It’s sad when a woman doesn’t have children and is forced to dress up and pamper her tiny dog like a little surrogate baby. It’s even sadder when a woman has lots of children at home, but prefers the company of her obnoxious dog, Tito, over them.
Woman with small dog, circa 1908 (Toronto Archives: Fonds 1244, Item 425)
Well, it’s that time of year again: TIFF time. Well, almost. This morning TIFF announced its 2012 galas and special presentations (basically, all the films everyone wants to see). Before our city is overtaken by schmoozing and celebrities, we have to remember that it’s all about the movies. Here are five we’re most looking forward to seeing.
TIFF has always been kind to Ben Affleck. His star-making, Oscar-winning Good Will Hunting premiered here back in 1997, and since then, he’s been here a number of times. Now Affleck’s got two films premiering at this year’s fest (his other is Terrence Malick’s To The Wonder) but we’re most curious about Argo, a thriller about the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis, directed by and starring Affleck. Maybe it’s because the plot prominently features Canadians; maybe it’s because of Affleck’s shaggy hairdo or maybe it’s because we just really, really dig Affleck the director. (But, seriously, Ben, do you have to star in every movie you direct?)
This powerhouse (and intensely idiosyncratic) cast (Christopher Walken, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener and Jeremy Northam) excites us to no end. The drama, which follows four members of a world-renowned string quartet who struggle to stay together in the face of death, competing egos and insuppressible lust, reminds us a bit of a mix between Black Swan and Amadeus (hello, Oscar!). Plus, there’s something cool about Walken playing a cello.
Ever since Lost in Translation (which premiered at the fest back in 2003), we’ve always had a soft spot for Bill Murray as a dramatic actor. So, despite the plot’s ick factor, we’re pretty eager to see Murray in all of his latex make-up glory as Franklin Delano Roosevelt in this based-on-a-true-story retelling of FDR’s relationship with his distant cousin and soon-to-be mistress Margaret Suckley.
Having co-written and starred in Bridesmaids, Kristen Wiig is pretty much a baller now. That’s why she was able to get Imogene — a “passion project” of hers — finally made. In this comedy she plays Imogene, a playwright who stages her suicide in an attempt to win back her ex, only to wind up in the custody of her gambling-addict mother (Annette Bening).
So what if this crime drama about a motorcycle stunt rider who moonlights as a bank robber sounds somewhat similar to the plot of Drive? The movie stars Ryan Gosling. He’ll be in town. People will tweet. Let the memes begin.
More than the backstory of how The Beatles became The Beatles, Backbeat is a musical that focuses on the triangular relationship between the band’s original bassist, Stuart Sutcliffe, the German photographer with whom he fell in love and his friendship with John Lennon. (Sorry, Ringo fans, but he’s not in this production.)
Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King St. W., 416-872-1212. Now – Sept 2.
Oh, what we wouldn’t do for love, right? Like sneaking into a quarantined area of New York, which is what a woman does to be with her lover in this Alan Bowne play (which was turned into a TV movie with Cuba Gooding Jr.).
Unit 102 Theatre, 376 Dufferin St., 416-532-4422. July 26 – Aug 5.
Neil Simon’s comedy takes a look at two vaudeville veterans who must overcome their dislike for each other to reunite for a TV special (this too was made into a TV movie with Woody Allen and Peter “Columbo” Falk).
Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House, 416-866-8666. July 26 – Sept. 22.
Before the Occupy movement, there was Hair. This groundbreaking rock musical is about more than a group of hot-headed hippies; it’s about young men and women (with gorgeous hair) protesting their government’s foreign relations and the impact it has on their lives.
Randolph Theatre, 736 Bathurst St.,416-924-2243 x 266. July 24 – Aug 4.
Haim Goldenberg is back with his mind(blowing) games. The TV entertainer will play games and tricks and basically change your reality as you know it!
George Ignatieff Theatre, 15 Devonshire Place, 416-978-4166. July 26, 31 and August 2.
