TIFF12 REVIEW: 2012 Short Cuts Canada Programmes

Programme 6

“Plus, it was pancake syrup”

Newfoundland’s own unfortunate miscreants in the vein of Nova Scotia’s “Trailer Park Boys”, Donnie Dumphy (Leon Parsons) and friends have made the jump from skateboard video cut scenes to YouTube sensation to the Toronto International Film Festival. Written by Edward Riche and co-character creator/director Nik Sexton, How to be Deadly is a laugh riot of drug culture, crude humor, and imbecilic minds.

With his best friend Ronnie (for some reason he was left off the credits so I don’t know who plays him), on and off again girlfriend Brenda (Gina Squires), and the rest of the gang in St. John’s, Dumphy takes us on a tour of his unique life as a lay-about moocher. He’ll steal ‘shrooms from kids, con his social worker into giving him 600 pills of Ritalin a month, and do just about anything to keep his life as exciting and ‘deadly’ as he can. So when the prospect of joining a dirt bike competition has him looking for the $200 entry fee, he and Ronnie start hatching plans.

Complete with its almost indecipherable Newfoundland accent and lingo, the film will have you laughing straight through if you’re willing to give into the gag and let Dumphy do his thing. Interspersed with interviews a la “TPB”, we get an inside glimpse of the supporting players and realize there is definitely enough material to make their adventures into a regular show. I’m not sure if the world needs another low-income screw-up and his antics, but the phenomenon is definitely gaining traction.

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“It’s not meant to be chimed so much”

Thickly-accented and utterly no-nonsense, Hector (Hrant Alianak) doesn’t like when customers come into his used appliance store let alone tween girls with no inclination or ability to buy. He has stoves, fridges, washers, and dryers—they do the job they were meant for so don’t bother asking any granola-munching questions like, “which ones are energy efficient”. Hector believes he is providing a service, you either want one or you don’t.

Aaron Phelan‘s Dear Scavengers looks to change this stubborn man’s ways by introducing a slew of kids on a summer camp sponsored scavenger hunt around the city. Testing his patience by counting stoves instead of pulling out credit cards, Hector goes so far as to almost put up a “No Girls” sign a la an 8-year old boy’s treehouse. The problem isn’t all his—although being the adult does place blame firmly his way—because the girls don’t seem too keen on finding a compromise between their disparate cultural etiquettes either. Until, that is, young Abby (Helen Colliander) shows the mental fortitude to instill change.

An endearing comedy about the chasm between age and culture, Phelan does a good job developing his characters in a short period of time so that the change from start to finish isn’t only convenient to the plot but also completely believable. Customers here and in Canada want social niceties from their storeowners—it’s fun to see the fearless precociousness of a twelve-year old be the one to explain as much.

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“Bah!”

Man’s best friend—the term means more than just a constant companion when feeling blue. A pet can also teach you responsibility and how to command action in your life. One cannot be unsure when trying to control an animal; he/she must stand up straight and prove to be the Chef de meute [Herd Leader].

A cute gem, Chloe Robichaud‘s commentary on the passivity of people pretending to be independent when in fact they are truly lonely breeds meaning from tragedy. After inheriting her spinster aunt’s pug, Clara (Ève Duranceau) finds it difficult to get used to someone(thing) being around when the quietness of isolation had kept her warm for so long. Hoping to learn how to control the dog and prove she isn’t a lost cause, a trip to the park shows the simplicity of life and the dangers of being too comfortable.

Darkly comic in its climactic moment, the film surprisingly finds itself much more interesting than initially letting on. With a dour central performance slowly thawing to the joys of letting love into her heart, we learn that we all need a bit of backbone to stand up for ourselves and be who we want to be. Besides that, though, we also learn why not to stick your head out the car window while driving.

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“How did we get on the topic of spleens?”

Ah the futility of elitism and the gluttony of the First World—these are our two main exports. We live in a world of excess that is difficult to escape; the children untouched yet by the horrors of power and greed our only chance at salvation. But like the Greek king pushing his boulder up a hill in perpetuity, the cycle may never be broken as future generations only fall prey to the hubris of the ones before and existence finds itself speeding up on its course towards oblivion.

