PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL MONOGAMIST (John Mitchell, Christina Zeidler, Canada). May 31, 8 pm, TIFF 1. Rating: NNN
Writer/directors John Mitchell and Christina Zeidler‘s love letter to T.O.’s LGBTQ community stars Diane Flacks as Elsie, the titular breakup artist who may have made a mistake by dumping her last girlfriend, Robyn (Second City alum Carolyn Taylor).
It’s a slack comedy, but occasional flashes of excellent dialogue feel like they could actually come out of a real person’s mouth, and newcomer Vanessa Dunn of Vag Halen is a bona fide discovery as the DJ hotly pursuing newly single Elsie.
The real draw here is T.O.’s queer community itself, on full display. Look for well-knowns like Gavin Crawford, Sabrina Jalees and Dawn Whitwell, and glimpses of others like Moynan King and Elvira Kurt. Patricia Rozema appears for a nanosecond on a Facebook page Elsie’s eyeing.
Then there’s just the bunch of queers the team gathered for various shoots, including an art opening at the Gladstone that looks like a CityNews feed. Plus a super-smart über-indie soundtrack by Don Pyle.
The screening should be a riot.