Weirdsville

The most positive thing I can personally say regarding Weirdsville is that I did at least keep watching until the end. That said, I just as soon wished I had used the time for something more rewarding. I felt the movie though stylish and reasonably well produced just fell flat in both story and humor.

Classic stoner flicks suck us in in spite of the fact most of us do not actually identify with stoners. I mean a good movie of the stoner genre is wickedly funny and built around likable stoner buddies, i.e., Cheech & Chong, Harrold & Kumar, Bill & Ted...et.al. In Weirdsville I never felt a like for Dex & Royce particularly. They were in a predicament that had them racing against time to come up with money (reminded me of The Blues Brothers). They were being chased by several different "nut jobs" (like the Blues Brothers). The ensuing situations just were not especially funny (NOT like the Blues Brothers which was uber-hilarious).

Granted I'm not the primary audience this flick is aimed at, I mean I'm 48. However, I know a good stoner flick when I see it and this misses the mark. Simply put, not awful by any means...Just not good enough to recommend.

What a fabulous movie full of oddball characters and realistic dialog that is very funny. Two junkies come up with a scheme to pull a job in order to pay off a debt they can't pay at the moment. They get chased by Satan worshipers, dwarfs(or are they gnomes?), and of course the cops now and then. Every twist in this movie is a turn into something bizarre and unexpected and delicious.

I love the character of the female Satan worshiper Treena she's able to kick some ass and nothing looks sexier on a woman than some spirit like that. Maggie Castle soaks up and RULES this minor role and is absolutely delicious in every frame. Maggie Castle - MEOW!!

One of the great things that keeps this movie together is the dialog between old party buddies, it felt very real with the games they play on each other all the time and the continual verbal sparring adds a nice jump to the flick's pace.

This movie reminded me of Pulp Fiction or Killing Zoe or Love is a .45, or Way of the Gun in the way it's an indie style road movie with weird characters all over the place.

As for a stoner black comedy, the Canadian made "Weirdsville" is as customary as you can get in how it goes about trying to weird you out. Of course what happens is random, wacky and just bizarre (encounters with Satanists and dwarfs), but not too surprising when compared to films of the same ilk. Even so, I found it hard not to enjoy. Mainly for the combination between Scott Speedman and Wes Bentley, who work off each well enough of as the two junkies involved in a crazy night of unimaginable incidents. Speedman plays it mainly straight, where Bentley is rowdy. But the two have some amusing banter and interchanges thanks to a ridiculous, but restlessly smart script. Taryn Manning as the third wheel adds the bite.

Stoner Dexter and Royce accidentally assume their friend Matilda has died from an overdose on the stash they are meant to sell to payback their drug dealers. In the panic of the situation they decide to bury the body. While in the process of burying her in the basement of a drive-in movie theatre, they disrupt a satanic ritual sacrifice and Matilda awakens making the Satanists believe it's the work of Satan. Now the boys are trying to get to her before the Satanists do, while also trying to pull off a heist to pay back their intimidating dealer.

As expected, everything goes wrong for these two slackers. Just like the scene where Speedman's character heads to a grungy toilet to vomit to see a mouse swimming helplessly around bowl and Bentley's character enter to only flush it. The two are stuck in a predicament, which has no easy way out but to simply go all-out and what occurs is haphazard. Director Allan Moyle's style is reminiscent of his previous efforts in "Pump up the Volume" and "Empire Records", but on a cheaper feel. At times it feels like a home video. Still Moyle shows great pacing and flashy touches, as the visuals show some creativity, especially the drug- fuelled hallucinations and this suit's the fragmented style of the unusual narrative with numerous droll characters (Matt Frewer is very amusing in his small part). Still it could have been much weirder than what it was.

"Hey man. You have an icicle sticking out of your head."

From Jaws as a lady, to a Canadian romp of Satanists, gangsters and fighting midgets, Weirdsville certainly lives up to its title. Allan Moyle, the director of 1990's Pump Up the Volume, directs another tale of disaffected youth featuring a pair of junkies as an entertaining double act, Royce and Dexter (Wes Bentley and Scott Speedman). Trying to steal money to pay back their thumb threatening local gangster, the plot includes over doses and slap dash midnight burials in reference to 90s film-cool, Shallow Grave and Pulp Fiction. But Moyle adds enough of his own visual exuberance to defy unflattering comparisons and his hallucinogenic effects lend extra scope to the irreverent caper humour. Music video quality moments are depicted in beautiful shots of drug fuelled euphoria including Dexter skating bare foot through the snow sprinkled streets of an Ontarian cityscape.

Occasionally the visual tricks jar in a Family Guy style but the interjections are smoothed over by our fortunately endearing duo and their dumb but smart dialog. Most enjoyably Weirdsville doesn't take itself too seriously and the ludicrous storyline is filled with bizarre non sequiturs; stopping to note a single green leaf that remains on an ice covered tree, for instance, is quite touching especially as they're on route to rob a millionaire's mansion. The nonstop pace and assortment of comic characters ensures that no minute drags on longer than it should, and the climax is appropriately gung ho. By turns genuinely engaging and laugh out loud funny, Weirdsville is daft but brilliant.

A lot of Canadian film is good, but this is sadly not up to par. There are a few good laughs here and there but it seems like this film was trying to imitate other, better films like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Pulp Fiction. It doesn't work. The acting isn't as good. The story is weaker and the whole thing feels rather rather contrived. Instead of introducing new ideas into this drug caper/comedy genre, the same old ideas are tromped out and they aren't very fulfilling for the viewer. There are coincidences here and there and I don't really mind coincidences if they work. Here they didn't and I found that brought the movie down.