the hour points out that even if one of Alcala’s victims had recognized and reported him, existing systemic issues would still have helped him get away with his past actions. When questioning The dating gameverification process, Woman of the hour highlights the dangers of complacency and the social tendency to ignore warningsespecially when they come from women.

How Rodney Alcala Was Cast on the Real-Life Dating Game

There were initial concerns surrounding Alcala’s casting

At the time Rodney Alcala was cast on the show, checking individuals’ backgrounds was not very easy. Google didn’t exist and the people behind the show’s cast didn’t have the technology necessary to investigate a contestant’s past. Despite that, The dating gameExecutive producer, Mike Metzger, and contestant coordinator, Ellen Metzger, were unsure about having Rodney Alcala on board as a contestant.

After meeting Alcala, Metzger realized “a mystique about him” it made him uncomfortable (via ABC News). The producer recalled that they even disagreed about casting him on the program. However, as depicted in Woman of the hourRodney Alcala ended up being selected and found his place as one of the show’s singles.