Fubar

Recently I got to watch two films that were shot in and around my home town of Calgary.

One film was "Open Range" and the other was "Fubar".

Both films are focused on the reactions of two close friends to the trials that life can throw at you. Both films involve a lot of walking around, talking and strange interactions with other characters in the film. Both films feature people who basically wrote, directed and starred in the movie. Both feature lots of cool alberta scenery and both are worth watching. However, while one film is a carefully crafted yet somehow lifeless product that is ultimately a chore to watch the other is a throbbing wild thing that wiggles like a fish in your hand.

The great flick here is Fubar.

I was mesmerized from the start, mostly because I knew all of the locations intimately. Then I realized, I also knew these two guys intimately. I grew up with them. We all played hockey in the living room and busted stuff. We shotgunned pilsners and we all went "camping" and did hideous amounts of damage to ourselves and those around us in the process and we only survived through sheer luck and by keeping the gas pedal floored and not looking back. Man, its bang on right.

This film captures certain of the unique qualities of being "Canadian" better than any other film that I have seen. Nothing Second City or Bob and Doug Mackenzie ever did compares to the genius that made this film. Its not the goofiness or the idiocy, its the spirit of these two bozos that wins your heart.

Bravo, I'm proud of these guys.

Giver!

FUBAR (an obscene acronym from the military) is an amazing accomplishment. It tore onto the scene at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001, after being turned down by the Toronto fest. The classic success story of guys who maxed out their credit cards (including their Canadian Tire cards) and took a giant leap into the uncertain future - and it paid off. Telefilm Canada decided to fund the movie (after it was already shot on digital video), and "beefed" the budget up to $350,000 (Cdn.) They did a good job promoting the movie through a soundtrack featuring Sum 41, Gob, Sloan, etc. doing classic Canadian headbangin' tunes. This movie has it all: hilarity and drunken hijinx, intense drama, and incredible acting (although I wonder how much the beer had to do with this). Go see this movie, it is much more than the trailers would suggest: much more than guys acting loud and stupid. It's actually a touching film, with a look at the two main character's fear of mortality.

"Fubar" is a 100% Canadian mockumentary from writer / director Michael Dowse ("It's All Gone, Pete Tong", "Goon") that delivers some modest chuckles, but works because it ultimately cares about its characters. Paul Spence and David Lawrence play Dean and Terry, two 20 something goof balls who are decidedly unambitious in life. A documentary filmmaker named Farrel (Gordon Skilling) sets out to record their day to day activities, as they live the life of those party animals known as "head bangers".

Not really to be mistaken for a rock 'n' roll movie (although the soundtrack *is* ace); music doesn't play that big a part in the story that unfolds. At first, Dowses' film is mildly amusing as it shows us the tomfoolery to which Dean and Terry are prone. It's got a funny enough script, with liberal use of profanity - especially F-bombs. Things do take a sober turn when it is discovered that Dean has testicular cancer, and he's forced to take the matter seriously. He and Terry then confront ideas of life and death, even as they entertain themselves with such things as a camping trip.

The no-name cast is quite engaging, especially Spence. Skilling is a hoot as the uptight, seemingly humourless director. Incidentally, the guy in the role of Deans' doctor was Dowses' physician in real life, and he's basically playing himself. A number of the supporting players did actually mistake "Fubar" for a serious doc on the life of the "common man" in Canada.

Overall, a likable, offbeat effort. It does bear the mark of a low budget, but it does have some charm that more than makes up for that.

Seven out of 10.

I remember it was the summer of 2002 when I first heard of this mockumentary, reading something about it in a Canadian magazine. For a while, I didn't know much about it, other than the fact that it was comedy movie produced in my country, and didn't get around to seeing it until about four years ago. I may have been reasonably impressed during my first viewing, but I'm not 100% sure. I definitely wasn't sickened by it, which some people obviously would be, but it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I've seen it twice since then, and still think it's a little weird, just like I did the first time, but with my second and third viewing, I had seen it before and knew what to expect, which made it a bit better.

Dean Murdoch and Terry Cahill are two headbangers who have been friends for a long time and live in Alberta, Canada. They love beer, heavy metal, and hockey. A documentarian named Farrel Mitchener has decided to follow them around with a camera, documenting their everyday lifestyle. Terry works at a furniture factory, assisting in delivering furniture to houses, and Dean is a wannabe rock star. The two of them are caught on camera doing what they love, which includes getting drunk and causing a ruckus late at night! Farrel also interviews family members and friends of the Alberta headbangers for his documentary. Eventually, Terry tells Farrel and the camera that his friend has testicular cancer! Dean has been keeping this a secret, but the word gets around, and he cannot ignore his condition any longer!

The first time I watched "Fubar", I expected it be more about a rock band, and didn't think it would be as weird as it turned out to be. However, after watching it three times, I certainly can't say it has never made me laugh. The two main characters are stupid but reasonably likable, and a lot of the humour comes from the stupid things they say, such as Dean thinking Merlin is a real historical figure. Drunken rampages and getting into fights (a fight with Farrel at the campsite, for example), can also really stand out. It can be hard to pick up all the jokes, which I don't think I've ever succeeded in doing. Some parts didn't impress me, such as Dean talking about putting his testicle in the microwave, but most of the film isn't that disturbing. Aside from the humour, I also like Dean's positive attitude during his treatment process. Paul Spence and David Lawrence play the starring roles convincingly, and it's not surprising that the doctor, S.C. Lim, is a real-life physician playing himself here, as his scenes look like they're from a real documentary with a doctor speaking.

Apparently, F.U.B.A.R. is an acronym meaning "F%$#ed up beyond all repair/recognition," and that's probably a fitting title for this movie. It's extremely silly, crude, juvenile, and insane, so much so that the acronym is a good way to describe it, but that's not always a bad thing. It's rated R, which obviously means adults only, and I'm sure the film would make many adults cringe as well, but for some adults, however, probably mostly male, it's pretty funny, even hilarious to some. Around the beginning, I could have easily given "Fubar" an 8/10, but the two idiots can't carry the film for 76 minutes consistently enough for that, and could have really gotten tiring if it were that much longer. Still, this mockumentary is often very funny (for certain tastes), and very Canadian. I'm still not sure if I fully get it, but when it comes to crude, juvenile comedies, you could certainly do much worse.

I was sold with the tagline: GIVER. These guys are so genuinely into their lives that you can't help but admire them, even though they are like, the quintessential lowlifes, complete with illegitimate children and sordid tales of fingerbanging cousins (eww..). Either way, they are having the best time with what they have, and it's great fun to watch, even though it's all fake. I have never been in a theatre with a movie playing that brought down the house. It was awesome. I can shotgun better than Farrell (although that doesn't seem very hard to do). His cake was priceless. 10/10