Friday, September 01, 2006

Bobcat Goldthwait? What was I thinking?

So, I turned in my picks for the film fest this afternoon and stuck around for the "draw" to determine which box gets opened first.

There were 40 boxes of envelopes this year... (I'd guess 40-50 envelopes in each box? Maybe double that... I have no idea really) My envelope got into box #35 and the number drawn was #22, so, I'm in the 14th box of envelopes that'll be processed this weekend... That means I have a good chance of getting a ticket to the majority of the 45 films I selected. Yes, 45. (My pass is good for up to 50.)

And I picked the Bobcat Goldthwait film. Eagerly awaited after his 1992 film Shakes the Clown... (Actually, I keep meaning to rent that. An alcoholic clown... what's not to love?)

Bobcat Goldtwait? Wait. It gets better... What is this film about? It's about the repercussions after a woman admits to her lover that she once had a sexual encouter with a dog. Which I gather they show in the opening scene of the movie. Hmmmmm....

It's part of the "Vanguard" programme at the fest which is meant to showcase "Innovative filmmakers and bold films that challenge our social and cultural assumptions."

Ya think?

Actually, NOW Magazine, the weekly Toronto paper that reviews about 40 of the 350 or so fest-films, gave this one NNNN or "excellent". They have a "best of the fest" NNNNN rating, too... but only gave that rating to two films.

I quote from their review, "The most striking thing about demented comic Goldthwait's Sleeping Dogs Lie is that the story of a young woman seeking romantic fulfillment has a genuine sweetness behind the studied outrageousness of its premise." The review goes on to suggest you not let anyone tell you what the premise is... but I've already done that. Sorry. Not much chance this will be in your multiplex anytime soon, uncut anyway. [I just looked at the film fest description again... and it looks like it does have a distributor in the US and Canada... Maybe it will come to your town... If you live in a big city, anyway... Sounds like it premiered in January -- Sundance? About 90% of the films at the TIFF are either world or North American premieres... but this one is part of the 10%, apparently.]

I'll post again after the screening... Didn't Janeane Garofalo have some great line in The Truth about Cats and Dogs about loving your pets too much?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This might be one of the movies that keeps you up at night staring at the ceiling.

Anonymous said...

Shades of Marion Engel and her book Bear. Which won the Governor General's in 1976. It's the story of a woman in Northern Ontario who becomes friends, and then more than friends, with a....you guess it...bear! In the same year, a book (I forget the title) was released in French Canada where a woman hooked up with a moose. So, a dog? Very tame. :)
Barrie

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