Hot picks, personal favorites, and other adventures with my industry pass at the 50th Anniversary show.
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| GREATEST CITY IN THE WORLD |
Toronto is a very big city. There's many people of ethnic diaspora, a bustling nightlife, and it's considered one of the biggest places in the world for foodies, with the many independently-owned and highly respected restaurants in the city. Additionally, it's a big city for film production, with many locally-shot and funded Canadian films being principally filmed there, alongside many American big-budget and television films sourcing their principal shooting locations in the area. The American co-production scene is so prevalent that those who work in the industry around and outside of Canada call it "Hollywood North".
Aside from the production scene in the city, the National Film Board funds many independently produced and distributed films shot in Canada, alongside the government offering grants to filmmakers on the inside and outside to produce their projects in the country. Many lower-budget television productions in the States tend to shoot in Canada, both because of the grants, but also due to the repertoire of local talent and abundance of forests and cities for necessary scenes. The USD conversion rate also plays a role, with Canadian-sourced crew and actors being paid less for their work in USD, but in a regional equivalent in CAD.
So why do I mention these ultimately nitty-gritty production things about Canadian cinema and production availability? Well, I was involved the heart of it all for the first week of Toronto International Film Festival's 50th installment; one of the biggest film festivals in the world and a big event for Torontonians, both in regards to tourism opportunities, but also as a way to celebrate their community, country, and the world of cinema at large. And it's an awesome thing to do, especially for a city as vast and diverse as the Dot.
This article will be split into several sections: Days, Films Seen, and Side-Quest Roundup. Hopefully it won't be too much, but this will also be turned in as an assignment for my film courses. What's up, Professor? Don't leave a comment on my post, if you are able. I stay on my side of the street, etc etc.
Day 1: Arduous disappointment and that foggy dull pain in your head
Waking up around 6:15 AM on Thursday, September 4th, I had packed as best I could about 2 and a half hours before attempting to get any semblance of sleep. My bag was terribly heavy, tugging at the corners of my shoulders, and my suitcase was as necessary as I could get it with my outfit changes. One such outfit wasn't used yet, but I was plenty excited to show it off at some screening this weekend.
Heading on the bus, that for whichever reason started on the line at 7 AM despite it running early in other jurisdictions, I arrived at my jumping-off point at around 7:15. Waiting in the lobby with the other university students who signed up, I frantically searched for a vending machine to cure my stomach. Apple Pay and tap methods were disabled on all of them. I'd attempted to pay before at the bus station, but the answer was the same. There's probably a timer on it that unlocks the tap-pay method past a certain time. Unfortunately, that's an improbability because of the hard-8:00 departure.
I was on the bus for what felt like hours. And it was! But in the constantly-haggard turn-of-phrase-way. I had gotten no rest from my emergency moving and shaking the evening prior, and work, and then whatever else I needed to finish up (laundry, additional packing, late dinner/early breakfast). My mood was less than stellar, and to be honest, I was becoming more and more annoyed by my company as the ride lingered.
We stopped in Woodstock to pick up lunch, leading to my first meal of the day at around 12:39 PM.
- a Kinder Surprise egg, inside a game involving spinning a roulette with animals, and guessing which animal was on the face-down cards. Interesting! You could gamble with that.
- Burger King chicken fries with Kraft Ranch dip. I don't really like Kraft Ranch.
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| Fuck. This is nice. |
Additionally, I picked up a bag of crunchy Cheetos and a share-size Mars bar. Closest to a Milky Way here.
After heading back on the bus, I waited until we arrived, mask on face, folk rock blasting on the Bluetooth speakers inside it. Eventually, we start to slow down. And then I look out the window...
I go to school in a somewhat urban area, but urban enough to the point where rural people and those in the suburbs aren't disoriented by the potential for crime to affect them. It has been a very long time since I've been in a big city, and I am very grateful to take it all in. Unfortunately, my head is hurting terribly, and this will turn out to be the worst day of the trip.
We arrive at the hostel sometime around 3:30 and are quickly sorted into room assignments; entering the foyer with my heavy backpack and much heavier suitcase, I am confronted with a flight of stairs. There is no elevator.
For reference, as an American, there is a law that requires buildings of a certain age to be accessible to those with mobility difficulties, the Americans with Disabilities Act. Namely, this involves installing elevators and ramps to accommodate people who have crutches or use a wheelchair to get around, among other reasons. It is also helpful for stores that front-load to receive boxed stock, which can be done with a dolly and an outdoor ramp, for instance. The law is useful not just for people who have disabilities, but for those carrying big stuff on wheels!
However, Canada does not have such a law. In order to provide accessible movement in a "historical" building, each building's owner must go through several layers of governance to install something as simple as a concrete ramp outside. It's a lot of trouble to go through, so most hostels and places of business don't bother with it.
Nobody helped me get my stuff up the stairs. I was screaming, breathing heavily, and straining, yet made it to the floor.
There was a steeper and taller flight of stairs waiting for me. It was so much worse.
The steps were thinner and my area of mobility was reduced. My spine was pulled down by my backpack. My wrists strained from my grip on my suitcase.
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| SMILE |
"Why didn't any of you help me?" To which the girls replied, "We didn't know you needed help."
I believe that, if you had eyes and ears, you could sense the feeling that help was needed in the stairwell.
After setting what we needed down, a long wait transpired for everyone to be ready to head out. I was angry, pained, and with a tremendous headache. A lady bumped into me. I never saw her face. She could have looked like the fake Marge in Homer's spicy pepper trip for all I'd care. It would have been cool if that were true.
Our group headed over to the "covered" dinner, at Scaddabush. Our menu was limited since we were technically an "event group", with our drink options being limited to tea and water, but an unspoken rule of the trip was that if you were over 21 and in the company of faculty, you could go to the bar and order yourself an alcoholic drink. I got myself a strawberry daiquiri, and it was so good. I didn't get a picture of it, but they put a lot of care into the blending of the liquor, ice, and flavor in a way that was complimented by the rounded margarita-type glass. If you're ever in the area, I recommend you get one.
After dinner, I had realized that, because we had lost several hours of time on the way to Toronto (and because of significant traffic delays caused by both lost time and roadwork), I had missed the first big film that I'd wanted to see: John Candy: I Like Me, a documentary on the late Second City alum from the perspective of his family, friends, and colleagues. Of course, it's going to be shown later in the week, so I didn't worry too much about missing it. However, a tremendous whiff was missing Nirvanna the Band The Show The Movie, which I had waited in line for a good chunk of the evening somewhat confused about what my rush pass had meant and how it ultimately didn't make the difference compared to the others in the rush line like me. The theatrics of the midnight premiere were astounding, but I unfortunately didn't get to see it that night due to both my placement and also because of just how many seats were filled up. A good chunk of the line didn't get in, so I shouldn't have felt as bad as I did.
