Cas et Dylan

"A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us." John Steinbeck The concept of a road movie featuring a mis-matched duo who don't get along, directed by Brandon from Beverly Hills 90210, sounds like a horrendous straight-to-TV movie. The reality is that this might just be this year's Little Miss Sunshine. It is a surprisingly sweet movie, tinged with darkness and light in equal measure. The plot centres around Dr Cas Pepper (Dr Pepper!!!), who at the start of the film is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and decides, rather than spend his few remaining days in a hospital bed hooked up to machines, he is going to go out on his own terms. At the same time Dylan, played by Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany, literally barges her way into the Doctor's life and the unlikely duo begin their journey "out west" where, along the way, Dylan plans to help Cas with his suicide note.

The storyline is nothing new, however, what sets this apart is the two magnificent leads. Richard Dreyfuss delivers his best performance in decades, sidestepping what could have been a clichéd grumpy old man performance into a fully developed character that demands both sympathy and respect. Tatiana Maslany is practically incandescent, bringing Dylan to life with charisma and sadness that contradicts her front of being a fee spirit. Her obvious lies and exaggerations do not convey an irritating Zooey Deschanel level of kooky, but instead make the viewer pity the girl who is obviously inventing a life better than the one she currently occupies.

Jason Priestley seems a bizarre choice for someone who is known primarily as a teen heart throb and has only previously directed television episodes. However, he displays a wonderful eye for both characters and visuals. The scenery, as the duo take their cross country trip through the various landscapes of Canada, is as beautiful as anything a Planet Earth documentary could show. For a film that is primarily just two people in a car talking, he avoids any gimmicky shots and shows a confidence in his two leads to hold the audience's attention. Priestley has shown hidden depth as an actor before in both Tombstone and the criminally underrated Love and Death on Long Island, which was sadly eclipsed by the similar Gods and Monsters. He is just as surprising as a director and one gets the feeling that his accomplishments behind the camera will soon outstrip his achievements in front of it.

The film is laced with wonderful moments of humour and heartbreaking moments of tenderness that never leaves the viewer feeling emotionally manipulated. It is rare that comedy-dramas deliver on both fronts but this one does wonderfully. The unlikely trio of Dreyfuss, Maslany and Priestley has delivered a beautiful film that will hopefully find a deserved audience and, if nothing else, should see a rise in the sale of orange VW Beatles. You may leave the cinema with a tear in your eye but you will have a smile on your face. - See more at:www.followingthenerd.com

Cas Pepper (Richard Dreyfuss) is a 30 year veteran doctor in a Winnipeg hospital who is suffering some sort of life changing experience. His dog dies. Dylan Morgan (Tatiana Maslany) is a talkative compulsively-lying writer who spends her time in the hospital getting inspiration. Cas reluctantly drives her home. She leaves her notebook in his car, and even more reluctantly, he goes back to return her book. Her boyfriend Bobby comes chasing her out with a gun. Cas hits Bobby with the car and they both go on the run. He's going west. Dylan finds that Cas is trying to write some sort of end-of-life note. Both are holding onto their secrets. Oh and Bobby's not really hurt.

Tatiana is playing the MPDG role except without the romance. She's great at this manic character. She has some hilarious lines. Richard Dreyfuss is playing the straight man reminiscent of 'What About Bob?'. They're both great at their roles. It's a fun road movie mostly for the two actors involved. Jason Priestley is a competent director. He's not really showing anything special but it looks very professional despite it being a low budget indie. I would like a few more dramatic scenes to build to the final act and dig into Cas' past a little more. Both actors are able to transition well nevertheless.

I haven't written anything on IMDb for Ages, but Tatiana Maslany's appalling snub at this year's Golden Globes has prompted me to vent my anger in some way...So....

If you get off watching TV Movies about 'Life Stories' you'll pretty much know what to expect from this film.

"A dying Doctor, who plans to check out on his own terms, takes a reluctant detour when he inadvertently winds up on the lam with an 'anything-but-normal' 22-year-old girl."

Yep..that's pretty well it, but it does star Tatiana and Richard Dreyfuss.

Like meself, I'm sure most of you watched this because of 'Orphan Black' and wanted to see Tatiana in something where she is only playing one part. And you won't be disappointed. She starts by playing a part that, to be honest, is probably too young for her. However since her role is about someone who has to grow up and face reality, this more than compensates. In the same way, Richard Dreyfuss's character thinks that he can only face the end by turning his back on the rest of the world, yet realises that there is still time for new friendships.

You can almost see him warming to the part. There is some genuine chemistry (in a Father/Daughter way) between himself and his co-star as the movie progresses. Probably the best scene in the film is when her dreams are crushed and she says she is just "ordinary", to which Richard's character lets loose with that famous 'Dreyfuss' laugh.

So, the obvious question, can Tatiana hack it as ('just') a leading actress? Damn straight. Will she get parts in films which she richly deserves? Well..probably not.

I did a "quick check" on Cas & Dylan on IMDb when I saw it on the TV listings, and was reluctant to watch it for several reasons: Firstly, I saw that it had only been rated by a whopping 635 people, had a rating of 6.6, and lastly…starred Richard Dreyfuss. The truth is, Richard Dreyfuss' films of years ago are seriously among some of my most cherished of all time, including Always and Once Around. But I hadn't seen him do anything in years, and when I did, in Leaves of Grass (small role)…his acting seemed unnatural. I was left thinking that he had lost his acting skill.

Anyway, thought I'd give it a shot anyway. And it only took five minutes into the film before I was taken in, and smiling at both his smooth acting as well as Tatiana Maslany's. After five minutes more, I was further charmed by Mr. Dreyfuss' timing and humor, and pleasantly pleased that considering his age, he was very well cast for the film.

I've read reviews of others who are familiar with Tatiana Maslany, but I've never seen her before this role. So I was struck by this surprisingly talented young actress's personality and presence. She was a big part of what had me so much enjoy this movie. I'm very attracted to films like this, that focus on the characters, the heart of the film itself and the subtleties within it, as the "goal" or the intent of the film.

All in all, this was a quite enjoyable little film, with beautiful scenery, charm, and enough to have me shed a couple tears (the good kind). And any movie that does that has accomplished something special – touching one's heart is a good thing. So bravo to Mr. Dreyfuss for some pretty darn good acting in front of the camera (at ~70 years old!), and bravo to Tatiana Maslany for a perfectly natural and wonderful personality shining through in her acting as well.

Tatiana Maslany and Richard Dreyfuss are basically the only two actors of importance in this movie. One plays the young joyful girl with no worries and a solution for everything and the other plays the old grumpy man that wants to be left alone. Together they go on a big road trip so that's basically what you will get for the entire movie. And of course like in all movies with this theme opposites poles attrack each other so you get an entertaining story, a bit sad at times but also with some happiness. The acting is good, the story very simple without too much action, overall a movie worth watching if you don't need constant action.