New Canadian drama and comedy now streaming
Two very different Canadian films opened in limited theatrical release this weekend (though not in the Bay Area – yet), but both are available for home viewing via VOD sites. Read on to see if you might want to check out either the comedy (Eat Wheaties!) or the drama (Percy vs Goliath).
Eat Wheaties!
- Tony Hale at first doesn’t seem to stretch much here from his sad-sack, schlubby Veep and Arrested Development roles, but by the end of this somewhat predictable but nevertheless sweetly quirky film, he may remind you more of Jason Sudeikis’s Ted Lasso. Hale, playing the socially awkward, unlucky-in-love Sid Straw, maintains a persistent, upbeat, Ted Lasso level of positivity despite a series of horrendous personal and professional setbacks. His downward spiral is the direct result of his obsession with the actress Elizabeth Banks, his former University of Pennsylvania classmate. With the class reunion fast approaching, Sid starts a misguided, one-sided Facebook wall correspondence with Banks that backfires in all kinds of ways he naively never anticipates.
Writer Scott Abramovitch makes his directorial debut here, basing his screenplay on Michael Kun’s 2003 novel The Locklear Letters (while Banks was swapped in for Heather Locklear, one of the film’s best jokes winks at the source material and icon). Abramovitch’s effort has been met with film festival prizes, including earning Best Comedy Feature at the most recent San Diego International Film Festival. Audience love is not surprising, as Abramovitch managed to secure a who’s-who of comedy virtuosos in supporting parts, including other Veep alum, as well as Barry and Schitt’s Creek players. Paul Walter Hauser, who’s no stranger to playing sad-sack schlubs himself (Richard Jewell; I, Tonya) also has a nice turn as a newly-minted lawyer who takes on Sid as a client and a friend.
While some scenes are almost painful in their cringeiness and others tend toward the cliche (a montage sequence of comeuppance unleashed on some characters who mistreated Sid feels a little too pat), the film always keeps us engaged and rooting for Sid, even as we’re shaking our head in disbelief at his cluelessness. The film slowly makes clear that Sid is a genuinely decent and good person, despite not always having the best social instincts. And the big reveal of the film’s title comes via a monologue Hale delivers with such heartfelt emotion that it’s applause-worthy in its own right. Moments like these, along with the very funny work of the supporting cast, makes the film an easy pick for your next movie night.
Eat Wheaties! is available now on Amazon Prime, Google Play, Vudu, AppleTV, and iTunes.
Percy vs Goliath
- The trailer for this 2020 Quebec City Film Festival premiere might lead you to believe it’s a fight-the-good-fight “issue” film in the vein of Erin Brockovich or 2019’s terrific Dark Waters. And while yes, the film is based on the true story of a Saskatchewan farmer fighting a corporate behemoth in the form of agribusiness giant Monsanto, ultimately it’s actually about… wait for it… patent infringement. While the issue of violating a seed patent may not be as emotionally charged as poisoning townspeople and lying about it, TV director Cark Johnson and writers Garfield Lindsay Miller and Hilary Pryor do their best to make us care about farmer Percy Schmeiser’s plight, and almost succeed.
The biggest plus the filmmakers have going for them is the casting of Christopher Walken in the title role as the wronged farmer. While Walken may be the furthest actor from your mind when you think of who should play a mild-mannered, stoic Canadian canola farmer, the role calls for a slow simmer of rage and resentment to boil over, and nobody can turn a long slow burn into sudden explosive rage like Walken. The film’s central conflict involves Percy’s inadvertent use of Monsanto’s Roundup-resistant seeds in his fields. That the seeds got into his field through no fault of his own is beside the point, Monsanto insists. Percy has used their patented technology without a license, and so, they maintain, he must both pay up and return his seeds. Prolonged litigation ensues.
The filmmakers do jazz up the patent dispute drama with a more pressing question about the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and their effect on farmers, consumers, and the environment. That’s an issue worth exploring for sure, but the film does itself no favors by casting (or rather, mis-casting) Christina Ricci as their point-of-view voice, in the form of chipper do-gooder Rebecca. An annoyingly perky staffer at an anti-GMO non-profit called the People for Environmental Protection, Rebecca embeds herself into both Percy’s cause and his family with little regard for the toll her constant pressure on Percy takes on his personal life. Ricci hasn’t been on the big screen much lately, and her performance here may give some indication as to why: her mannered and stilted delivery makes her seem like she was just fed the line seconds before. She’s completely one note, and you’d never guess she has years of acting chops under her belt.
The entire film feels a little like an earnest TV movie-of-the-week, and less like the prestige Michael Clayton-type of corporate takedown picture that the filmmakers were probably going for. But Walken, and a nuanced and wry performance from Zach Braff (who seems positively Oscar-worthy compared to Ricci) as Percy’s lawyer somewhat save the movie from being a total misfire.
Percy vs Goliath is available now on Amazon Prime, Google Play, Vudu, AppleTV, and FandangoNow.
