Vancouver

Everything's Gone Green

 (Canada )

By KEN EISNER

A ThinkFilm presentation (in Canada) of a Radke Films production, in association with True West Films. (International sales: Shoreline Entertainment, Los Angeles.) Produced by Elizabeth Yake, Henrik Meyer, Chris Nanos. Executive producers, Michael Baker, Dan Lyon, Scott Mackenzie, Morris Ruskin.
Directed by Paul Fox. Screenplay, Douglas Coupland.
 
With: Paulo Costanzo, Steph Song, JR Bourne, Auden Devine, Susan Hogan, Tom Butler, Peter Kelamis, Gordon Michael Woolvett, Katharine Isabelle, Chiu-Lin Tam, Tara Wilson, Alexis Dumont, Jennifer Kitchen, Chang Tseng, Melanie Blackwell.

 

Vancouver plays itself for once in "Generation X" author Douglas Coupland's first original screenwriting venture, "Everything's Gone Green." Starring an excellent Paulo Costanzo (late of "Joey") as a twentysomething uberslacker who is nonetheless willing to fall into accidental success, pic is seasoned with fine perfs by JR Bourne as a charismatic, creepy hustler and Steph Song as Constanzo's sexy potential love interest. Playful combo of geo-particulars and amusing universals could help "Green" go far.

Costanzo's Ryan loses his job and is dumped the same day by his g.f. (Katharine Isabelle), who delivers a classic college-age kiss-off: "I'm sick of you and your Billy bookshelves." Being a man more of Ikeas than ideas, he lucks into a new job, writing blurbs about lottery winners in a tacky government mag.

Device is a brilliant way to parachute Ryan into lifestyles of the suddenly rich and not-otherwise-likely-to-be-famous. It also brings him into contact with Bryce (Bourne), a scammer who comes up with a money-laundering scheme involving the new winners. Soon, and without a lot of thought, Ryan has got the sports car and leather jacket of moneyed youth -- something that puts him at odds with Ming (the versatile Song), a beautiful set-dresser who just so happens to be in the process of getting rid of b.f. Bryce; the last thing she needs is Bryce Lite.

Helmer Paul Fox, a non-Northwesterner, has handily captured the Pacific Rim ambiguities of a town still immature about its own best attributes. "Everything" starts coming into sharper focus as it seemingly shambles along, making smart points about the limits of greed (and green) in a world of diminishing resources and expanding competition. Costanzo and Song have a nice, easygoing chemistry, oddly helped along by Chiu-Lin Tam as the girl's spunky, non-English speaking granny.

Soundtrack is appropriately heavy on jangly B.C. bands like the Fembots and Sloan.

Camera (color) David Frazee; editor, Gareth C. Scales; music, Sloan, Fembots, others; music supervisor, David Hayman; production designer, Peter Andringa; art director, Carolyn Neuert; set designer, Matthew Versteeg; costume designer, Sheila White; sound (Dolby SRD), Eric Batut; line producer, Ken Lawson; assistant director, Patricia Ann Dyer; casting, Corinne Clark, Robin Cook, Jennifer Page. Reviewed at Vancouver Film Festival (Canadian Images -- competing), Sept. 15, 2006. Running time: 95 MIN.