In the game of life, may the best man… whine.
Meet Mitch (Ross Munro), a middle aged man who believes his new future resides in acting. But he’s not the best when he tries to go over his dialogue in an airport full of strange locals who most people would raise an eyebrow at. Though the people Mitch socializes with are pretty natural in a place like Vancouver.
What he’s really doing at the airport is meeting up with his old pal Dunc (Robert David Duncan) who he hasn’t seen in 30 years. The plan is to show Dunc around the town of their youth or at least what’s left of it. Thanks to renovations, failed businesses, and new management, it seems like the only thing left is a coffee shop that once served cinnamon coffee.
Mitch’s biggest problem is that nothing is the same anymore, and Dunc’s problem is that Mitch whines too much and isn’t worth doing anything with. Dunc randomly asks Mitch, “When was the last time you got laid?” At first it seems like the late-night shenanigans are going nowhere, so Dunc leads Mitch to a shady apartment that is the residence of foreign prostitutes, where Mitch can hopefully loosen up.
Well, the film could’ve been expanded and featured a bit more storyline, as this one seemed kind of short to me. It’s mostly nothing but conversation between two middle agers about dating, nostalgia, and lifestyle. Okay, I admit, that sounds like whining.
Let’s get to the positive of this movie. The conversations are in fact hilarious, and the contrast between the two completely different characters provides for an interesting concept. Well-arranged scenery at the airport as well as at the cafe and the apartment shows fine use of colours even if most of it is Soviet red. What I also found interesting was how a couple times the scene changed to Mitch and Dunc dancing like a couple of vaudeville performers in a 50s-style film setting. I sort of had other plans the particular night I watched this, but the film made up for lost time and was proven to be quite funny.
(Read Darren’s take on A Legacy of Whining, plus a talk with the filmmakers.)