As he takes the train home from work, Kevin meets Abbey, with whom he finds he has much in common, such as their mutual interest in the Chicago Cubs and Al Green.

When Brady's article is published, Kevin gets hundreds of calls, which leads to his dateless roommates — aspiring musician Rod, slacker Eric, and art aficionado Randy — suggesting they date all the callers to help.

After Kevin's best friend at the agency, Nathan, suffers a heart attack, Kevin visits him at a rehab facility, where Nathan tells him the story of both meeting his wife at a Chicago Cubs game, and catching a home run from Cubs legend Ernie Banks the same day, and how the two events are tied together.

In addition, Randy meets a woman who enjoys art as he does, Julie dumps Brady for Rod, who is offered a recording contract by a record label after rock star Mick Silver listens to a demo tape of his that Kevin sent, and Brady is given an advice column in the Living section of the Chicago Times.

[4] Bass initially intended to only produce and not star, but decided to act also when the group’s management gave the band a month and a half of downtime before the start of recording for their album Celebrity.

[10] The film's soundtrack featured songs by teen pop artists Mandy Moore and BBMak, along with previously unreleased tracks by NSYNC and Britney Spears.

[1] Bass attributed the film’s poor box office performance to its release date, which happened a month after the World Trade Center attacks of September 11, 2001.

"[15] Roger Ebert said the film was "...an agonizingly creaky movie that laboriously plods through a plot so contrived that the only thing real about it is its length.

"[16] Of the few positive reviews, Stephen Holden of The New York Times called the film "a pleasant wisp of a romantic comedy" and wrote, "If On the Line, directed by Eric Bross from a screenplay by Eric Aronson and Paul Stanton, is a mere trifle, at least it isn't as condescending or transparently synthetic as most niche-marketed daydreams for the high-school and junior-high set.

Panther of The Spool commented how the film, in retrospect, becomes "fascinating" when examined through a queer lens, in light of Bass later coming out as gay.

With incredibly kitsch practical visuals and a narrative logic that defies linearity, it breaks with the common structure and tone of other romcoms of its time.

At times, it feels like scenes are missing, perhaps censored by a hand desperately trying to keep Kevin from jumping the tracks into queerness...That’s what makes On the Line interesting to watch now, 20 years later.