THE CARTER EFFECT DOCS D: Sean Menard. Canada, U.S. 60 min. Sep 10, 2 pm, Scotiabank 3 Sep 15, 9:45 pm, Scotiabank 14 Sep 17, 3 pm, Scotiabank 2. Rating: NN
Forget the pre-show tribute to the late TIFF founder Bill Marshall. By the end of The Carter Effect, you’ll probably believe former Raptor and slam dunk legend Vince Carter is responsible for the Toronto International Film Festival.
Menard’s fawning tribute to Vinsanity and what it inspired compiles archival footage with talking head interviews featuring folks like Drake (who is executive producer), Kardinal Offishal, Director X, Tracy McGrady and of course his cousin Vince Carter. It’s a fond flashback, often with colourful and comical asides about how embarrassing Toronto seemed before Carter (naming an NBA team after a dinosaur because Spielberg’s Jurassic Park was the biggest thing in pop-culture at the time).
To fill out its run time and over-emphasize its point that Carter put Toronto on the map not just in basketball but hip-hop culture, the film starts fumbling with facts. I’m not enough of a basketball savant to nitpick at the sporting details, but suspicions were raised when one person says there were only three nightclubs in downtown Toronto before Carter invested in Inside – a claim meant to bolster the argument that his celebrity and love for Toronto is what made us a party destination and paved the way for the city to rebranded as the 6ix.
It’s mythmaking around a local legend and the TDot probably won’t mind.
See photos from The Carter Effect premiere here.
