PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL MONOGAMIST (John Mitchell, Christina Zeidler). 83 minutes. Opens Friday (February 12). See listing. 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 – there aren’t that many laugh-out-loud moments, and a satiric funeral for a lost pet doesn’t work at all – but occasional flashes of excellent dialogue feel like they could come out of a real person’s mouth, and newcomer Vanessa Dunn of the band Vag Halen is a bona fide discovery as a DJ hotly pursuing newly single Elsie.
The real draw here is T.O.’s queer community itself. Look for well-knowns like Gavin Crawford, Sabrina Jalees and Dawn Whitwell and glimpses of Moynan King and Elvira Kurt. Patricia Rozema appears for a nanosecond on a Facebook page Elsie’s eyeing.
And there’s also the bunch of queers the team gathered for various shoots, including an art opening at the Gladstone that looks like a CityNews feed.
Plus Don Pyle’s über-indie soundtrack is super-smart.
Don't miss our interview with Vanessa Dunn here.