INDEPTH: TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL
Fun with movie titles
CBC News Online | September 14, 2004
It took a lot of guts for Daniel MacIvor to call his second feature Wilby Wonderful. This is a brave title because … well, you know how movie critics are. If they don't like a movie, they take pleasure in putting catty headlines on their reviews, so MacIvor runs the risk of provoking captions like "Wilby Wonderful isn't" or just plain "Wilby Awful."
The fact of the matter, though, is that Wilby Wonderful isn't awful. By the same token, it isn't uniformly wonderful, either. There are some wonderful bits in the movie – particularly the climax, when all the various subplots are resolved – but it takes a long time for them to arrive. The audience has to sit through a number of meandering scenes before finally being rewarded for its patience.
The film takes place in the fictitious East Coast town of Wilby, population 4,200. It's a slice-of-life picture, one of those films that show how the lives of all the residents of a small community are interconnected. The title comes from a misprinted sign fashioned for the town's upcoming annual festival; the local handyman, Duck (Callum Keith Rennie), inadvertently transposes the two words that were supposed to appear on the banner.
Duck has strong feelings for Dan (James Allodi), a situation that prompts Dan's wife to leave him. Dan then enlists Carol (Sandra Oh) to sell his house. Carol is married to Buddy (Paul Gross), the police officer who is having an affair with Sandra (Rebecca Jenkins). Sandra's daughter, Emily (Ellen Page), is friends with MacKenzie (Marcella Grimaux), the daughter of the mayor (Maury Chaykin). The mayor's wife is Elaine (Susannah Hoffman), the woman whose brother, Stan (MacIvor), is conspiring with the mayor to out the town's gay residents – which brings us back to Duck.
Got all that?
MacIvor keeps the mood light, and he only hints at the harsher side of small-town life. At one point, for example, Sandra confronts the town gossip and tries to get her to adopt a more forgiving attitude toward the alternative lifestyles of some of the town's citizens: "Ever hear of live and let live, Irene?" "We don't do that here, thank God," comes the reply.
Tying all the plots together is a truly wonderful score by Cowboy Junkies founding member Michael Timmins. Also in the background in many scenes can be heard banter from the local radio station. In one scene a voice gives the forecast for Wilby (which is located on an island and accessible only by ferry). The announcer then turns to less important matters, specifically the outlook for the rest of Canada: "Mainland weather? Who cares!"
For this male, Blaine Thurier's Male Fantasy is less than a fantasy. Thurier, the Vancouver-based director behind 2000's Low Self Esteem Girl has crafted a movie that features unsympathetic characters involved in situations you don't want to see them in. Even worse, the whole project stinks of improvisation.
The movie begins with a premise that seems novel enough: the neurotic Andrew (Robert Dayton) has a revelation. He is, he decides, a god. He comes to this conclusion when he realizes that the world around him is a projection from inside his mind. "I am a god. I create this reality," he repeats over and over again as the film opens.
Be that as it may, Andrew is a deity who can't get a date. No matter how hard he tries (and tries and tries), he doesn't have even the requisite smoothness to get women on the street to talk to him. He then calls on Jay (Shane Nelken) for advice, who tells him that the members of the opposite sex respond to confidence and charm. Lacking that, Jay recommends that Andrew find a match who has even less self-esteem than he does, a "sick, hobbled gazelle separated from the pack."
At this point in the story, the audience may believe that Male Fantasy is about to morph into a Tao Of Steveesque romantic comedy. No such luck. Instead, the film takes a left turn and becomes the tale of one guy's quest to star in a porn film. Perhaps the aim was satire. We can only guess, for the rest of the movie has a made-up-as-they-went feel to it.
The bottom line is that Male Fantasy is a movie about losers who aren't particularly lovable. The only character who is even remotely attractive is Nelken's Jay, who at least has a philosophy that guides his actions. As he explains to Andrew before a drug-fuelled sex party, he is all about the "unfettered pursuit of a good time." In short, he is a hedonist who lives to please his senses. Odds are that your senses won't be pleased when you watch Male Fantasy.
The short film More Sensitive is a brief glimpse at a promising talent. Created by British Columbia-based Gail Noonan, it features a lounge singer crowing about his moral superiority. "I care about the environment much more than you do," he croons. The two-minute snippet uses some wild cut-and-paste animation to create an instant mood, which makes More Sensitive both funny and fun to watch.
I clapped. Why? Because I wanted to see more of More Sensitive.
Dan Brown will be attending the Toronto International Film Festival for its entirety, from Sept. 9 to 18. Throughout the festival he will bring you reports on the latest Canadian films. Read his dispatches and follow his comments by clicking on the links.
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Dan Brown is the site's senior arts editor/reporter. Before joining us he was a lineup editor and senior writer for Newsworld International. Dan helped to launch the National Post's Arts & Life section, where he was a columnist and reporter. A former editorial writer, copy editor and journalism instructor, Dan has degrees from three universities.
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