National Post: Passenger Side

originally published at the National Post

by Vanessa Farquharson (April 29, 2010)

A scene near the end of Passenger Side involves Michael (Adam Scott) trying to figure out whether he's a stupid white guy sadly wasting his life, or a sad white guy stupidly wasting his life.

He concludes it's the former, although if this is true, one must admit that watching a feature-length film about precisely how a stupid white guy sadly wastes his life has never been so entertaining -- or come with a better soundtrack (think Wilco, Leonard Cohen, Dinosaur Jr., Evan Dando and more).

The third effort from Canadian writer-director Matthew Bissonnette, whose 2006 film Who Loves The Sun was nominated for a Genie award, Passenger Side relies very much on its script, achieving that elusive balance of smart, funny and -- most difficult of all -- authentic.

That said, Bissonnette can't take all the credit; his brother Joel, who plays recovering drug addict Tobey, and Scott, in the role of a not-quite-successful writer with a not-quite girlfriend, have clearly spent enough time together off-screen that their chemistry and sense of timing is bang-on. After all, it's one thing to come up with snarky banter and lines like, "I love the future -- in fact, I have a feeling it's going to be the next big thing," but quite another to deliver this with the perfect mix of ennui, defensiveness and bitter sarcasm.

Certain moments seem so natural, it's hard to know whether they were improvised or not -- one, in particular, comes when the guys are standing outside a car wash; Michael compliments Tobey on his new shoes, which are fire-engine red. "They look really good," he says, pausing only for a second before adding, "They match your eyes."

The story itself involves a languorous, day-long drive in and around Los Angeles to find Theresa (Robin Tunney), the love of Tobey's life. A range of bizarre characters end up tumbling in and out of their car (the dog is the only one that sticks around until the end), which makes for some added humour amidst the more serious discussion.

There's a nice twist, too, but it's hardly essential -- audiences will feel as though they could sit in the backseat forever, alternately listening to Guided By Voices (on cassette, of course) and the ramblings of Michael and Tobey as they tackle everything from existentialism to how the Habs will win the Stanley Cup again and whether they'd have sex with Laura Bush or Dick Cheney.

About halfway through the film, they get a flat tire while in the desert -- but just when viewers may be thinking this feels slightly clichéd, Scott's character comments on how flat tires never provide much in the way of plot development.

Clearly, this director is always one step ahead, incredibly self-aware, and even willing to poke fun at himself. These are traits not often found amongst the indie Canadian filmmaking set; hopefully, it leads to more critical recognition and a long road ahead for Bissonnette.