American Sisyphus, directed by Frieda Luk and written by Noah Pritzer looks into this problem by showcasing a mother infatuated by the empty regurgitation of misread headlines on the internet, a father caught in the tractor beam of the all you can eat buffet, and their daughter desperate to escape. Aleksandra Myrna is society’s last chance at breaking the chain, telling mom she’s bored and dad to return to the table to no avail. Trying her best to move on and excel despite our body’s love of sloth, seeing the fake laughter and sweaty mass of obesity around her will make you stop and look in the mirror. If you aren’t the little girl putting a wrench in the system, you’re one of the many fueling the flame while civilization crumbles.

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“It’s not a cat, but at least it’s cuddly”

Decorating his title cards with floral motif borders, Vincent Biron‘s Les choses horribles [Horrible Things] plays off that sort of technical design decadence with the uninspired attempts of his characters trying to make amends for wrongdoing. Horrible People may be more apt a name as each of the three leads find themselves conscience-stricken too late to do better than find a second rate replacement for what they have ruined.

Carole (Suzanne Lemoine) must apologize for missing her son’s birthday, Dede (Marc-Antoine Beaudette) for neglecting to care for a friend’s cat while she was away, and Steve (Sébastien David) for stealing from an old man trying to make friendly conversation. All selfish to a fault, there is something to the looks of embarrassment mixed with disinterest that proves whatever they do now means nothing since they still haven’t learned their lesson. It’s a well-constructed, subtly comic look into the guilt of the guilty and the tragic victims of their deceit.

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Going in a direction I should have seen coming but didn’t, Patrick Sisam‘s comedic short The Pool Date depicts how our will to seek retribution stops at nothing. Loaded with sexual undertones and the culture clash of identities, this simple yet profound study on our capacity for humility refuses to take the easy way out.

Vacationing in South America, Canadian Nigel (Mike Beaver) is looking to take a quick dip in the pool after carefully placing his Maple Leaf towel on a lounger next to his drink. Goggled and ready to drift through the mass of pretty people treading water, it’s his return to the surface that brings the plot’s central conceit. Dripping wet, he spies a local male stranger on his chair sipping from his glass. Entitled despite being in a country with customs he may not know, Nigel says nothing while he practically sits down on top of the intruder.

Unfazed, Rio (Adamo Ruggiero) makes room and shares the drink as the two find animosity replaced by congenial understanding. What began as a play of strength and ownership quickly moves to flirtatious territory without more than a couple quick glances and calculated moves. But no matter how sweetly humorous their partnership’s bond is, the final realization of what has happened trumps everything. A simple misunderstanding proves to be the best icebreaker a tourist could ask for.

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“I like to feel the freedom”

Giving the prison break genre a Canadian bent with the scenic serenity of a fisherman on his canoe as two escaped convicts flee an armed guard, Jonathan Williams‘ Canoejacked is just as silly as its name. Turning the unsuspecting hostage victim into a nudist and the criminals into changed men only adds to the implausibility once the trio learns they must work together to stay alive.

Jay Canavan‘s ruthless guard and Al Sapienza‘s Vinny have the over-the-top tough guy acts down while “Falling Skies” actor Mpho Koaho‘s Cisco bridges the gap to Pat Thornton‘s pantless nature lover. Situational comedy ensues as the fugitives realize they must look past their machismo for the solidarity of survival. Thornton’s unabashed strength of character proves the most memorable as he fearlessly stands up to the criminals. In fact, his plan for freedom’s unavoidable discomfort where Vinny and Cisco are concerned may be just as intentional as it is necessary.

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Sadly the screener I was given didn’t have access to this new short from the web series’ creators Graydon Sheppard and Kyle Humphrey. Being that it’s only two minutes, however, perhaps it will make its way online soon.

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— Programme 1 – Programme 2 – Programme 3 —
— Programme 4 – Programme 5 – Programme 6 —

photography:
courtesy of the Toronto International Film Festival