Leaving, I headed back to the hostel with a headache, muscle pain, and tremendous sorrow. I didn't speak to any of the girls in the room when I got back, holding a rule that I wouldn't speak to them for the rest of the trip in my temporary anger. This rule was subsequently broken the morning after when one of them sneezed and I said "bless you" out of habit.
Sidequests: None, at least in the Toronto area (if you count the dinner and truck stops as sidequests, I wouldn't fault you, but it was on the itinerary lol)
Day 2: the continued inconsequential effort to watch Nirvanna the Band The Show The Movie, Candymania, and a visit to a local shop on a personal recommendation
The night before, I was messaged by Aaron Long, creator of web cartoon Sublo and Tangy Mustard as he's a resident of Toronto. We talk sometimes, mostly as part of a larger animation/animation industry group, but he told me to go check out a comic store a little past Chinatown called The Beguiling. Needless to say, after the somewhat rough night before, it was a great stress reliever to take a look at comics that don't have the same appeal in the States, but do pretty well here in the Toronto area's zine and art culture.
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| The only picture I got in the store |
Entering the store, they have a mask mandate for all visitors. Not a problem for me. At the front are comic strips and big lush collections of Tintin, Asterix and Barks' Duck comics. Automatically, I get the feeling that the people running the shop are huge on comics, much more than the average 'Merican cape fan would be.
On the walls hang original art, prints, and framed published work stretching back as far as 1908. An original Gasoline Alley Sunday, some Little Nemo, and works from local Canadian artists such as Chris Ware and Seth. It's a grand celebration of the medium and what it means to people. In the basement was a treasure trove of miscellaneous things from all over: French comics, American underground books, autobiographical and nonfiction trade paperback graphic novels, video game and manga artbooks...I could go on.
Additionally, the store doesn't have a public bathroom, so I made a quick stop next door to the T&T, which had a very hard-to-find restroom area (and I'd say it was intentional to dissuade non-shoppers and people unfamiliar with the store's layout. Needed, but still a bit out of my way). I bought myself a Mars bar on the way out.
Of the two pickups made at The Beguilling, one of them was something I had been searching for and was on the backlog for a while: The Nancy Show, a catalogue for an exhibition held at Ohio State last year (noted that Gary Hallgren was in attendance with some pieces on display, but neither him or his works appear in the book). Included were photos of Nancy-adjacent paraphernalia, high-detail manuscripts of strips, and art pieces inspired by the comic. I had some issues with the book (namely the layout in certain portions not utilizing "the rules" of occupying page space and a handful of errors, blame me for being a newspaper student), but besides that, it's a wonderful rundown of the exhibition and worth picking up if you want to get a look at Ernie Bushmiller's creative process first-hand.
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| In case you thought everyone was just being dicks, plausible deniability is out the window. |
Not long after some lunch at Burger King and a bottle of strawberry Fanta from the 7-Eleven up the street, I got in line to see Nirvanna the Band The Show The Movie. What strikes me as curious at TIFF is the usage of "cut" to describe a film with full attendance and that they are "cutting off" any more patrons. Maybe I'd prefer more strong and understandable language like "full" or "sold out", but because I am familiar with the music performance and event planning scenes, "cut" usually implies a lack thereof in terms of something being present. "The line is being cut off!" is a bit of a mouthful, but is "sold out" still too much of a mouthful? Is "full" too much?
Regardless, I stayed in line. Outside the Scotiabank Cinema, the line wrapped around the building to see some new, more interesting film involving Hollywood A-listers that I didn't care much to see. I ran through the list of what was playing...and settled on my first movie of the show.
Film: John Candy: I Like Me
As a film project as daunting at this was, namely a documentary about a comedian and film star who has not been present for cinema's history over the last 30-odd years, telling a tale of a grand man in what can only be described as reflective retrospective or an oral history of events that have been out of the public consciousness for that same amount of time, the execution and gathering of all these stars, family members, and friends of John Candy had ultimately made the entire effort worthwhile, with Ryan Reynolds at the premiere (though I had missed that particular screening).
The film details the events of Candy's childhood, grade school days, forays into artistic endeavors, and his eventual membership into The Second City, with the fame and fortune that had followed. Understandably, they cover his big successful days and his descent into alcoholism and eventual overworking that caused his death from hereditary illness, but it's done much more respectfully than how I've described it. The film's title comes from, of course, the monologue Del gives near the end of Planes, Trains and Automobiles, where he explains his need to push on in reflection of terrible times in his life, no matter what others think of him.
And it's a good summary of Candy's character: he is a man that, as far as most of his family and colleagues knew him, was unapologetic in the life he led. His skeletons in the closet, whether they be pressure from his management to keep a particular image to his addiction and eventual stress of work that was certainly chided on by the many things he had lined up...you can't help but feel that, in spite of it all, he wanted to do what he could to make an impact. It shows, just with the repertoire of stars giving their two cents on what Candy had meant to them.
(John Candy: I Like Me is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime, with subscription.)
Following up from I Like Me was a brief pause to charge my phone at the hostel. On my way there, I rented a bike, thinking it was electric, and accidentally drew the ire of a mob of cops outside the park, telling me to ride on the road. Where I was headed there was no bike lane, and so after a brief exchange where I, riding away said "I don't feel confident in what I'm doing!", I'd arrived. Marching up the stairs, taking off my bags, and plugging the phone in. It was nice, the quiet that you hardly get in a time like this. This allowed me to reflect on what exactly I was thinking, and, for lack of a better term, what I wanted for dinner.
At this point, I wasn't sure. I thought about the kinds of things I'd wanted to have: sushi, maybe a pizza and a good cheap beer, something familiar...and by the time I was ready to get back out there, I still hadn't decided, and took matters into my own hands to simply see where the wind blew. I had decided on A&W, with a location up the street from where most of the big stuff was. I changed clothes, got out that fit I was excited to wear, and left.Heading out, a tremendous Palestinian aid demonstration was eating up an intersection of King Street. Naturally, I stuck around to see what the deal was.
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| This isn't from the same demonstration, but it was from the same organization. |
Briefly and in a quick glance, someone inconspicuous caught my eye. A white man, nondescript in stature and clothing, who, had you not taken note of his hat and t-shirt, could have faded in with a crowd of other inconspicuous white men, was recording the demonstration and from behind his camera, flipped off the protestors. Obviously, he had no intention to start physical trouble, but was merely planning to upload the video online, or to friends, family, to earn political brownie points. However, this is the part that gets relatively complicated.
