Touch & Go

This movie is really the definition of a hidden gem. Never released on DVD it was only aired on TV.

The movie really touches my heart. I love coming of age stories, and this is a great one about a carefree 30 something named who has skated by in life with a dead end job as a tour bus guide. This is about his struggle with becoming a man and finding a purpose. The movie is great at showing his evolution to maturity. Plus, it's funny, plenty of laugh out loud moments.

There's also a great romantic element to the movie as we see Darcy struggle with his love for a girl, who happens to be his friend's girlfriend. The characters have great chemistry and the romance is very down to earth and real which I love.

This movie also features one of Ellen Page's earlier roles as Darcy's young skater buddy who tries to push Darcy forward. While she isn't on screen much she completely steals the screen when she's on. Also, the production takes place in Halifax, Canada (which happens to be Ellen's hometown) and as a Canadian I'm proud to say it does a stunning job at showing off the town. In fact, part of the movies greatness is the lovely scenic views of the beautiful harbour. Do yourself a favour and find a copy of this. Hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

I wanted to like this movie, but everything about it had the faint scent of "seen it before". Basically it's about a trio of friends approaching 30, all making big decisions about their lives and which direction to take. Commitment-phobia and career questions abound, and at 98 minutes, this film is way too long, and the characters all speak in that annoying, stream-of-consciousness manner that seems so effective on paper, but it is a chore to sit through on film. The lead character of Darcy is the worst, with every line reading sprinkled with "um" and so much stammering, you just want him to get on with it. Lynn, the female protagonist, is whiny and uninteresting, and I just didn't buy her relationship with Peter, the self-absorbed actor (just one stereotype of many this film employs).

The worst thing about this film is the director seems to be making moral judgments about his characters, the worst being towards Darcy. He lacks both ambition and direction, and cannot commit to a relationship (to which he receives endless criticism throughout the film), and this is yet another film that says you can't be happy unless you find true love with a heterosexual partner. Why not be original and have a movie that allows the character to be non-monogamous, but still content?

Ellen Page is featured in an early role as Darcy's confidant, yet the film never explains why an almost-30-year-old would be hanging out with a teenager. It comes off as creepy rather than humorous (which the film wants). Page's character sounds more like a 40-year-old psychiatrist than a teenager, and she's just a listening board for the shallow musings of Darcy.

I watched this picture on late night TV at a time when sleep wouldn't come. It fit the bill nicely. Darcy McManus is a carefree 28 year old tour guide in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He wants to stay a kid as long as he can. His friends are moving on to steady careers and marriages but he truly believes that they are wasting the best years of their lives.

It would be easy to pick this small production to pieces but what would be the point. The acting and script writing are good enough to keep the plot moving and there are many good scenes of Halifax to please people who have been there. The swearing seems overdone but it is never mean-spirited. I give it 6 out of 10.