This Movie Is Broken

Last updated
This Movie Is Broken
This-movie-is-broken.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Bruce McDonald
Screenplay by Don McKellar
Story by Don McKellar
Bruce McDonald
Kevin Drew
Produced byRhombus Media
Shadow Shows
Starring Broken Social Scene
Greg Calderone
Georgina Reilly
Kerr Hewitt
CinematographyJohn Price
Edited by Matthew Hannam
Gareth C. Scales
Music by Broken Social Scene
Distributed by Alliance Films (Canada)
E1 Entertainment (International)
Release date
  • June 25, 2010 (2010-06-25)(Canada)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

This Movie Is Broken is a 2010 Canadian film directed by Bruce McDonald. A cross between a romantic comedy and a concert film, the film stars Greg Calderone as Bruno, a young man hoping to convince his longtime crush Caroline (Georgina Reilly) to become his girlfriend by taking her to a Broken Social Scene concert at Harbourfront. [1]

Contents

The concert segments were recorded at the band's Harbourfront show on July 11, 2009, following the cancellation of that year's Olympic Island Festival due to the 2009 Toronto strike.

The film's theatrical premiere was held at Toronto's NXNE festival in 2010. [2]

Plot

Bruno wakes up in bed next to Caroline, his long-time crush. But tomorrow she's off for school in France, and maybe she only granted this miracle as a parting gift for her long-time friend. So tonight—tonight is Bruno's last chance. And tonight, as it happens, Broken Social Scene, her favourite band, is throwing a big outdoor bash. Maybe if Bruno, with the help of his best pal Blake, can score tickets and give Caroline a night to remember, he can keep this miracle alive.

Cast

Reception

Liam Lacey of The Globe and Mail remarked of the film, "The drama floats by like a bubble of yearning and delight, and then ends with a slightly silly pop. Contrary to our expectations, this isn't really a version of Before Sunset set in the T.Dot. It's a Broken Social Scene movie, with a sweet tease of a story that pretends for a moment that Toronto and Paris could share an affair." [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broken Social Scene</span> Canadian indie rock band

Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band, a musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning in 1999. Alongside Drew and Canning, the other core members of the band are Justin Peroff (drums), Andrew Whiteman (guitar) and Charles Spearin (guitar).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spirit of the West</span> Canadian rock band

Spirit of the West were a Canadian folk rock band from North Vancouver, active from 1983 to 2016. They were popular on the Canadian folk music scene in the 1980s before evolving a blend of hard rock, Britpop, and Celtic folk influences which made them one of Canada's most successful alternative rock acts in the 1990s.

<i>Hard Core Logo</i> 1996 Canadian film

Hard Core Logo is a 1996 Canadian mockumentary adapted by Noel S. Baker from the novel of the same name by author Michael Turner. The film was directed by Bruce McDonald and illustrates the self-destruction of punk rock. Released in 1996, the film documents a once-popular punk band, Hard Core Logo, comprising lead singer Joe Dick, fame-tempted guitarist Billy Tallent, schizophrenic bass player John Oxenberger, and drummer Pipefitter. Julian Richings plays Bucky Haight, Dick's idol. Several notable punk musicians, including Art Bergmann, Joey Shithead and Joey Ramone, play themselves in cameos. Canadian television personality Terry David Mulligan also has a cameo, playing a fictionalized version of himself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce McDonald (director)</span> Canadian film director, film producer and film editor

Bruce McDonald is a Canadian film and television director, writer, and producer. Born in Kingston, Ontario, he rose to prominence in the 1980s as part of the loosely-affiliated Toronto New Wave.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feist (singer)</span> Canadian musician

Leslie Feist, known mononymously as Feist, is a Canadian indie pop singer-songwriter and guitarist, performing both as a solo artist and as a member of the indie rock group Broken Social Scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brendan Canning</span> Canadian indie rock performer

Brendan Canning is a Canadian indie rock performer. He is a founding member of the band Broken Social Scene and a former member of By Divine Right, Blurtonia, Valley of the Giants, Len, and hHead.

The Hylozoists are a Canadian instrumental rock supergroup formed in 2001 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The band's name is derived from hylozoism and was started as a side project of record producer and multi-instrumentalist Paul Aucoin.

