Bryan Brown, David Caesar, Sam Neill

Bryan Brown, Sam Neill

 

Guess who I found just inside the door of a record shop up the block from the Uptown?

The front of the Uptown Theatre, on a weekday afternoon. The line to the left of the door would be the ticketholders waiting to get in. To the right (not in the photo here) would be the rush line, of people wanting to see the movie who don't have tickets.

Dirty Deeds is a fun movie, if a bit more Australian than might go over well in the US (their foreign distributor is in Canada and not LA, so I hope it's released here). Bryan Brown, who also produced (and was *everywhere* in Toronto that week) plays the head of the local gang that runs the slot machines; Sam Neill is the high-ranking cop who is in his pocket, and John Goodman is the US mafia-guy sent down to take over the racket. Of course, the small-time Aussie is no match for a mafia guy, right? Or is he...

So, I go back to my hotel, pack, and check out. Grab a sandwich and a coke, and I'm first in line (WAY early) for the second screening of "Try Seventeen." I had high hopes that Jeff Porter would still be here today, and my (unusual for me) optimism was rewarded--Jeff was indeed at today's screening, accompanied by Michele Weisler, one of the producers. He did a brief intro, then we were into the second screenings. The audience, as Anne pointed out, seemed to be more similar to a "normal" audience than the premiere one was--where every funny line got gales of laughter--and it was still a very appreciative audience, which was a good sign. I'm really quite hopeful that this movie can find a fairly wide audience--it's got the Mandy name appeal for the kids, Elijah and Franka are both known names as well, and if they don't market it *too* heavily as a teen movie, it *should* do well.

Without going into plot, I liked the movie even better the second time. I was afraid I'd be more critical--I was so relieved at the first showing that it wasn't some teeny bopper film, I might have been too accepting when it was better than expected. But no, it held up very well. The script is very good, the filming effective, but it's the performances that really make the movie. Mandy is definitely the weakest, but she acquits herself adequately, and I don't know that a better or more experienced actress could necessarily have added anyting to that particular role. Elijah and Franka are both perfect in their roles, Debbie Harry is absolutely hysterical, Elizabeth Perkins brings real life and depth to her second portrayal of Elijah's mother (apparently they had a big emotional reunion on the set--Jeff hadn't realized their history until then). The "find" of the movie, for me, is Canadian actor Aaron Pearl as the downstairs neighbor, Brad. He is absolutely hysterical, totally wacky, but never so OTT that he's unbelievable. He also seems like a really nice guy, being the only one who stopped to sign autographs on his way into the theatre for the premiere (and was very nice to everyone).

SPOILER: I'm going to give away a bit of dialogue here (there'll be a lot more in my full review), for those who want to know the derivation of the title. Brad (who is gay) is telling Jones (Elijah) about an ex-boyfriend, Rocky, who left 3 years ago. He suddenly realizes that he hasn't had sex for 3 years. Jones' comment: "Whoa." Brad: "Whoa? Did you say Whoa? I think 3 years of celibacy deserves more than 'whoa'." Jones: "Try seventeen." Brad: "You mean..." Jones: "Well, the first 12 were easy." Brad: "Whoa."

A few notes from the Q&A afterward. Elijah, Franka, and Mandy were all Jeff's first choices for their roles. He approached Elijah's agent first, and when she asked who he had in mind for Julie, told her he wanted Franka but hadn't approached her yet. As it turned out, Franka was with the same agent as Elijah, but she warned Jeff not to get his hopes up because "Franka will say no--she doesn't like anything." But she did, he flew to Germany to meet with her, and he ended up with all of his first choices. He also told a funny story about Aaron--they gave Aaron a callback for the part of Brad even though he was the only one they were considering, just so they could have the pleasure of hearing him read it again! I'm very glad they cast him--he needs to get known outside of Canada.

Franka apparently likes entertaining, and most evenings after the dailies were screened, large numbers of cast and crew ended up in her room for drinks and/or food and music (hers and/or Elijah's). It was apparently a pretty close group, and Jeff says that he and Elijah have remained close.

Odd notes: the bunny head that Lij wears in the MTV Movie House segment is in Brad's apartment. No idea why... but Brad's got some pretty eclectic stuff in there.

People have talked about the fantasy sequences: the Walter Mitty stuff with Jones (Elijah) works really well for the character, who's such a compelling combination of being young for his age, and old for it (a lot like we perceive a certain actor!). It's obviously the way he's coped with an unhappy childhood, and yet it's not a serious problem, more a way of letting off steam and getting on with his life. Thank heavens we get Ellizabeth Perkins as his mother, because a lesser actress might have made a more one-sided Blanche, and that would have been a shame.

Stupid question I didn't ever ask: How hard was it for him to learn to type on that manual typewriter? I have short fingers myself, and of course I learned to type on a manual (being more than twice his age), and it was miserable. Yet he does it with the speed you'd expect of someone who'd been using it all his life (as Jones had). I love it when they get the details right...

Anne loves the shot that "Jane" takes of "Jones"--it reminds her very much of Viggo's famous "Te Anau 2" photo. The SECOND one she takes reminds me of it, especially in the camera angle and the cigarette in his hand, and I wonder if that was intentional (but we didn't ask). But I think my favorite of "Jane's" photos is one of Mandy Moore's character, Lisa, partially wrapped in a scarf. The way Lisa looks in that photo is an important part of the plot, and I'm glad they got that right, too.

So, that's pretty much it. We didn't ask anything at the Q&A because everyone else asked the questions we were going to, including more on the soundtrack (Elijah didn't get his wish to have any say in it, but Jeff says that since he and Elijah like the same music, it should reflect that). We both did go up to Jeff after the Q&A to compliment him again, and say we liked it even better the second time, and wish him luck with it.

And that's about it. I hit the Eaton Centre to buy the Festival t-shirt (they really should sell at the theatres in addition to the main box office--that was a royal pain), and headed off to the airport for home.