Movie Review: Weirdsville (2007)

If a film contains drug addicts with a harebrained scheme, an inept Satanic Cult and a car full of reenactment knights chasing around after a stolen safe, it is a good bet that it is an independent comedy.  Weirdsville is indeed one such film, with the characteristics of a farce in the tradition of Cheech And Chong and Jay And Silent Bob.

In the small town of Weedsville, two slackers/addicts, Royce (Wes Bentley) and Dexter (Scott Speedman) are living life as independent film types of this ilk typically do: badly.  They have managed to get themselves into debt to a local drug dealer, Omar (Raoul Bhaneja), and Royce, the ‘ideas man’, has agreed to a deal to become drug pushers to get out from under the debt with the help of Royce’s girlfriend, Matilda (Taryn Manning).  Unfortunately, Royce and Matilda decide to use some of the drugs supplied by Omar. Matilda overdoses before they can implement this plan.  Panicked, Royce calls Dexter and together they decide to bury her body in the basement of the old drive-in where Royce used to work, but all does not go to plan when they stumble across a Satanic cult performing a ritual in the building.

One thing that struck me almost immediately with this film is that it is a very Canadian production. From many of the references (skating/curling/hockey) to the setting and to the casting.  If you have seen any cult tv shows recently, or anything shot in Canada in the past few years, you will recognise several of the actors: Scott Speedman (Last Resort), Taryn Manning (Sons of Anarchy, Drive), Greg Bryk (ReGenesis, Rookie Blue), Raoul Bhaneja (The Listener, Alphas, Flashpoint) and Matt Frewer (Falling Skies, Eureka).  Obviously, some of the actors like Taryn Manning, Matt Frewer, Jordan Prentice (In Bruges, The Power of Few, Mirror Mirror) and Wes Bentley (The Hunger Games, Lovelace) may also be notable for their film appearances as well.  It is a great cast and they all seem to have a good rapport with each other and get into the spirit of it all. Although, if I were to nitpick, it would be that Speedman doesn’t seem entirely suited to his role.

Of all the characters, the best duo may well be ‘Abel’ (Greg Bryk) and ‘Treena’ (Maggie Castle), the main two within the hilariously inept Satanic Cult. They just cannot get it together and are made to look completely ridiculous when all they want is to be taken seriously.  Previously, I have only seen Bryk in serious roles and it was refreshing to see him playing something different and doing well.

Plot-wise, this film is nothing to write home about, as it contains several clichéd elements and runs a fairly standard ‘farce’ or ‘comedy of errors’ line, with each convoluted development building on the last.  What it does have is a certain amount of charm with a kind of ‘Sam Raimi meets Kevin Smith’ touch that keeps you entertained.  While the plot is stupid and the characters endearingly useless, this is essentially what makes it work as you get caught up in their idiocy.  Strangely, Weirdsville was made by Allen Moyle (Pump Up the Volume, Empire Records), so it isn’t what I would have expected, as it has both the feel of a director who is earlier in their career about it as well as a much more comedic sensibility than his other work.

Alongside all the farcical elements, Weirdsville is clearly trying to make some social points as well by highlighting the friendship/family aspects of the relationships and how their paths are intertwined in the small town dynamic.  The characters ambitions and dreams have clearly been dashed over the years. They are likened to rats struggling to escape the inevitable as they flounder.  Some of this is laid on in a slightly heavy-handed manner, but doesn’t detract too much from the momentum of the film as it unfolds.

I suspect the most important question should be: is it funny?  I would have to answer a definite yes, but it is clearly not without its problems.  There are some nice touches throughout with several of them being excellent set pieces and the characters working well, but it doesn’t maintain the quality all the way through.

In the rich vein of independent ‘buddy’ movies with elements of ‘heist’, ‘farce’ and ‘slacker’ movies, Weirdsville is mining familiar territory which initially could put some people off spending 90 minutes with it.  It does spend much of its time reusing some of the clichés of these genres, but it does so with enough wit and charm to warrant recommending it as an interesting diversion. Especially if you are a fan of the oddball slacker genre.