I, as well as many others, denounce the actions and crimes of Israel and the IDF. I believe that these organizations and people complicit in the violence directed towards the citizens of Palestine be stopped and that a ceasefire not be broken. But, being peaceful sometimes pushes you to the limit. You can say things that will be of relatively optimistic integrity, but even in times like this, a stranger alone on the street dressed in a rather Venice-style outfit, easily identifiable based on what I'd worn, against a man so forgettable that you hardly would have known he was there, if at all...you become a walking target. The next screening was tough for this particular reason.
I turn to the man, face in shadow, and say something to him that, for whatever reason, he would have told someone online with whom he had disagreed with in a hypothetical fit of instigation.
He's in shock. He's still rolling, so as soon as the encounter ends, I take my leave. I'm sure he might have caught me from behind, but, like I'd described, I vanished into the crowd, removing anything that could have been seen as identifiable, at least from the head up.
I should state that this particular line of action came from observation. Judging the man's behavior, he was very obviously the terminally-online type corrupted into hate. His words and actions are the result of a druglike desire to make people irrationally angry. His line of defense (or his only one, if we're to be reductive) was that he hid behind the shield of a screen. Once his actions had real-world implications, wouldn't the bringing out of his words from all the pixels jotted to the display make the least bit of sense? For him to taste his own medicine, so to speak?
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| A picture of people taking pictures of Matthew McConaughey. |
So, obviously, I stayed in the crowd for a little bit. And this was no ordinary crowd, no sir, this was a photography mob for the cast of Carolina Caroline, with Matthew McConaughey arriving anytime soon.
These big red carpet displays aren't my kind of thing. The pictures I took were forwarded to my mother, and with the thesis of "people taking pictures of celebrities", she got a good laugh out of it. The media cycle in Toronto continued for the rest of the week, with Monday finally letting up on the roads.
A pit-stop to A&W informed me that Canadian A&Ws don't have root beer floats! How can any of you live your lives like this? I chilled out in the restaurant, eating some fries and having a Mozza burger, sipping on A&W root beer, before heading onwards to the park for my second and final movie of the day.
Film: Uncle Buck
Prior to seeing the film at TIFF, this was the rare film that I had never watched in full, but saw on TV many times growing up. I'd noted in my Letterboxd review how this was in frequent rotation on a channel called the "TV Guide Channel" which no longer exists for the simple fact that it is no longer needed with the way technology has improved (it should also be mentioned that what was once the TV Guide Channel ended up becoming Schitt's Creek channel Pop, so that's cool!).
Uncle Buck is my premier definition of "TV Guide Channel movie". Something old enough that everyone recognizes it and wants to watch it if it's on, but are hindered by the way in which it's seen. The presentation, with the film on top and literally anything else on at the same time being offered to you in the lower half of the screen's guide, were enough to dissuade me from ever considering watching anything on the TV Guide Channel. If you want to see some footage of the TV Guide Channel, click here.
Nonetheless, the above-described TV Guide Channel rant has nothing to do with the film at hand. Uncle Buck is a story about family, acceptance, and why Buck is cool. People my age use the term "aura and hype moments" to describe characters who are fun and cool for the sake of being fun and cool, but did you ever consider a YouTube video titled "Uncle Buck Aura and Hype Moments Compilation" to exist, if at all? Hop on it. Not a request, by the way.
Hughes wrote the film with Candy in the role of Buck first and foremost, knowing that he would cover all the bases in the script simply because Buck was supposed to be a more hyperbolic and sensationalized version of Candy. And, had I not known about that prior to watching, I would have given Candy just the same amount of credit for his portrayal of our titular bachelor.
The kids are great. Macaulay Culkin and Gaby Hoffmann are fantastic and hit that crossroads of childlike naivety and precociousness with an eagle-eye precision. Jean Louisa Kelly is irritating to watch as Tia, burning a bridge with the audience before she gets a chance to build it. Her face-turn near the end of the film makes the rebellion and defiance all the more satisfying to have gotten through, as she must play matchmaker for Buck and Chanice to atone for her mistakes. That angle of insecurity that she brings to Tia is necessary for the final scene, to have all these feelings wash over.
The cinematography is great! Sometimes it rides borderline live-action cartoon as a compliment to some of the things going on. I'm fuckin' with the giant pancakes, dude! Wish I had me a plate of that.
(Uncle Buck is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime, with subscription, and is also available to purchase and rent from other digital storefronts.)
Additionally, I'd like to briefly touch on a late trip to Hooters that was out of pure id and impulse. I ordered a strawberry daiquiri for fun, but ended up getting a stiff and sloppy mess of a drink. This was a $16 CAD cocktail, by the way. I have no faults with the bartender who got my drink; granted, it was around 1 in the morning and she was justifiably overworked, and quite possibly sexually harassed by the patrons and her employers, so I tipped her decently to make the whole thing worthwhile. Way too much liquor, not enough ice or strawberry flavoring. Just my two cents, but knowing how most bartenders hate doing blender drinks, I understood. The environment was shit, though.
Sidequests: The Beguilling, a handful of meals, "returning damaged goods", and the absolute worst daiquiri I've ever had in my life at the Hooters here.
Day 3: CBC lets me in their building for some reason, a stroll through Chinatown, and a tasty little hot treat in the Gay Village
I, after the brief passthrough in Chinatown the day before, got curious as to what else was around. Of course, you'll have your mom-and-pop noodle shops, asian supermarts, and general goods stores, but you also have a lot of interesting things, most of which I'd mentioned on Day 2.
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| Huh? How did I even clock this? |
I went into another general goods shop, this one seemingly aimed more at the local Chinese population. Outside in baskets were toys of little Ne Zha riding a bike, toy fans, and various spinning and light-focused playthings. Heading on in, you could take the stairs up or down, so I started with the upper level.
On the upper level were shoes, clothing, and various pots and pans. In boxes were toys of Baby Shark that seemingly didn't sell at Walmart, and to the left were household cleaning supplies, including the pictured Maa-chan rubber gloves? I couldn't even tell you how this happened. I couldn't even tell you why of all Tezuka characters, his earliest formally-published, is shilling rubber gloves. I couldn't even tell you how and why I recognized Maa-chan on the bag. He looks awful! But I knew! I knew him! And I knew Tezuka Pro wouldn't be happy if they found out! |
| I don't know about that, man... |
A few stores from there was an anime shop, with a lot of stuff that I couldn't have found in Michigan. They didn't allow pictures of their merchandise, so I'll have to relay what I saw through words. You like words, don't you?
Gundam model kits, Mazinger Z figures, Urusei Yatsura keychains, and a grail: Osomatsu-san Nendoroids and Figmas. I took home a Nendoroid of Osomatsu to complement my Todomatsu Nendo. I knew I wasn't going to have this opportunity again in America, so I jumped. I took it. I am the master of my own domain.