The Olympic Island Festival is an annual rock concert that takes place on Toronto's Olympic Island. It was started in 2004 by Jay Ferguson of the band Sloan, when only Canadian musicians performed. In subsequent years, the festival has featured bands from other countries.

<i>Miracle Run</i> American TV series or program

Miracle Run is a 2004 Lifetime Television film starring Mary-Louise Parker, Zac Efron, Bubba Lewis, Aidan Quinn and Alicia Morton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakwood Collegiate Institute</span> High school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Oakwood Collegiate Institute is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the neighbourhoods of Regal Heights, Oakwood-Vaughan and Bracondale Hill.

<i>Bed of Roses</i> (TV series) Australian comedy drama television series

Bed of Roses is an Australian comedy drama television series which was first shown on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) from 10 May 2008. It stars Kerry Armstrong and was created by Jutta Goetze and Elizabeth Coleman. It was produced by Mark Ruse and Stephen Luby (Crackerjack).

The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Achievement in Cinematography, to honour the best Canadian film cinematography.

<i>Nick & Norahs Infinite Playlist</i> 2008 film by Peter Sollett

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist is a 2008 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Peter Sollett and starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings. Written by Lorene Scafaria and based on the novel of the same name by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, the story tells of teenagers Nick (Cera) and Norah (Dennings), who meet when Norah asks Nick to pretend to be her boyfriend for five minutes. Over the course of the night, they try to find their favorite band's secret show and search for Norah's drunken best friend.

Eclipse is a Canadian drama film, written and directed by Jeremy Podeswa and released in 1994.

The Henrys is a Toronto-based, "nearly instrumental" quartet. Their music features the sound of an antique slide guitar called a kona, along with various other instruments, including pump organ, conch shell, guitars, vocals, trumpet, drums, the sonar zombie, and steel drums. The band consists of leader Don Rooke along with a large cast of Toronto musicians that includes or has included Paul Pasmore, John Sheard, Hugh Marsh, Davide DiRenzo, David Piltch, Jorn Anderson, Michael White, Joey Wright, Joe Phillips, Mike Billard, David Trevis, Monte Horton, Jonathan Goldsmith. Vocals have been contributed, over the years, by guest vocalists such as Mary Margaret O'Hara, Becca Stevens, Gregory Hoskins and Martina Sorbara.

<i>Crazy Heart</i> 2009 American film

Crazy Heart is a 2009 American drama film, written and directed by Scott Cooper in his feature directorial debut. Based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Thomas Cobb, the story was inspired by country singer Hank Thompson. Starring Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, and Robert Duvall, the film follows an alcoholic country singer and songwriter who tries to turn his life around after beginning a relationship with a young journalist. Bridges, Farrell, and Duvall also sing in the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgina Reilly</span> English/Canadian film and television actress

Georgina Reilly is an English/Canadian film and television actress best known to date for her roles in the films Pontypool and This Movie Is Broken, the television series The L.A. Complex and Murdoch Mysteries, and the CBC Radio drama series Trust Inc.

Kerr Hewitt, also credited professionally as Kjartan Hewitt, is a Canadian actor and writer. He won the Best Actor award at the Sicily Web Festival for his performance in the YouTube web series Clusterfuck (2018).

Art of Time Ensemble is a Toronto-based musical collective of leading Canadian musicians from the worlds of jazz and classical music.

The Bohemian Embassy was a coffeehouse and cultural venue in Toronto, Canada, that opened in June 1960 and operated continually in different sites and formats until the early 1990s. Comedian and actor Don Cullen was associated with the establishment throughout its existence. Various aspects of culture were showcased, including jazz and folk music, poetry and theatre. The venue hosted performances by artists such as Milton Acorn, Margaret Atwood, sean o huigan, Sylvia Tyson, Gwendolyn MacEwen, David Essig, Martin Bronstein, Michael Boncoeur and Paul K. Willis. The legacy of the venue was examined in Bravo!'s 2010 documentary Behind the Bohemian Embassy. The "Bohemian Embassy" name has been appropriated by a condominium building in the Queen Street West area of Toronto, and a new wave rock group.

References

  1. "Review: This Movie Is Broken". CBC News, June 17, 2010.
  2. "This Interview About This Movie Is Broken Is Also Broken". Torontoist, June 17, 2010.
  3. "This Movie Is Broken: A little romance and a lot of music in a not-really-broken movie". The Globe and Mail , June 25, 2010.