Canada is a funny place. Has been for some time. It's said that, in 1911, more people had heard of Stephen Leacock than of Canada itself. Over ninety years later, small-town Canadian comedy made a comeback when CTV premiered a little show called Corner Gas. Set in the fictional town of Dog River, Saskatchewan, Corner Gas revolves around Gas station owner Brent Leroy (Brent Butt) and his friends. It's a traditional ensemble comedy; each episode has several plots, no pathos, and a strict adherence to the status quo, all wrapped up in 22 minutes of deadpan hilarity. From 2004 to 2009, Corner Gas monopolized Canadian television like the Parker Brothers monopolizing board games.
Of course, whenever any TV show becomes so successful, people start thinking about the potential for "The Movie." For Corner Gas fans, the potential was realized this summer when the cast and crew organised a successful Kickstarter campaign. I was a Kickstarter backer myself, so maybe I'm too biased to write a fair review, but I loved the show and I wanted to be a part of the movie, even if I was only a single name in the credits, surrounded by hundreds of other names. I've had my name in the credits of a low-budget cable show once, but Corner Gas: The Movie (directed by David Storey) is the first movie that I've had my name in.
But, sentimentality aside, does the movie do the show justice? Yes.
For the most part, Dog River is still Dog River. We haven't seen the town or its inhabitants for five years, so a few off-screen changes were necessary to fill the time between birthdays. In the show, Wanda (Nancy Robertson) had a never-seen, rarely-mentioned a young son; now she has a never-seen, sometimes-mentioned teenager, preparing to leave the nest for college. Karen (Tara Spencer-Nairn), single in the show, is now married to a never-seen husband and (like Mrs. Spencer-Nairn was at the time of filming) a little pregnant. But even these life-altering changes actually change surprisingly little, at least as far as the audience can see. To quote Craig Northey's and Jesse Valenzuela's observations in the show's iconic theme song: "You think there's not a lot goin' on."
To which they would add: "But look closer, baby, you're so wrong." Dog River is filthy and unkempt, the water pump is on its last leg, and there are constant power outages. Turns out the town is bankrupt; Mayor Fitzy Fitzgerald (Cavan Cunningham) has lost most of their money in a bad investment, rendering the town unable to afford electricity or fix the water pump.
The residents of Dog River do have a habit of Seinfelding small problems into big issues. "I was hoping that this was just another one of those things," Brent admits, "but it's not." This isn't a story about men walking into the ladies' room because they don't know what a distaff is, or a retired couple getting bumped into a higher wine bracket by a "thoughtless" gift. Dog River is dying, and everyone in the town must adjust to the problem or fix it. But they can't ignore it.
Lacey (Gabrielle Miller) wants to enter Dog River in a Quaintest Town in Canada contest, and use the prize money to save the day. A lot of the promotional material focused on this Quaint-off, but it's really just one of several threads in this story. I'd say that the movie is actually about how everyone deals with the problem in their own way.
The movie, like the show, juggles several plots. Each of the eight main characters has at least one of their very own, and usually a second they share with someone else. Most of these tie directly into the "Dog River is dying," plot, even if only indirectly. Davis (Lorne Cardinal) is forced out of the police force because the town can't afford to keep him on, so he becomes a private investigator. Hank (Fred Ewanuick) tries to bring a doughnut franchise to Dog River to help the economy, but, being Hank, can't afford the franchise fee, and feels betrayed when Brent refuses to lend him the money. Oscar (Eric Peterson) refuses to leave Dog River, insists that he will live off the land instead, trades his car in for a horse so that he won't have to rely on fuel or money, then ends up fighting over said horse with officer Karen, who confiscates it from Oscar because apparently keeping a malnourished horse in your garage is illegal and she always wanted a horse anyway.
So, you know, all perfectly normal, true-to-life depictions of an economic crisis.
If you're worried that the writers or actors might have lost their touch in their five years away from Dog River, don't worry, they didn't. The movie uses the same dry sense of humour as the show, the same fondness for cutaway gags and bait-and-switch jokes, and it maintains the same approach to the PG rating, where dirty jokes are allowed but not required.
There is a bit more emotion, though. The tenderest moments are those between Brent and Lacey. The show toyed with the idea of them becoming a couple now and then, but mostly kept romance in the background. The movie is a different story. Early on, Lacey admits to Brent that, with Dog River's bankruptcy, she might have to move away to open a restaurant elsewhere. It's easily the most dramatic exchange these two characters have ever shared; his reactions makes it plain that he doesn't want her to go, and hers makes it plain that she knows. Their relationship even becomes a minor obsession for Emma (Janet Wright), who wants grandchildren and sees the resolution of that particular bit of UST as her best shot to get some. Interestingly, there's none of the bashful, romantic hide-and-seek that you usually see in these "will-they-or-won't-they" couples. The Brent and Lacey scenes are so open and natural and comfortable, it's just like they'd actually been dating for years.
Fortunately, although Corner Gas: The Movie is more serious, it still isn't serious. The emotional moments give the story weight and momentum, and help it feel like more than an episode of the show, but they never get out of line or try to steal the spotlight. And when the drama isn't needed anymore, back into the small dust box it goes, until Thalia decides to let it out again.
Whether or not you think this is a good thing is a matter of personal opinion. This is a movie for Corner Gas fan, and only Corner Gas fans. If you disliked the series, then you're gonna dislike the movie. But if you're a fan, then you're in for a treat, because Corner Gas: The Movie is a fitting send-off to some of Canada's most beloved characters, and a hilarious romp in its own right. It might feel like a 90-minute episode of the show, but when the show is that darn good, who's going to complain?