And quite close to the anime shop was another neat store, which sold figures and hobby-oriented goods alongside stuff for tagging and painting. Up on a shelf was a complete set of Peter Bagge's Hate, which I snatched up for the sake of it. I'm playing with Monopoly money here, alright? Let me have this. I also got myself a thick black Posca paint marker for future events.
Not too far from everywhere else was a place called Yume, an import arcade specializing in rhythm games. No Groove Coaster, though. I like Groove Coaster.
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| I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener... |
DDR had two songs of interest: "Hanamaru Pippi wa Yoiko Dake" and "Zenryoku Batankyu", both from Osomatsu. Mistakenly, I set the language setting to Korean, so I tried my best to navigate the menu in a language I can't read. I think I did fine.
Continuing on, I played some Taiko to the right of the DDR machine. My songs chosen were "Zenryoku Batankyu", "Natsu Matsuri" (in particular, Jitterin' Jinn's original recording), and "A Cruel Angel's Thesis". I did much better, with "Zenryoku" being a signature song of mine to play when I am given unrestricted access to Taiko. Not happy to hear that it's not in the new Taiko game, which has a subscription pass of all things instead. "Never pay more than 20 bucks for a computer game", in the words of Guybrush Threepwood.
Finally was Chunithm, which was a game of no real interest to me because my Osomatsu autism could not be sated. I did "Megalovania" and "A Cruel Angel's Thesis", then "Megalovania" again. I only know so much, so be kind to me.
I liked the gameplay of Chunithm, but had there been more songs of interest to me (not even relating to Osomatsu or any of my other obsessive fixations!), I'd probably have jived with it more. I did, however, have another movie to catch, so I headed on out to what I expected was JUNK WORLD, only for it to be full. I had another pick in mind that I caught just in the nick of time...
Film: Dandelion's Odyssey
Director Momoko Seto was influenced by her earlier shorts and their mixed-media implementation of bugs, amphibians, reptiles and mollusks to tell this story of these silly seed characters, which do in fact have names! I don't remember the names since they were based in French puns, but I'm sure it's been documented somewhere to find.
When asked, in the Q&A, about the consistent inclusion of strange insects and lesser-known animals like centipedes and tadpoles, Seto did so simply because of how weird they were, and how alien they seemed, even though they're relatively normal in their ecosystems. Additionally, the film was edited and composited in Nuke, which was pretty neat. Seems to be a really versatile program.
There's a bit of a Pixar sensibility to the story, but the film has no dialogue to speak of. The dandelions themselves are the only CG-created characters in the film, and you can tell what they're all about based on body language, shape and vocalizations. I gotta commend the crew for the dedication to the concept. It's a fun and visually interesting little movie, and I hope it goes far.
(Dandelion's Odyssey is not available to stream in the US, but the production crew is currently looking for distributors.)
Dandelion's Odyssey was unfortunately the only movie of the day for me, but I made a trip to a place that I'm sure many of you Torontonians may be familiar with: the headquarters for the CBC, to take part in a small mixer event. I looked like shit, and wasn't at my most locked-in, so I waited in the lobby for a creator talk to finish up before anything went further.
As I read the TIFF edition of Variety, a thought washed over me. "What happened to the Kids Canada characters?"
I'm not sure if you'd have known this, but when I was younger, I had a good flow of Canadian TV come in because our cable package had CBC. Early in the mornings, I'd have on Kids Canada with the various shows that it was squished in-between to watch before school.
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| Some of the guys from Kids Canada. Of note are the puppet characters: Captain Claw, Mamma Yamma, and Saumon. |
Immediately, once the mixer had begun, I had eaten at least seven tomato-and-mozzarella hors d'oeuvres skewers and had talked to exactly two people. It is crowded. I have pitstains under my shirt. I am failing Mamma Yamma. I am now drinking a Heineken 0.0% straight from the bottle. Stop. Stop this. In such a holy place, stop this. Eat the creampuffs like a normal person, you fool.
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| Hi CBC! Hi CN Tower! |
At least it was a nice event to have gone to.
After this, I go to A&W and have myself another burger. I am an American, and I must naturally play into stereotype.That night, I waited in line for that night's Midnight Madness show. So far, I have not been lucky when it comes to the Midnight Madness offerings. And this night is no exception! Talking with another person who was cut off, I mentioned that if I don't get into the show tonight, I'm getting myself some oden from somewhere around here. I'd been wanting some for a good while, a good two-years while, and with Toronto's big Asian population, I'd probably get something just like how I had it in Japan back in '23. So, hopping on the subway to Wellesley, I set off for my tasty treat.
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| Yummy! (Ignore my Bolthouse Farms smoothie and cheese Poppers) |
A lot of gay clubs and late-night queer offerings here, with a ton of patrons with really awesome fits. Many compliments shot, and many smiles in return. I'd say that the Gay Village was the friendliest place I'd been to in Toronto at this hour, and for good reason, too.
The oden I had was at Kintaro Izakaya, a homey and comfy izakaya-styled restaurant that was as authentic as you could get. Showa-era print ads all over the walls, cartons of Ganbare Tou-chan strewn about, low seating with nice cushions...I couldn't recommend the place enough. I got there 15 minutes before the kitchen closed, and was smashing words together as I talked in my anxiety-ridden desire to have a bowl of oden so close to the end of the night. And it was some damn good oden, I tell you what. The atmosphere made it that much more comforting.
Sidequests: Chinatown, Yume, CBC mixer, and gay oden. Also getting lost on Wellesley for 15 minutes and realizing the station closed an hour ago. I also smoked a joint before getting in line for Midnight Madness, but that's besides the point.
Day 4: Tourette's, tourism, and Bob Odenkirk's funky new movie
This might not be a day of any significant events, but I paid a visit to a local music-oriented bar that I hoped would give me some luck...but first,
Film: I Swear
Aramayo discussed his preparation for the role of Davidson by hanging out with and "annoying" him, as he'd described it. When Davidson first met with Aramayo and Jones for consultation on the film, he ate in front of the fireplace, with the strenuous details of his compulsion to do so explained in the film. The first 45 minutes of the film were extremely cathartic for me, having grown up with a disability and not quite understanding what was "wrong" with me because of the people I lived with not understanding what my deal was either. Having done research on my own and having the experience of being misunderstood, I shifted around in my seat, tearing up from the feelings of John's that too stuck with me as a kid.
The catharsis pays off, though, as John encounters many things with his Tourette's by his side, meaning well despite his outward impression. From a community-based job, to moving out, to going clubbing and getting arrested due to a misunderstanding, John goes through it all because of his condition, but stays relatively optimistic about finding kids and others like him who he can advocate for and be an inspiration to.