Every week, we round up the best events from the city’s fashion scene. In this edition: vintage sales on Dundas West, LED bike lights that won’t get stolen, drinking in LA (lower Augusta) and an Africana-inspired pop-up shop.
Where: Life of Manek, 1504 Dundas St. W.
When: July 26
Details: kick off the weekend right with fun, food and new clothes. Dundas West boutique Life of Manek invites you to come party and enjoy 30 per cent off selected items, including colourful J.Brands and We Are Handsome swimwear.
Where: 1034 Dundas St. W.
When: July 28
Details: vintage clothing blog Naughty Mess has teamed up with a few stylish friends to clear out closets full of designer and vintage goods. They will be selling everything on the cheap in one big yard, and there will be beer, too.
Where: The Mascot, 1267 Queen St. W.
When: July 26
Details: celebrate the launch of some new, slick and stylish LED bike lights by Beacon. These Canadian-made gadgets have been created for cyclists who are sick and tired of having their lights stolen after a long night out. In their words: “no more stolen lights = no more sad nights.” Oh — there will be free beer.
Where: 165 Augusta Ave.
When: July 29
Details: vintage clothing store Pretty Freedom and its newly-opened next door neighbour, Anice Jewellery, have breathed new retail life into the lower trip of Augusta in Kensington Market. The two stores are partnering up this pedestrian Sunday to celebrate “LA,” a.k.a “lower Augusta,” and the new things to come (a bar, sandwich spot and kick boxing gym).
Where: 627 Queen St. W.
When: Now until August 4
Details: Supafrik, the pop-up series spearheaded by local designer Chinedu Ukabam, is hosting its third shopping and gallery event on the theme of “Urban Contemporary Africana.” Look out for an eclectic mélange of African-inspired goods including housewares by Shine Shine, graphic tees by Malyka, made-in-Africa sneakers by SAWA, as well as Chinedesign’s own Afrotropolis line.
Grace Carroll is a Toronto-based freelance writer whose work has appeared in ELLE UK, ELLEcanada.com, Plaid magazine and FILLER magazine. Keep up with her daily blog at www.graciecarroll.com.
Here stand the women sharpshooters of 1914. Sure, they look docile, but in just one instant they’d totally put you in a half nelson while aiming a rifle at you.
For those of you who have not had a chance to take in the often-hysterical, usually profane, but always interesting plays of Chicago’s David Mamet, I would urge you to see a production of Glengarry Glen Ross (whether on stage or on film). Soulpepper, this country’s finest theatre company, knew enough to put on a superb Glengarry several seasons ago.
In mid-July (and running until September 22), Soulpepper took on one of Mamet’s most crackling, vulgar, but thought-provoking second-tier creations: the oddly-named Speed-the-Plow (Google the name for its several, weird origins), directed beautifully by David Storch (one of Soulpepper’s better actors) and starring the very fine trio of Ari Cohen, Jordan Pettle and Sarah Wilson.
It’s a slight, surprisingly compact play, running roughly 90 minutes in three abrupt, mostly brilliant acts — scenes, really — that run together without intermissions (which the show sometimes uses in its many productions).
Satire is one of the highest forms of theatrical art, but some topics are more “worthy” of satire than others, and some, perhaps, are too easy as targets. This may be the weakest aspect of Mamet’s entertaining but hardly shocking Speed-the-Plow: it is hard to imagine that any subject is as ripe and more open to satiric mockery than Hollywood, with its purported longing for “art” but easy tendency to sell out for the Big Buck.
Poking fun at the shallow, hypocritical, make-money-or-die world of American movies is irresistible, but hardly original or surprising. In Speed-the-Plow, a newly-advanced movie producer Bobby Gould (no relation, I assure you; and he is played brilliantly by Cohen), is asked to read an end-of-the-world script, but it’s clear that he is far more eager to produce a vulgar, ultra-violent, probably racist prison script brought to him by a former acolyte, now a producer himself, Charlie Fox (Pettle, also at the top of his game).
