Everything's Gone Green

A 29-year old slacker discovers his hidden obsession with making money in the Canadian low-budget Everything's Gone Green, a film by Paul Fox that has nothing to do with the physical environment, only the environment inhabited by our souls. Written by Canadian author of Generation X fame, Douglas Coupland, the film shows Vancouver, British Columbia as it was meant to be seen, not a stand-in for Los Angeles but as a vibrant multi-cultural city filled with exquisite parks, bays, and mountains. Coupland smartly attempts to have us appreciate the difference between things that are real and things that are made to look real but the film is undone by contrivances and ludicrous subplots such as parents growing pot in their basement, a boss allowing workers to gather around a computer to watch porn, and an office cruise from hell that give it the air of a bad television sitcom.

Ryan (Paulo Costanzo) is a 29-year old Technical Writer living with his girl friend Heather in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia. In one bad day, he loses his job, is kicked out of his girl friend's apartment, and discovers that his father has lost his job of twenty five years. To top that, he is called home only to find out that his parents were mistakenly convinced that they won the lottery. Soon Ryan is back on his feet, however, with a job working for the BC Lottery Board taking pictures and interviewing lottery winners for a supermarket throwaway magazine. Good fortune also surfaces the same day when his brother, a real-estate mogul, offers him a free condo in a high-rise overlooking English Bay.

After Ryan hears on the radio that a whale has beached on English Bay under the Burrard Bridge, he drives over to have a look, telling people around him that he went because he wanted to believe that magical things can happen in life. At the beach, he strikes up a conversation with Ming (Steph Song), a set dresser for a film studio whose job is to change Vancouver into a U.S. city such as Phoenix or Los Angeles to appeal to the American market. It is not long before Ming's boyfriend Bryce (JR Bourne), a sleazy scam operator, invites the gullible Ryan into playing golf with him and succeeds in convincing him to use the information he obtains from the Lottery Bureau to engage in a money laundering scheme involving the Japanese Yazuka. Ryan, contrary to the values he expressed earlier, discovers the drive to make money at whatever cost is more persuasive than he thought but it seems out of character and is unconvincing.

In the vein of formulaic romantic comedies, an on-again off-again love interest develops between Ryan and Ming but there is little chemistry between the two and when she dumps the corrupt Bryce, she is in no mood to take on another relationship with another ethically-challenged individual. Everything's Gone Green is a pleasant film with some good in jokes about leaky condos, lottery winners, and Hollywood productions with artificial palm trees, but ultimately it is too slight and too conventional to really hit its targets with much impact. Sadly, the sharp writing of Coupland, excellent performances from Canadian actors, and the visual delights of Vancouver do not add up to a totally winning combination.

Why do good, solid movies like this get made then completely disappear, while totally stupid U.S. comedies full of jokes based on farting and puking and big mammaries play in the theatres for months, raking in hundreds of millions of dollars? Big promotional dollars and control of screens, nothing more.

This is witty and charming. It has terrific minor characters - the slightly nutty boss, the father who dresses like a gardener but speaks with the patter of a drug lord, the sweet little grandma who keeps a big kitchen knife close at hand to take on the home invaders she expects whenever the doorbell ring. And there is a really heart-warming love story (awww!). All against the scenic backdrop of Vancouver.

You will enjoy it thoroughly.

This movie was remarkably funny and the actors are generally excellent. This falls into one of those "20-something angst movies" (Old Joy, etc). It's the universal theme of trying to figure out: 1) where you are now, 2) where you want to be, and 3) how to get there.

The editing was inspired and I loved much of the dialog. Not everything was perfect, some of the scenes could have been shot from a better angle, etc., but overall, it was pretty good.

The main thing I most liked about it was that it wasn't "consistent"; it oscillated between funny, sad, poignant, ridiculous, ironic and silly. It moved slow sometimes, then fast, sort of backwards, sideways and forward (two steps back, three steps forward). The whale scene was shot in a stylized, dreamy sort of way and if you've ever lived through a strange moment in your own life where time seems to not quite be real -- well, that's this scene.

There's a lot of "indie" elements and by American standards, it's not a big budget flick; it also (refreshingly) doesn't treat the viewer like a moron as so many American movies do.

It was messy and mundane. Lots of ludicrous moments; just like life and that's what made it interesting. If you've experienced working in a cubical city, known people who've fasted on the "Master Cleanse" diet, dealt with obsessively self-absorbed people, or seen the light at the end of the tunnel only to realize that the ethics may not be so good to get you there…you'll enjoy this movie.

I liked some of the characters, but our lead relied too heavily on a charming smile. I didn't care two whits about him. He makes bad choices and I really didn't care since he did not seem to either. He seemed rather unintelligent. There were a couple of moments that provided a chance at some human insight (the scene with the whale was interesting), but these are lost in the general malaise of the film. The love interest was acceptable and the other various characters were mildly interesting, but the plot meanders around too much and left me wanting at many points in the film. In the end, I wondered why I stayed so long.

There are some tepidly humorous moments, but ultimately I did not care. I cannot fathom rating the film higher. - 3 of 10

What a pleasure to watch a Canadian movie that's not embarrassingly low budget and poorly acted. I am sure it was low budget, but if so, it was effectively done. I don't see what a bigger budget could have added. It was well-acted, especially by Paulo Costanzo. His performance was understated and very natural.

I love that (metro) Vancouver is so proudly and unabashedly itself here, in all its multifaceted glory, from the run-down houses of Strathcona to the posh golf course of Lion's Bay, with the gorgeous mountains of Howe Sound receding into the distance. For once, Vancouver did not play a stand-in for some other city, a common practice which features in the storyline.

What a funny, charming, and visually appealing film, a breath of fresh air in many ways. I hope to see more from the both the film-maker and lead actor!