John did state that he wanted to come to the screening, but because he doesn't do too well on planes, he refrained from coming, and that he would have likely had his tics during the show as well. He did send for Jones to tell us that he was happy for the film to have been made, and that he's happy that people around the world get to hear his story.
(I Swear is not available to stream in the US, but is currently showing in UK cinemas from StudioCanal.)
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| Rhird Revel, Rots of Reil Roung at the Rivoli |
The Rivoli is a place that I don't think I need to elaborate on. It's the Toronto equivalent of CBGB or the Roxy. Of the musicians and groups that have played here, I'll list some.
Adele, Arcade Fire, Beck, The Flaming Lips, Hole, Iggy Pop, Stone Temple Pilots, and Sum 41, of the most well-known.
Playing upstairs that day was a blues trio, Little Magic Sam. I tipped them quite decently, and plan to get myself a physical CD of their music. They were very nice, and I'd love to support them when I can.
Downstairs, I talked with the bartender, asking about the significance of the bar. His take on the Riv's significance had to do with its cultivating environment, where both comedians and musicians are allowed to flourish their talents, no matter what kind of music or comedy they do. I asked to go to the back to see the main stage, which he allowed. |
| The Rivoli...on the inside... |
I explained that I wasn't, and I was here just visiting as part of a study abroad program, and asked what his favorite thing about the Riv was. He said he was a big Blue Rodeo fan, and that knowing they'd performed where he works was pretty cool. Eventually, the man from Janus Films arrived, and I was told that a private party was to be held within the hour. I wished them well, and headed out.
After that, I dilly-dallied up and down the street, taking note of whatever else could be seen, bought, eaten...I went to a store called Black Market, which has two locations near Spadina: Upstairs and Downstairs. They have new and used clothes, with hand-printed t-shirts made from donated blanks. I ended up getting myself a few, with a punk yet Ernie Bushmiller bent. I'm sensing a theme that Toronto really loves Nancy.
At the Downstairs location, there were smaller stores inside the main store run by local artists or resellers, adding to the general punk vibe. Who says that one store can't have the community inside it, too?
That's it for sidequests for today. To finish up, I'll share the first Midnight Madness show I got to go to, with a teeny-tiny rundown of Midnight Madness and the festival traditions.
Film: Normal
Midnight Madness is the late-night slot at TIFF, specializing in genre/otherwise crazy cinema that invites the audience to yell, clap, scream, boo, and cheer. This program has its own pre-show traditions, similarly to the pre-show traditions of the non-MM screenings (which will be detailed without any MM indication, and is assumed for any screening):
After the Land Acknowledgement, it is customary to clap.
After the "TIFFTY" promo, it is customary to clap for the "thank you to our volunteers" message. For MM, quipping and yelling at the screen when the subtitled "Celebrity" character appears is encouraged.
For the Christie promo at MM, yelling "We love you, Christie!" is encouraged.
For the Rogers "Killer" ad shown at MM, it is encouraged to yell "No!" at the screen to each of the killer's questions of grandeur.
For the Varda ad, it is customary to clap along with the music.
During the anti-piracy warning just before the screenings, it is a tradition to yell "arrr!" at MM in support of piracy, but in recent years, music has been added to the sequence to dampen the crowd's sea-faring war-cry.
The crowd was phenomenal for this one, which I was lucky to see, seeing as this is likely to be a movie stuck in a Toxic Avenger-esque distributor hell. Lots of gasps, cheers, yeahs, hoots, and hollers, which is what I love to see at festivals like this.
Odenkirk plays Sheriff Ulysses, an interim officer working in the small North Dakotan town of Normal in the place of the recently-deceased sheriff. Ulysses has his own dark past, so escaping to Normal is a good change of pace to quiet down his painful memories of his lost wife. Little does he know that the town isn't as normal as it seems, as a mysterious overseas benefactor is stocking their illegal weapons and stolen goods at the bank, and that a couple who has come into town intending to rob it is letting on more than he'd want to know. When the secret of the town is revealed, Ulysses, the couple, and the sheriff's daughter must confront the self-defense-trained community, and kill anybody out to get them, no matter how nice they appeared earlier, as the benefactors are flying in to settle the score.
I don't want to reveal too much about the plot, but within the first five minutes, you'll know exactly what the general gist is. An east-meets-west sorta philosophy, taking inspiration from Fujita and Wright and throwing it into a blender. A moose appeared onscreen, and the crowd went NUTS. They know what they like!
Bob was here to answer some questions from the fans. A fan of his who comes to every premiere and con appearance across the US and Canada was there, and gifted him a cute little acrylic keychain of Saul Goodman. Bob explained that he'd been happy with his recent slate of action-oriented films, likening the fight choreography to sketch comedy, a la Mr. Show. Overall, him being there definitely must have hyped up the audience to some degree, as he's one of the most well-known comedians and actors in the world right now, and it's rare to be able to see him anywhere else but a screen.
(Normal is unreleased in the US as of writing, but a theatrical release is planned in Russia on March 26, 2026.)
As us, the goofy and delirious film students, headed back to the hostel, we joked about being "consumers" of cinema rather than cultivators. I had a hypothetical that went something like this...
"Say that your uncle is a big movie guy. He's got Criterion releases, Arrow releases, Vinegar Syndrome, Kino Lorber, etc. His shelves are wall-to-wall with the biggest movies of the last 100 years, alongside the craziest crap you've never heard of. You decide, while you're visiting your uncle, to have your friend sleep over, and he lets you pick out any movies you want to watch from his ginormous collection of DVDs and Blu-rays. You decide to let your friend pick due to the sheer overwhelming size, and they pick out Avengers: Endgame. Suddenly, you don't really feel like Endgame. You pull out some others to sway your friend away: The Blues Brothers, Robot Monster, or Heavy Traffic, if they're feeling like cartoons. Your friend says no to all of them, wanting to watch Endgame simply because it's the one movie they've heard of out of that lot of three you gave. And so, you watch it. Whether or not you have a good time is subjective, but it was a very easy and non-challenging choice."
My peers joked about this kind of hypothetical person who doesn't concern themselves with older movies or stuff that isn't the least bit "weird". To be blissfully ignorant of the world of cinema and pre-occupy themselves with the latest franchise/cinematic universe release, instead of watching anything and everything yet carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. It's a Flowers for Algernon problem. But, it has to do with over-produced, over-budgeted, dime-a-dozen franchise films and sequels rather than expanding a palette.
Sidequests: The Riv, the shops, and the powers of communication.
Day 5: Four films for Day 5 including Nirvanna the Band, a stop in Graffiti Alley, shitting in the saunas at the YMCA, and an enviable encounter with a world-famous director
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| Without comment. |
Wow! This is probably the busiest and most eventful day of the show for me. I got up earlier than I usually would, and the reason for that was because a new A24 film would be playing at around 11:30 up the street from the park. I'll talk about that later on, but I want to discuss a cool thing that happened not long from my queue entrance.
