Weirdsville

It's great to see a film that moves along so freely and easily but also has a clever writer behind it.

Someone mentioned that the film was being touted as Trainspotting shot in Canada with laughs. Trainspotting didn't cross my mind once during this film. I liked Trainspotting when it came out, but if there was one criticism you could make it was that the film took itself a little too seriously. Thankfully this film doesn't and is all the better for it. Everything about it feels fresh and you really get the feeling that everyone involved enjoyed making it. The acting has a nice improvised quality and script is a perfect mix of playful whimsy and taut storyline.

If you got out the wrong side of the bed, don't go and see this. If you're looking for an enjoyable and refreshing 90 minutes that restores your faith in low budget films, buy a ticket.

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.

Slacker buddies Dexter Ryan (Scott Speedman) and Royce Gordon (Wes Bentley) are forced to sell drugs for Omar to pay off a drug debt. Royce's girlfriend Matilda (Taryn Manning) dies from an OD and the boys dispose of the body in the basement of a closed drive-in theater. A Satanic cult kills a guy upstairs and decides to kill the boys to use all four bodies. Instead, Matilda is revived and the trio escapes the cult. With Omar looking for his money, the boys decide to steal a safe from Jason Taylor (Matt Frewer).

Giving drugs to drug addicts for the purpose of selling to repay their debt to you seems to be a horrible idea. I'm just saying. Anyways, this Canadian indie is trying to be low grade Trainspotting with a dash of Tarantino and Guy Ritchie. It is low grade and the product has been stepped on a lot. It can be seen in the fight between the blonde and the midget. It should be the most ridiculous visual fun. Instead, the directing lacks the energy to drive up the intensity. This has all the intentions and it has some good actors. It's just not as good as it wants to be.

No pun intended - also not really giving away anything, because you have to find out the answer for yourself ... if you watch the movie that is of course. And this quite strange movie is really interesting. It is all over the place, but in that it does kind of copy or inherit the strangeness and the weirdness of its main characters ... off to Weirdsville then.

Really good actors in this too - I had no idea Wes and Scott had done a movie together! This is an odd one anyway. Add to that Taryn and you have quite the trio (of disaster?) ... they are in over their head for sure - but nothing that is not entertaining to watch. You have to keep close watch on what they try to do and where the story is taking us ... because there are some strange turns ... and now I think I have used all the words to describe something out of the ordinary ... quite fitting.

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.