Blog From The Bench

Just watched a screener copy of Childstar, the new film by one of the few ubiquitous Canadian directors who can turn a profit, Don McKellar (Last Night, The Red Violin, Twitch City). This was a treat for me, having totally failed to gain admission to the fancy premiere this time last year at the Toronto Film Festival, where it received naught but positive reviews.

Cute film. Not quite as poignant or brilliant as everyone had made it out to be, but that’s film festival gossip for you – you could actually overdose on pretentiousness and be taken to hospital after sitting through a gala screening.

In a nutshell: Rick Shiller (Don McKellar) is an aspiring filmmaker in Toronto who, like all aspiring filmmakers in Toronto, are forced to do menial tasks in ‘the business’ like driving famous people around all day. His new charge is Taylor Brandon Burns, a twelve-year old child star who commands his surroundings with the icy control of a Hollywood veteran. His mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh) soon recruits Rick for her own purposes, leaving the child star to run amuck in town… who soon decides he has had quite enough of the filmmaking business.

If the premise sounds corny, it is. But the film is so soaked in irony and parody that a simple blog review cannot do justice to the sarcastic biting tone of McKellar’s writing (fans of Twitch City or Kids In The Hall will no doubt understand – it would be like calling Brain Candy a medical thriller.) A self-satirizing take on the Canadian film industry—and the constant influx of productions from down south to deem Toronto the nickname ‘Hollywood North’—makes Childstar hilarious from anyone who a) is into film, b) lives in or around Toronto, and c) like Don McKellar’s sense of humor.

Personally, I quality for all three. I have a hard time putting myself in the shoes of say, an American who has never heard of Don McKellar, but I think they would like it all the same. Here’s hoping the film gets some recognition on DVD.