As I come from the hostel towards King, I pass by a very nice and fancy hotel before the area of interest. I've joked about it, saying that the doors were the gates to Kingdom Hearts, and that they probably have some kind of designer clothing store inside.
Every so often outside this hotel, crowds will line up against barricades, waiting for a celebrity to leave to get to wherever they need to go. I don't typically bother with these sorts of things, and since I was on the wrong side of the street, I'd asked the chauffeur who was coming. He hadn't an idea, and I asked if it was okay to cross. However, like a futakuchi-onna, a voice was heard from the back of my head: "Del Toro!"
I turn around, and Guillermo del Toro has exited the hotel, signing posters and blu-rays of his films. I know I don't have anything to sign that's related to him, but then, I realize. Digging in my purse, I pull out a small sketchbook, about four inches by five inches big. That Posca marker I got the other day came in handy, too, and as I saw him, I had a small exchange that went something like this:
A - "Mr. Del Toro! I'm sorry that I don't have anything related to sign, all I have is this book that has a few drawings in it..."
DT - "That's fine."
He opens the book, seeing the inside page with the little drawings on the left side.
DT - "These are pretty good!"
A - "Oh, thank you!"
DT - "What are they for?"
A - "I'm in a comics class at university, and my professor asked for about 15 of these little heads for a project..."
DT - "I see..."
He starts signing the other side.
A - "I've heard a lot about your Frankenstein film, it looks really good. I'm just a little scared because it's going to be really packed tonight. People started lining up at seven this morning!"
He laughs, and hands me my book. |
| Live footage of me going from 8K to 360p after meeting Del Toro |
DT - "Thank you, hope to see you around!"
Ah.
"Hope to see you around."
Ahh.
Ahhhhh!!
I don't get starstruck. After that sort of thing, I reflected on it as a cool thing that happened. Until I realized that this might have been the least mundane celebrity interaction I've ever had.
I've met celebrities before. I've briefly talked with Jeff Daniels. I've shown Ryan Stiles where the stairs were. But I haven't had a run-in with someone internationally-known and renowned as Guillermo del Toro. And "hope to see you around"!! And that he thought my drawings were nice!! And---ah. I'm getting too worked up right now. I need to calm down. So I head on over to my next movie, waiting in the queue. A buddy of mine is there too, saying that one of Kevin Smith's companies contacted him that morning asking for him to be put on a project. What is going on?
Film: Eternity
You fellers like fake film grain? I do. And Eternity's got a lot of it!
I've been waiting for a movie like this for a while. Another afterlife bureaucracy film, but this time, with Pan-Am post-modern 60s convention center flair and a romcom love triangle with a twist. It takes the idea of "everyone getting their own Heaven" to its most logically-structured, involving a ton of rules, a "pick one" problem, and that aforementioned love triangle eating into all of it. It's also another A24 banger!
The focus on Joan, which shifts around the time she's finally come into the Eternity convention center, is quick and fast. Larry is no longer the window into this weird and strangely well-oiled world that relies on 1960s post-mid-century visual design to strike its banality. It feels like the kind of place you can smell, with martini spills and musty curtains lingering in every place to be. There's also a really good sequence where Larry tries to win over Joan from Luke by utilizing one of her favorite Rat Pack members, but I'll save the surprise of it for you to see when the movie's finally out to the public.
Elizabeth Olsen was here for the Q&A, alongside director Freyne and both of the Afterlife Coordinators: John Early and Da'Vine Joy Randolph. The movie was heavily inspired by Broadcast News for the love triangle, and A Matter of Life and Death for the afterlife shenanigans. There's also hundreds of potential eternities that didn't make it into the movie, and that they were considering putting together an artbook showcasing the cut places to spend forever and their brochures. Will keep an eye out for that, if it comes to fruition.
(Eternity is currently being screened at festivals across the US, with a planned wide theatrical release on November 26th, other countries to follow before Yuletide.)
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| Find my Morts... |
Several people were here today tagging and otherwise doodling on these hallowed walls, with some pretty big murals around including a King Dice from Cuphead, loving portraits of deceased family members, and a lot of general name-tags. I don't think I could ever get name-tagging or anything as thought-out as a tribute to a loved one done in the time I have (since I also have to get something to eat too...), so I pulled out Ol' Reliable: a dead teenager by the name of Mort Graves. A lot of him. And also some Matsuno sextuplets, but that was a more Toronto-oriented tagging project for me. If you see what appears to be one of those Osomatsu fucks somewhere in the city, hit me up. I left one on the walls of the stairwell at the Upstairs Black Market location. That's the only place I'll up and say it, but you gotta find the other five! (If they are, of course, still around.)
Of the other drawings left, there was a Bart, a Homer, a Zenigata, and a Rayman. I don't think I got pictures of those, but I thought they were pretty fun. Let me know how they're holding up if you're in the Dot area.
The next film on the docket was one promised to me since Thursday. However, I thought I'd regale a handful of anecdotes of waiting in line before it.
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| I like this basketball in the floor of the Chinese place |
Paula Deen was also heading out from the screening of Canceled: The Paula Deen Story, a documentary explaining her rise and fall from making dishes with way too much butter in them. I was the one to call her out: "Hey, is that Paula Deen?" She waved and was generally pretty nice. She had a purse in the shape of a stick of butter. That was cute. What she said a decade ago wasn't, though. It's okay. She knows this was some fucked-up shit. It could have just been a Hulk Hogan thing, though. I don't know.
After that, I hopped across the street to pick up some boba to drink while waiting in line, with my friend asking me to get him some in exchange for him to pay me later.
At this Chinese place, I almost forgot to pay for the drinks. I felt kinda embarrassed about that, thinking I'd already used my tap-to-pay to get them. I got some strawberry boba with manga pearls, and it was pretty good!
We were at the head of the line for Nirvanna the Band, and a lot of us were getting delirious from standing but also from the wait. But finally, our time had come and our wait was through: prepare for...
Film: Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie
What a treat! What a joy, what a feeling! To see Nirvanna the Band on the big screen. We were situated in the IMAX theater at the Scotia, most likely because of the sheer amount of people that got tickets to see the show. It is a television series set in Toronto! All of Toronto wants to see it! And it won the Midnight Madness Audience Choice Award! Of course!
Matt and Jay's latest crackpot scheme involves parachuting down from the CN Tower into the Jays game, then advertising their set at the Riv. However, their plan backfires (like always), and Jay starts to have his doubts about his and Matt's friendship, leading into Matt's next scheme of pretending to be time travelers to get themselves a gig, and accidentally traveling back in time to 2008 Toronto. What follows is a madcap story utilizing unseen and recontextualized footage from the original Nirvana the Band webseries, but within the context of Nirvanna the Band the Show (that's with THREE n's in the name), along with the stylistic and comedic hallmarks of the series.
