BEST PICTURE by Kurt Fitzpatrick. Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace. July 2 at 4 pm, July 3 at 11 pm, July 4 at 5:15 pm, July 5 at 8 pm, July 6 at 4 pm, July 9 at 7 pm. Buy tickets. Rating: NNNN
Framed as part of the 89th annual Academy Awards ceremony, this hilarious romp takes on the admittedly barmy task of saluting in only one hour all 88 movies that have won Best Picture.
In fact, the fantastically talented three-person team satirizes more than salutes the Oscars, especially in years when lesser films won out over great ones. The team’s non-chronological approach creates horribly grotesque transitions, such as The Sound Of Music to The Silence of the Lambs. Americanizing history, as in Argo, comes in for particular lambasting.
Meanwhile, tensions develop within the team when actor Rachel Kent as herself objects that cast mates Jon Paterson and Kurt Fitzpatrick try to remake every film into Star Wars. Not knowing all the references may be frustrating, but the comic infighting, along with the cast’s inexhaustible bravado, create more than enough humour to raise anyone’s spirits.