"Real Time" stars Jay Baruchel as Andy, a choss-pile of human failure. Andy's bad luck and bad bets have finally caught up with him in the form of hit-man Randy Quaid, who gives Andy one hour to do anything he wants before he puts Andy down with a bullet to the head.
Filmed in Hamilton, Ontario, "Real Time" is a at once sad, depressing, funny, and delightful. Hamilton is made to look like an absolute shit hole. This did not take much work on the part of the special effects team--they just filmed it as is. To be fair, they could have filmed it in London in February and had the same soul-sucking result.
Baruchel does a fine job as Andy, a loathsome character you really want to punch in the mouth. Quaid is surprisingly understated and effective as Reuban the hit-man with a heart, in spite of the curious Australian accent he affects. Acting veteran Jayne Eastwood is typically good in her small part; I think there's some arcane federal regulation that ensures she's in anything filmed in Ontario, but it's for the better.
The real star of "Real Time" is the soundtrack. From well-known Canadian artists like The Stamperders ("Sweet City Woman"), to Chlliwack's "Fly At Night", to the Hip's "Scared", the Can-Con soundtrack is the delightful part of this slow, but never laborious film. Sure, some of the tracks are well-played standards, but their placement in the film, and their use as a narrative tool, set the movie apart from other films about failure and gambling in Hamilton.
So for this Valentine's Day, get a six of 50, some chips, and sit down with your old lady or old man, and watch Real Time. Let them know how much worse it could be and that they should be thankful they settled on you. You, the big door prize.
Real Time Soundtrack
- "Since Birth" - Triznian
- "One of Us Is Dead" - The Earlies
- "The Cigarette" - Jake Wilkinson
- "What Time Is It" - The Jive Five
- "Goodbye Farewell" - Abraham's Children
- "One Fine Morning" - Lighthouse
- "Sweet City Woman" - The Stampeders
- "Fly at Night" - Chilliwack (band)
- "Two for the Show" - Trooper
- "Gymnopédies #1" - Composed by Erik Satie and performed by Mary Kenodi
- "Without You" - Harry Nilsson
- "Scared" - The Tragically Hip
This one in particular made me smile as I'm sure I haven't heard it since the early 70s.
Randy "Hollywood hitmen want me dead" Quaid in a movie shot in The Hammer with a soundtrack featuring Lighthouse, the Stampeders and Trooper? How have I not seen it already?
ReplyDeleteAnd as a Hamilton native, let me just say that if they wanted to make downtown Hamilton look like a shithole, they would have to sweep up a bit and roust a few of the drunks from in front of Jackson Square to bring it up to that kind of standard.
I'll be watching this one tonight for sure!
and speaking of films that will rain all over your parade, Super seems to have been marketed as a some sort of comedic romp about a poor put upon loser who decides to become a costumed crime fighter. It is that, but one you get past the goofy looking cut-rate superhero costume, the comedy is more of the "holy shit, did he really just cave that guy's head in with a pipe wrench?" variety a la Pulp Fiction. This is a dark, dark ride.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder about Super, I had forgotten that one.
ReplyDeleteDon't get your hopes up about Real Time; it's a solid 6 out of ten. The scenery might be a big selling point for you though.