Matt and Jay were at the screening, and answered a pretty interesting question at the Q&A after: how much of the copyrighted content used in the movie could pass with a physical or otherwise non-festival public release? Matt explained that it was something that had to do with the distributors and legal, and that it wasn't really something that the crew would know about right then and there. Which, fair, honestly. There's a really good joke in the movie that leans on the potential copyright troubles that could arise from a wide release, but, if fair use could be claimed, then I don't see how there could be any big big problems aside from maybe music or film footage.
Matt and Jay were really nice! You can tell that, even as they were presenting the movie and answering questions, they were just really happy to do so. Loved Matt's Red Hood jacket, he joked, saying that he was cast as Jason Todd in the new movie. Certainly class acts all-around.
I would also like to mention that one of the best jokes/callbacks in the movie is "Bird's favorite game", which leads to a ridiculous situation for our pal Jay. Overall, if there's one stupid and hilarious movie to see from the festival this year, it's gotta be this.
(Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is not available to stream or purchase due to the aforementioned copyright problems, but is still making the rounds at festivals, most recently at SXSW Sydney for the Australian premiere.)
By the time we got out, it was dark and chilly. I already had my next movie set up afterwards, which was going to be my second and final "park classic" of the festival. After yet another stop at A&W, I pulled up a picnic blanket and sat myself down for...
Film: Best in Show
The interconnected tales of these couples and the showdogs they raise adds the quirkiness to what is an otherwise already-quirky mockumentary. My ranking of healthiest relationships to least healthy goes like this:
Scott and Stefan, Sherri Ann and Christy, Gerry and Cookie, Harlan and ventriloquism, and Meg and Hamilton.
There's certainly many more aspects of the film that I'm not able to touch on as of right now, namely the intricate nature of the film's structure and how all the characters blend together as if this were a real documentary with camera crews at every beck and call. The confessionals especially add to the humor, with most of the dialogue improvised during them. I don't want to say too much about the movie altogether, as I recommend you check it out, but it's very dry and observational. A good kind of dry! Also, I was quite fond of that ending theme. Someone had put it on SoundCloud. Thanks.
(Best in Show is available to stream on Kanopy, with eligible library card. Also available to rent and buy from digital storefronts.)
It's getting quite cold, so you know what that means! Time to get in line for Midnight Madness. Thankfully, because my talks of "shitting in the saunas at the YMCA" made way too many people laugh, I had a spot saved for me as a Plus One for tonight's show.
Film: Dust Bunny
From what the Q&A had to mention, this was a leftover from a canceled episode of that Amazing Stories reboot from around COVID times when Apple was buying show orders left and right. Since it never got a second season (for which this was meant for), it was turned into a fully-realized movie with a big budget and high-profile cast. No Mads at the Q&A, but Sigourney Weaver was here! She was cool in the movie. I might have off-handedly mentioned once or twice in my Letterboxd reviews of movies she was in about gun shoes...the gun shoes are from this movie. She explained that walking in them was very hard and uncomfortable, but she loved the design and how the costume department handled it just as well as we did (going as far as to say it was one of her coolest moments in any movie which, like...girl, you're Ripley lol).
Very confusing, which made matters worse when Fuller was asked if the bunny itself was allegorical. He outright said no! The bunny is real. There are monsters in the city who some hunt, and the dust bunny is no exception! I'm not sure how much of the movie was supposed to be allegorical or otherwise read into as being about trauma or some other affect, but it's certainly going to have a giant divide for people watching it to also not get it. Pretty cool ABBA needledrop for the credits music, though!
(Dust Bunny is set to be theatrically released in the US on December 5th.)
After that, I headed back to the hostel and talked with the guy at the desk for a bit. He explained a lot of the stuff on the Canadian side to me, and about the building accessibility laws (or lack thereof). I want to shout him out, he was very cool and kind and he got a lot of what I was talking about. Not uncommon in the Toronto area, but pretty rare in Michigan.
Sidequests: Meeting Guillermo del Toro, Graffiti Alley, and another trip to A&W.
Day 6: Frankenstein, Dealz, and Jokez
The last "day" of the festival where I actually get to participate in a screening is here! I only have one movie on my list that I haven't seen that I can actually take the time to check out, and that's Del Toro's Frankenstein, which premiered the day before to a quite ridiculous turnout. I knew there was going to be a crowd so massive and inopportune to my chances that I simply waited for the day after to check it out.
I ended up missing three or four of the first few minutes since I was in the rush line (and that we were getting very close to start time regardless, I was at a risk of being on the "cut" and not being able to see the movie at all. Luckily I got in, but I feel bad for those I was with who didn't.), but...let's save my opinions for this next "film" section, huh?
Film: Frankenstein
My seat was fine. I sat on the very edge of the balcony in what I'd say was a makeshift box seat consisting of two chairs, cushions pressed against each other, to form a peasant's chaise. I have included a visual representation of a peasant's chaise to the right.
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| Visual depicting the assembly of a peasant's chaise. |
Del Toro, in typical Del Toro fashion, takes a simple premise: a Frankenstein adaptation, and truly makes it his own. Shelley would have not agreed upon some of the narrative choices he had made, but, in spite of the differences, I put my faith into what he had delivered, and never let up for the runtime. The visual direction is incredibly beautiful...in the Q&A after the show, Del Toro highlighted the monster design by long-time collaborator Mike Hill, noting the patchwork design as a deliberate choice of a creature pieced together from the bodies of other formerly-living creatures to form this slapdash yet meticulously-made human effigy. Additionally, his quote of "If it's finished, it's a masterpiece, and if it's unfinished, it's a piece of shit" spoke to me, mostly as a message to just make shit for the sake of making shit. Ars Gratia Artis, if you wanna get technical or MGM-pilled.
Notably (and I am unsure if I should mention this because the film isn't actually "out" yet, but I think it is important in a review of the film), the film ends in a rather different and more optimistic way than the original novel did. As those of you who have read the original novel will know, Victor and his creation, past the point of Elizabeth's death, have a Lupin and Zenigata-style relationship where they both mutually hate each other for what choices they have made in each other's lives. Their feud comes to a standstill when Victor is rescued by the crew of Walton's expedition to the North Pole, eventually dying from the cold, and discovered by the creature, who explains his actions to the crew and that he did his actions simply because of the turmoil he had endured over the course of his life, and to atone for his acts, will burn himself at a pyre at the North Pole, leading to the expedition crew to turn back. In this adaptation however, it's much different.