Both men are ecstatic at the idea of producing something that they know will be garbage, but should make them both outrageously wealthy. The plot thickens as a temporary assistant, the beautiful and scheming Karen (played perfectly by the voluptuous Wilson), offers to “courtesy read” the idiotic but “serious” apocalypse script, when it’s clear that Bobby Gould is after her body, not her thoughts.
I won’t be a spoiler here, other than to say that this short but rat-a-tat-tat play has more curves in it than Karen, and is often as uproarious as it is cynical angry, dirty and smart-alecky. Am I glad I (finally) saw this nearly quarter-century-old play? Of course. Mamet, even so-so Mamet, is better than the majority of other major dramatists at their best.
Is Soulpepper presenting a fine production? When does it not? But mocking the pretensions of Hollywood producers is like shooting fish in a barrel.
See this solid production. But for Mamet at his best, track down Glengarry Glen Ross, a play about disgusting, desperate men pushing rotten real estate properties on the public. It is explosive and devastating.
Speed-the-Plow, Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 416-866-8666. Runs until Sept. 22
Allan Gould is Post City Magazines’ theatre critic. He has a Ph.D. in English and theatre from York University and has written over 40 books. His writing has appeared in Toronto Life, Chatelaine, en Route, Canadian Business, Good Times and the Financial Post. He is married, with two children. Aside from his family, his major passions are theatre and film, because they enrich life with pleasure and meaning.
Italian-based womenswear chain Brandy Melville, beloved by crop-top sporting urbanites and boho-chic hipsters from Europe to the U.S, is finally bringing its line of highly-styled, affordable womenswear to Toronto.
According to its Facebook and Twitter feeds, the clothing line (which caters to girls who are “feminine with an urban twist” and “chic in an effortless way” — whatever that means) will be opening its second Canadian location on Queen Street at some point in the near future (a Vancouver location opened earlier this year).
With clothing that reminds us a little of Free People (also making inroads in to Toronto very soon), but with better prices and slightly less of a Woodstock-vibe, we’re pretty excited about the impending arrival.
And, judging by the Twitter response, we aren’t the only ones who are excited. And we mean really, really excited. Take deep breaths, sweetheart. It’s going to be okay.
Toronto’s most buzz-worthy burger joint is at it again with the announcement that a new west-end location of The Burger’s Priest could possibly be open by the end of this year. Owner Shant Mardirosian tells us that he has signed a deal on a new location in the King and Spadina area, but still has to look into permit issues to make sure that the city will allow him to build a restaurant in that spot.
Mardirosian is vague about the hurdles he’s facing in opening his third location, saying only, “It’s going to be a tricky build.” He’s pretty much certain, though, that he’ll be able to get through any red tape and says that if all goes smoothly, the new restaurant will likely be open by December.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out, especially considering that the King and Spadina area has not been all that hamburger-friendly as of late.
The Weaker Vessels are a new “transatlantic sketch troupe” featuring graduates from The Second City training centre. With the group set to perform its first-ever show next week, member Charlie Booth says the show is bound to be unpredictable: “We’ve got an hour’s worth of sketches and none of them have ever been performed in front of an audience. Maybe we just get off on risk; maybe we’re just idiots.”
We chatted with Booth about the group’s individual talents, sailing ships and who, exactly, the “weaker vessel” of the group is anyway.
How did you guys get together?
We were all in different Conservatory groups at The Second City [training centre]. Originally the troupe was Colin [Sharpe]’s brainchild, but it grew over a few months into the four-headed monster it is today. A couple of heads fell off along the way.
How did you come up with your name?
Colin claims it popped into his head while reading The Birth Of The Modern World. I think it works because, as the name implies, none of us is the archetype of robust masculinity (or some other pretentious fluff used to justify an arbitrary decision).
How would you describe your style?
I’d say our variety is one of our strengths. Allan’s style is rooted in his clown work; Colin veers towards the surreal; Jeff produces really anarchic schtick; my stuff is more grounded. If you don’t take to one sketch, something completely different is probably up next in the running order.
