Saturday, September 10, 2016

Weirdos



Weirdos
2016 Canadian drama directed by Bruce McDonald,
written by Daniel MacIvor;
starring Dylan Authors, Julia Sarah Stone,
Molly Parker, Rhys Bevan-John
Toronto International Film Festival (tiff) world premiere
tiff Bell Lightbox, Toronto
September 9, 2016
by Live Music Head
















The place?
A boy’s bedroom in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.
The time?
Summer, 1976.
His name?
Kit.
What’s he doing?
Listening to Caribou, an album by Elton John.
It’s the opening scene,
and I instantly relate.
For I too was an Elton John fan in 1976.
I too hung out in my bedroom listening to his records.
In fact, when my parents,
who were born and raised in Nova Scotia,
took me on vacation to Glace Bay,
I bought my first album with my very own money there:
Elton John’s Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy.
I was 12, and it was 1975.
But Kit is 15 in the film, a few years older,
and Andy Warhol is his spirit animal.
Shot in black & white.
Kit also wears plaid pants and carries a suitcase.
I wore plaid in ‘76 when I fanatically followed the Bay City Rollers.
“I Guess The Lord Must Be in New York City.”
And Mother, Jugs and Speed was on the marquee.
While Kit hitchhikes from Antigonish to Sydney,
by way of the Cabot Trail,
with his girlfriend Alice dressed in an Edward Bear t-shirt,
they find themselves in a car with John Dunsworth.
You know Mr. Lahey from the Trailer Park Boys?
And yes, he was drunk.
I hitchhiked when I was a teen.
Well, until I got picked up by those Jesus freaks.
“This is the last song I'll ever sing for you.
You'll come looking for the light,
and it won't be there.
But I love you.
Oh, yes I do.
Yes, I do.”
In this new, off-beat coming-of-age story by Daniel MacIvor,
Kit and Alice are on their way to see Kit’s mother Laura
(played by Molly Parker, in a remarkable performance),
and hoping for a little adventure on the side.
Why doesn't Laura live with her teenage son in Antigonish?
Think Chelsea Hotel.
The relationship, or lack thereof, that Kit has with his mother
reminds me of the relationship, or lack thereof,
that John Lennon had with Julia.
This film also has a soundtrack I can really relate to.
Because yes, as you can probably tell,
I'm a Weirdo too.
“Which Way You Goin', Billy?
Can I go too?
Which way you goin' Billy?
Can I go with you?”
Ahhh, the Poppy Family!
Finding My Way by RUSH, to name another.
Cotton Ginny by Gordon Lightfoot.
Oh, What a Feeling by Crowbar.
Snow Bird by Anne Murray.
Down By The Henry Moore by Murray McLaughlin.
And Carry Me by The Stampeders,
a band I heard on the radio a lot
while skate boarding as a kid,
on the driveway out front of my parent’s suburban home.
“Ain't it good?
Ain't it right?
That you are with me, here tonight?
The music playin', our bodies swayin' in time.
(In time, in time, in time).”
Andy Kim!
Cigarettes, stubby beer bottles, and grave yards, too.
Yea, I started smoking at 13,
and didn’t quit until I was 37.
As a teen, I drank from stubby beer bottles hanging out under bridges,
and drove into a cemetery snow bank, high on acid.
“Hold fast, hold on.
Nothing is a dream, yet in changing faster,
it never seems to be here long.
Move on, turn 'round.
Just can't seem to find it.
Try and reach out, hold out.
I cannot touch the wind,
I touch you.”
FM!
CHUM Charts, rotary telephones, and Corelle dishware.
I’ve got my finger on my third eye,
remembering all the moments.
Thank you Bruce McDonald.
Can we get some fries?



Weirdos at TIFF…