The ending, to me, at least, represents the shift to tell stories that disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed, so to speak. In a world where people are put in situations beyond their control, this is a fitting end to a tale of tragedy and science that will age quite well for those who watch. It might be a bit different from the novel and very much so from the previous adaptations that have been done prior, but Del Toro's love for monsters as tragic, sympathetic figures shines brightly here, comparable to Hellboy and The Shape of Water.
(Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein will be available to stream on Netflix on November 7th, 2025, with limited theatrical engagements beginning October 17th.)
The rest of this day will consist of purely sidequests, which I hope isn't a concern to those looking for more movie 'pinyons.
Prior to arriving in Canada, I was tipped off by a friend to a mall on the northwest side: Woodbine Mall, which has been in dire straits for quite a while now. Most of the stores are deadstock outlets, selling things that are worth a pretty penny at a considerable discount, mostly to the cluelessness of the shopkeepers. I knew this could be a big break for me to find something worth upwards of $25 USD on resale that I could get for, say, $3 CAD. Having never been to the mall, I was pleasantly surprised at how many people were there, but it was also for another reason that you might find interesting.
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| Say nothing and it'll all be over soon. |
Of the many things I saw, included but not limited to: a busted box of whippet canisters, a carpet in the shape of Doraemon, an electric organ, tchotchkes of various shapes and sizes, blank Hi-8s, a Roland keyboard, assorted Halloween costumes, hilariously expensive dresses, electric hotplates, portable radios, one thing that had managed to catch my eye was an elaborate display of costumes, all deadstock from unsold Rubie's inventory, with some of the boxed nonsense to find as old as 30 years.
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| Dealz. |
Among the piles and piles of unsold clothing was a mask of Jar-Jar Binks. Naturally, if you come to a store full of deadstock and see something Star Wars-related, it's in your best interest to examine anything and everything about what you've found.
I saw the mask, and without a second to spare, pulled out my phone, looking back and forth to the tag attached, then to Google, then to the tag again, then to eBay, then to Worthpoint, then to the tag again, then to wherever a price could be for what the store was selling this at. I had encountered one of the greatest deals of my life, second only to the Princess Beanie Baby among a pile of Beanies at the school store when I was in junior high for 50¢.
According to current eBay listings, this Jar-Jar mask, with its tag, goes for anywhere between $35-$90 USD, depending on the condition and usage of the mask. Well, I don't know how I did it, but...
I took the mask up to the front, with the woman at the register ringing it up for $8 CAD. I didn't have any Canadian dollars on me from the other things I'd bought so far, so I asked for it in American, to which she offered it for $6.
Aside from this Jar-Jar story, I happened upon something interesting: a film shoot for a film with Annie Murphy, All That She Wants, which, at the time of this article going out, is either wrapped or is very close to wrapping. The local crew watching the set told me that this was a shoot for a new Hallmark Christmas film, but upon talking to a producer for the film, I'd realized that this was a new Ley Line production, noted for films such as Everything Everywhere All at Once, Death of a Unicorn, and The Green Knight.
I feel kinda embarrassed telling the staff that my boyfriend's grandma "loves your movies", but at least I got some insight into the production process for Toronto shooting. The producer, and I'm ashamed to have forgotten her name, was on season 6 of What We Do in the Shadows. I really love that show, but I still haven't gotten to season 6 with how busy I've been over the last year. When All That She Wants comes out and I recognize her name in the credits, I'll update this article.
After the film-shoot/crap-shop adventure, I got myself some sushi at a shop near the front entrance, with my favorite kind to get: "Vegas roll". If you go to a sushi place in the US, you'll usually find a roll called the "Vegas roll", which, depending on what restaurant you're at, is a completely different thing. My favorite sushi place does it like this...
Salmon, avocado, cream cheese. Mozzarella is optional, and definitely recommended. Deep fried, with mayo and eel sauce.
The shop doesn't serve this roll, but they do custom rolls for $16 CAD. They did pretty good for a first-time try, and I don't think I specified the mayo and eel sauce. Google did some heavy lifting there, so I appreciate that double-check on their end. Paired with a strawberry-banana smoothie...I was eatin' good!
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| "How many of you guys have been to Michigan, huh?" |
It was getting a bit late, but I had one last thing I wanted to do in Toronto before everything was over for me, and that was Open Mic Night at a comedy club. The club of my choice was the Comedy Bar, particularly the 2800 Danforth location.
As advised by my Albertan buddy Mel, it's currently a big faux pas to say you're an American in Canada right now. However, in comedy, as my knowledge may suffice, self-deprication is HOT by comparison. So, especially for an amateur comedy show, being from a place of much scrutiny and talking shit of said place makes for very receptive comedy.
The format for the Comedy Bar's amateur nights is called "Bucket Night", where people from the Comedy Bar's comedy classes come up and show off some of their stuff they've been working on, with many of the people in attendance taking notes of the sets to add to reference. The "Bucket" part of the name refers to the order of operations of the show, where the non-students leave their name in a bucket, and are drawn at random until the duration of the show is up. It's a fun way of doing it, and it adds a bit of hype and mystery to the preparation process.
There's a stage manager who manages a computer, and he would decide the walk-off music. Because in my set I'd mentioned I was American, my walk-off music was "America, Fuck Yeah!" from Team America: World Police. My set went a little like this:
Introducing myself, mentioning I was from America, some shitting on America, my status as a film student visiting TIFF, some stories of really mundane celebrity interactions, and a tale of me and my late friend discussing bawdy Halloween costumes that lead to an hour-long search for "Dickula". I told this story at her memorial service, actually.
After the show, I talked with some of the organizers and comedians and hung out at the bar until close, talking about various Canadian things and golden age Simpsons episodes. I briefly touched on my little trip to the CBC offices, and joked about Mamma Yamma with some of the younger guys there, leading to some surprise about my knowledge of something like that, having grown up watching Canadian television. The bartender put on a city pop playlist over the bar speakers, to which I recognized some of the songs playing, saying I was a big fan of a lot of the musicians, and that the playlist should be in frequent rotation for the banger ratio alone.
And, as the night ended and I headed back to the subway, I put in my earbuds, and jammed out to "Lady Sunshine" by Anri, slipping into the dark back alleys with a foot loose and a warm feeling in my heart.
Sidequests: Woodbine Mall, Comedy Bar, and various silly interactions with Canadians.
Day 7: Bye-bye to Toronto (but not to Canada)
That's it, I think.
Aside from the packing-up and headache of packing up, I had one last joint left that I cleared pretty quickly before we all boarded the bus back to the US. I called off work that night so I could get some good rest, but, you know, it all falls back down on you after it's done.
I had assignments due, and I had people to talk to, and I had projects to deal with. I was getting more and more stressed out by the day after this trip ended. I'm just very happy to have a few days off from classes, because I could use it. I'm using my time to finish it up right now...