Weirdsville

Director Allan Moyle describes Weirdsville as, "Trainspotting shot in Canada but with more heart."

It concerns Royce and Dexter, two deadbeat junkie types who "couldn't hold down a job if they were tied to it". Royce's girlfriend Matilda goes on 'business dates' - a term she prefers to 'hooking'. Meanwhile tough guy drug-dealer Omar is hassling them for their drug debts. Mattie overdoses and, in the middle of a cover-up, Royce and Dexter come head-to-head with some self-styled murderous 'satanists.' A security guard midget called Martin and his diminutive friends complete the chaotic clashes of interests.

Weirdsville starts off with the now familiar sequences of sudden camera moves and spaced-out montages that are meant to imply drugged confusion and get us in the mood. The early appearance of a body sent alarm bells ringing predictable cliche, but I tried to stick with it. This type of comedy hinges to a great extent on whether you can get in the mood and find the oddball silliness amusing. While the gentleman behind me seemed to find every expression hilarious, I struggled to find anything humorous in the dialogue or derivative situations. By the time the mediaeval munchkin midgets start beating up people and chasing them with crossbows, I was counting the minutes to when it would all be over. Contrived slapstick - an icicle penetrating someone's head or getting hit over the head with a safe - seems as if it is trying to spice up an otherwise dull film.

Some dope-heads are charismatic and amusing but these didn't do it for me. Trainspotting drew on fine literary sources for a powerful script and projected the 'young male in crisis' with great conviction, ultimately providing a benchmark movie. Although Weirdsville has some endearing shaggy dog story elements, the whole thing sadly has a distinctly missable feel to it. Weirdsville has poor characterisation, an average script, and a plot that looks like a mish-mash of every slackers movie so far. Although it may appeal to some fans of drug-culture films, it has few other redeeming qualities other than the fun which cast and crew obviously had in putting it together.

"Are we in hell?" asks Mattie as she comes round from a death defying amount of toxic substances. "No," comes the reply, "we were at the drive in." Not watching this movie, I thought. At least not without a good supply of hash to make it enjoyable.