Though sadly I don't live in Canada, I do live in a place where you can experience a bit of Canada leading up to Canada Day.
Steven Page, formerly of the Barenaked Ladies, was in Chicago as the Saturday headliner for a festival unknown to me. And I only discovered this by accident.
Page put on a really great show in front of a relatively small crowd. Page also noted that they were shooting footage for a reality show called "The Illegal Eater."
The nice treat came after the show when fans got to go "backstage" and actually meet and talk to Page. Sure, the cameras were rolling but still, meeting him was really fun.
Most of Page's set was solo material, but he did play some Barenaked Ladies classics, including "It's All Been Done" and "Brian Wilson."
"The Illegal Eater" will air this fall on the Travel+Escape channel in Canada and hopefully the Travel Channel in the United States.
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This year, the Quebec film was "French Kiss," a romantic comedy about what happens when you tell a little white lie when first meeting someone. Céline Bonnier was absolutely wonderful as Juliette.
Bonnier's character is 38 years old, where the actress is actually 47 years old. Pulling that off is more of a tribute to how well Bonnier has aged.
Nice to see Didier Lucien in the best friend role, a similar role to what he played in "The Age of Ignorance," the last film from Denys Arcand.
The Canadian film was a bit of a surprise in that it was an English language film: "Becoming Redwood." Redwood is a kid with plenty of family turmoil who channels his obsession with Jack Nicklaus and the 1975 Masters. The film won the Most Popular Canadian Film Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Ryan Grantham did a tremendous job in the lead. Jennifer Copping was an excellent pick as the mother. Turns out she is the wife of Jesse James Miller, writer and director of the film. Nepotism perhaps, but she really was good.
Interestingly, the film takes place mostly in the United States, yet the film was shot in Langley, BC.
The movie had a few problems. Loud music would play over key dialogue at crucial moments. The film takes place in the late 1970s, but yet plays a Phil Collins song from 1985 ("We Said Hello Goodbye"). And while some of the characters are well-drawn, some other characters are 2-dimensional, borderline cartoon characters.
The film overall is good, where the whole is better than some of the parts.
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photos from me with all proper copyrights
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