Goin' Down the Road

A great story of two simple-minded hosers from Cape Breton who move to Toronto to try and make a better life for themselves.

They get into amusing situations while trying to make it in the big city, but the real strength of this film is the acting and directing. It is difficult to tell if it's a film or a documentary - the actors and director Don Shebib do such a great job.

I watched the film a few times before it grew on me. After purchasing the VHS, I've now watched it many times, finding something new with each viewing.

Torontonians will marvel at how busy the nightlife was on the Yonge Street strip between Dundas and Gerrard back in '69. Now, of course, it is all but forgotten by nocturnal revellers.

It took me 30+ years to find this film (on video) after being on a TOP TEN list in 1970 by a cool critic. I got a clean copy on Ebay that plays out (like FIVE EASY PIECES) as a mood piece of the times, fascinating character study, and overall good film of the BEST year of films overall (1970) with unknown actors.

Find this one. You won't regret it and you don't have to be Canadian or from the Golden 70's. Heartbreakingly realistic but humorous...at the most bleak and surreal moments and MacGrath and the others will smoke and live in real time before your eyes..it's not dated. Donald Shebib (whatever happened to this cool guy?) directed like a young M. Scorsese (with unknowns) that you'll never forget. Find it or you'll never be able to listen to THE DOORS again with a clean conscience.

Any Canadian who has left his or her home to move to Toronto can identify with this movie. Doug McGrath and Paul Bradley star as Peter and Joey, who leave their home on Cape Breton for prosperity in Hogtown. After searching for "doctorin' and lawyerin'" jobs, they eventually settle for factory work. The movie chronicles the quest of these small town boys trying to take on the big city. Also starring are Jayne Eastwood as Betty, Nicole Morin as the unforgettable daughter of the boss, and Stompin' Tom Connors as himself. Peter and Joey would serve as the models for countless characters in Canadian culture, including Bob and Doug Mackenzie, Wayne and Garth, and "Dumb and Dumber." The movie also acts as an apt reminder of how much the city of Toronto has changed in the past thirty years. It's worth watching if you can find it.

This film has been criticized for many things (poor acting, poor direction among them). However, it is still widely regarded in Canada as an incredibly good film. While it's true that we in Canada may keep a special place in our hearts for the film because of the subject matter (two men from rural Nova Scotia who move to Toronto to start a new life), the film still holds water even to a non-Canadian.

Like the men in the film, both of my parents moved to Toronto from Nova Scotia to start a new life in the Canadian "promises land". And like the film, they did it in the same era (1968-9). And, like the film, my father resorted to stealing food from a grocery store to eat. It is these facts that makes the film so special to me.

The plight of these two gentlemen is so common in Southern Ontario that I think it actually helped propel this film into the cult status it still maintains today. The film is earthy, gritty and has documentary-style camera work that makes it believable. The use of an actual audio clip of a distraught woman crying in the hallway of a boarding house (used in the scene when our heroes are trying to sleep their first night in their new boarding house room) and the real alcoholic war veterans interacting with the film's stars make this film so real, it's disturbing. Hollywood could take a few cues from this movie.

Frankly, I think the acting is superb. Then again, I think that the method acting and melodramatic style used in film like Gone With The Wind is disgusting and plastic. The director's role in this film was clearly leading his troops very well. I highly recommend this incredibly well done film.

Not only is this a great Canadian movie and a touchstone of '70s culture (stubby beer bottles!), it's one of the best movies made anywhere about the working poor. The low production values and laidback acting work to good effect. It spawned plenty of awful imitations, but few were as rawly heartfelt and honest. Essential viewing for Canadians