Name: Wilby Wonderful (2004)
IMDb: link to Wilby Wonderful
Genres: Comedy. Country of origin: Canada.
Cast: James Allodi as Dan Jarvis, Sandra Oh as the realtor Carol French, Paul Gross as Buddy French, Ellen Page as Emily Anderson, Rebecca Jenkins as Sandra Anderson, Maury Chaykin as Mayor Brent Fisher, Callum Keith Rennie as dyslexic handyman Duck MacDonald, Daniel MacIvor as Stan Lastman.
Written and directed by: Daniel MacIvor.
The Three Acts:
The initial tableaux:
The film is set on the small island/town of Wilby in Nova Scotia, Canada. Realtor Carol French is working hard at breaking up her relationship with Buddy, and she seems to drive everyone near her to the edge. She certainly drove my acceptance of the film's premises down to zero. Many of the people in Wilby are outwardly in much calmer places than Carol.
Delineation of conflicts:
Dan Jarvis makes a few attempts at suicide. The reasons for this are brought to the surface through various investigations.
Buddy French is looking for female companionship, while single mother Sandra Anderson is looking for male companionship. They do find each other, with consequences.
On the one hand, the mayor is involved in some suspicious activity; on the other hand, the Sheriff would like to get a few crimes fully explained. Carol is trying to make money; if that rubs people the wrong way, that's just cost of doing business.
Resolution:
This is a feel bad comedy, so bear that in mind.
One sentence summary: I would not recommend this to anyone.
Statistics:
Cinematography: 5/10 Looks like so-so straight-to-video quality. Choppy at times.
Sound: 3/10 The background recorded music is irritating at best. The speech is often about a quarter second out of synch with the visuals.
Acting: 1/10 Ellen Page is a deal breaker, and she's as bad as ever. This is the worst performance I've ever seen from Sandra Oh. Sandra Oh's skill at portraying OCD comes through, as does her mastery of irritating everyone around her. The +1 of 10 is for Callum Keith Rennie.
Screenplay: 2/10 The screenplay has lots of threads, in the style of Robert Altman. In Altman's films, I tend to have interest in every single thread, and I rejoice as each of his films come to conclusion. In this movie, every thread seemed pointless; the end of the film was a relief. Development of motivation apparently was not on the menu.
Cinematography: 5/10 Looks like so-so straight-to-video quality. Choppy at times.
Sound: 3/10 The background recorded music is irritating at best. The speech is often about a quarter second out of synch with the visuals.
Acting: 1/10 Ellen Page is a deal breaker, and she's as bad as ever. This is the worst performance I've ever seen from Sandra Oh. Sandra Oh's skill at portraying OCD comes through, as does her mastery of irritating everyone around her. The +1 of 10 is for Callum Keith Rennie.
Screenplay: 2/10 The screenplay has lots of threads, in the style of Robert Altman. In Altman's films, I tend to have interest in every single thread, and I rejoice as each of his films come to conclusion. In this movie, every thread seemed pointless; the end of the film was a relief. Development of motivation apparently was not on the menu.
The film is slow, awkward, and hampered by the wretched music. The payoff for the slow development is next to nothing. All the characters were irrelevant, start to finish. The big secret is neither shocking nor interesting. Many things look quite dated.
How quickly things change! In this 2004 film, Sandra Oh nearly runs down Ellen Page because she's driving while on her cell phone. These days there would be some sort of penalty for distracted driving. The reason behind Jarvis' suicidal thoughts might have been compelling in 1990, but seem less compelling in 2013. The strength of the anti-gay bigotry was a bit jarring compared to the rest of the environment of the film.
Final Rating: 2/10, with two black holes for acting and screenplay.
How quickly things change! In this 2004 film, Sandra Oh nearly runs down Ellen Page because she's driving while on her cell phone. These days there would be some sort of penalty for distracted driving. The reason behind Jarvis' suicidal thoughts might have been compelling in 1990, but seem less compelling in 2013. The strength of the anti-gay bigotry was a bit jarring compared to the rest of the environment of the film.
Final Rating: 2/10, with two black holes for acting and screenplay.
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