Name each of your top individual talents.
Colin has a thousand mile stare of brooding intensity, which is balanced by Jeff’s ability to make his facial expressions look completely vacant. Allan is great at looming large, whereas I’m great at looming small. Becky has an actual talent with the ukulele.
What’s the most outrageous sketch you’ve ever performed?
Since we’ve never performed any of this stuff live, we’ll have to leave it to our audiences to decide what’s the most outrageous sketch. Having said that, there’s a bit in the show that uses a Carpenters’ song in an unexpected way. That’ll probably turn some heads. Maybe a few stomachs.
Who would you most like to perform with?
Allan would really like to perform with his mother. If she was really great at it, he’d freak out with joy. Everyone else picked Allan’s mother.
If you could sail a ship anywhere, where would you go?
To the front of the ship, otherwise we couldn’t see where we were going.
Who would be the captain of the ship?
Our director, Frank McAnulty, drunk at the wheel.
Who’s the ‘weaker vessel’ of the group?
Definitely me. You could snap me like a twig.
What’s next on the horizon?
After the onslaught of putting together this hour of material, we’re going to take things slow by coming up with a brand new, full-length show for December. At the moment, we’re trying to combat inherent laziness and be as prolific as possible. It’s a tactic from the “fail quicker, fail harder” school of thought.
Year established: 2012
Cast members: Charlie Booth, Jeff Clark, Allan Cooke and Colin Sharpe with special guest performer Becky J. Johnson
Influences: A Bit of Fry & Laurie, Not The Nine O’Clock News, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, The Kids In The Hall, the more obscure works of Ingmar Bergman
Catch them at: The Annex Live, 296 Brunswick Ave., 416 929 3999. August 2-4
On the surface, this guy isn’t exactly prime babysitting material, but legend has it this debonair dude gave Mary Poppins a run for her money. With his flying wagons, magical bowler hat and war medals that were actually made of chocolate, every day was an adventure in babysitting.
Seems like the rumours were true: Toronto’s getting a Fashion’s Night Out. The haute international shopping event, which started back in 2009 in New York, will happen here Sept. 6, Toronto Life reports.
The shopping extravaganza was originally created by American Vogue, the CFDA, NY & Company and the city of New York to help boost the faltering fashion industry.
Touted as the largest shopping spree in the world, the event brings out designers, models, fashion editors, celebrities and fashionistas of all kinds to their favourite stores for a night of shopping, drinking and exclusive FNO events.
We’re pretty sure we didn’t need another excuse to charge our credit card with pretty purchases, but a night of schmoozing, sipping and shopping is definitely something we can rationalize.
When we were young, we believed that a plastic fortune teller named Zoltar really could make our wishes come true. And when we were young, we believed movies were so magical they could change the world. It’s no surprise, then, that the theme of the second Christie Pits Film Festival is tales of youth and growing up.
The free grassroots film festival partners with the Open Roof Festival to dish out three summer nights of outdoor film screenings, featuring a line-up of nostalgic coming-of-age movies. It kicks off this Sunday.
Tom Hanks has never been so darn affable than as twelve year old Josh Baskins in this 1988 movie about every kid’s dream: to become a grown-up. When his wish actually comes true, things get really awk for young Josh (that love scene with Elizabeth Perkins still makes us cringe a bit). The flick has many memorable cinematic moments, including this one when Hanks plays a little “Heart and Soul” at New York’s FAO Schwarz. You see? Affable.
Try not shedding a tear while watching this film, which won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1990. The Italian favourite chronicles the childhood of Salvatore, a filmmaker, during the time when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist, Alfredo. If the beauty of Salvatore’s and Alfredo’s friendship doesn’t tug at your heartstrings, then the melodic soundtrack must (you robot!).
The final night of the fest will feature a surprise screening, decided by a Facebook vote. The voting is now closed, but contenders included An Education, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial and Rebel Without a Cause. Our ‘80s child within is really gunning for E.T.
Christie Pits Film Festival, Christie Pits, July 22-August 12.
