PRODUCTION OFFICE (Deborah Marks, Steve Solomos) Rating: NNN
I suspect there’s a lot of reality in Production Office. Writer/directors Deborah Marks and Steve Solomos have both toiled for more than a decade in the Toronto film industry’s production offices, and I’m guessing they’re not making this stuff up. Real or not, there’s fun to be had with high-energy actors rocking out on vast amounts of potty-mouthed humour.
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Jane (Shauna MacDonald), production coordinator on a cheesy American sci-fi epic shooting in T.O., wants to get home to her daughter. But crises intervene, the worst being the disappearance of a desperately needed actor, and solving them comes down to Jane and trusty assistant Justy (Brandon McGibbon). Then there’s the key question of who’s screwing whom and how it affects the job.
It’s not easy to keep a one-set movie from dragging, but the actors’ exuberance and obvious enjoyment carry the show. Marks and Solomos help with unobtrusive, fluid camera work and editing that maintain the forward motion.
The supporting cast, notably Daniel Karasik as an inept production assistant and Tim Rozon as a depraved courier, bring the same pumped sensibility as the leads, particularly during an unspeakable act involving the producer’s briefs.
Screens at the Royal from Friday (April 24).
