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Reviews
Score: A Hockey Musical (2010)
Delivers on its promises
I've read a lot of reviews of this film out of its debut at TIFF, most of them negative, contrasting the film with the normal festival fare. And comparatively, no it's not an art house film, deeply layered, full of subtext or sparking deep thought later.
I, however, wasn't expecting that. I was expecting a fun, corny musical about our nation's favourite past-time and that's exactly what I got. It's sweet, it made me laugh aloud several times, and I simply had a very good time watching the film.
Noah Reid played the very likable male lead, Farley. He has a pleasant voice, looked natural on the ice, and nothing in his performance felt forced or fake. I hope to see him again. The best word I can think of to describe Allie MacDonald's girl-next-door character of Eve is winsome. I forgot that Stephen McHattie has done comedy before, so his turn as the owner of a pro-hockey team was surprising in how deft it is. Also enjoyable were Farley's coach and teammates, and George Stroumboulopoulos as the rink announcer.
Really, the only weak link in performance was Olivia Newton-John who seemed too stiff for the character that she was portraying. And despite how great they were individually, there wasn't a lot of chemistry between Farley and Eve.
The songs ran about fifty-fifty. Some were catchy and well-orchestrated. Some felt as though they had been written for an amateur musical.
All-in-all, I think the movie gives you exactly what you expect when you go to see a movie called "Score: A Hockey Musical". It's enjoyable, and charming, and I would recommend it to musical and hockey fans alike.
Imagine Me & You (2005)
a humorous if slightly tiresome film
I received a ticket to a free screening of this film last night and am thankful. Thankful that I got to see it, and thankful that I didn't have to pay theatre prices to do so.
It isn't a bad film. Admittedly, the chief reason I decided to go was because I knew that Anthony Head was in it (of "Buffy" and "Little Britain" fame) and I'm a sucker for him. But I heard the film's premise and it sounded cute and the trailer looked funny. The good news is, the film is funny. I laughed aloud at several points and generally had an amused smile on my face throughout.
Where the film fails is in the interpersonal relationships of its characters. And unfortunately, as a romantic comedy, it was incumbent that it nail these. The basic premise, that at her wedding to her long-time love and best friend, a woman falls in love with the wedding's florist (who also happens to be a woman), it is utterly necessary that we believe that these two women are head-over-heels for each other in order for the film to work. And it never convinced me of that. For the life of me I couldn't understand why they loved each other. It felt like the film spent so much time making it funny and making sure you felt the bride's indecision that it forgot to tell us why she fell in love with the florist and why the florist, and her husband, fell in love with her.
Why I'm glad I went is because there were some truly terrific performances in it by the supporting cast. Particularly Boo Jackson as Rachel's younger sister and Matthew Goode as the hard-done-by husband. You felt for him in every scene. Head was also charming as always but showing range as a man who has just been getting by for the past forty years.
So I wouldn't shell out the ten bucks to see it in the theatre but I do think it is a worthy rental.
Medicine River (1993)
A disappointing adaptation
I was very excited when I heard there was a film adaptation of Thomas King's novel. Particularly as it starred Graham Greene and Tom Jackson both of whom I adore. I was very disappointed once I saw the film. The book is very light-hearted and has a mood and atmosphere that the film really didn't capture. And the film's story ended up being very far removed from the novel's which is a big reason that the comedy seems to have been lost.
I don't completely blame the screenwriter. From the novel it would have been very difficult to put together a film script. It was really more a series of vignettes. There is a through line but I'm not sure it was strong enough to sustain a film. Where it would have worked very well is in television. I think that the mistake here was the choice of medium.