Chatanooga Choo-Choo (Guest Blogger GRAVY TRAIN Review)

When young Charles Gravytrain’s police detective father falls victim to The Fish, the boy vows revenge, and grows up believing in the values printed on the badge forever pinned to his chest: Truth and Justice. Much to his chagrin, he suddenly finds himself saddled with an unwanted new partner in foxy Booma but, as the bodies start piling up around town, the pair soon begin to realize that they can really only trust in and rely on one another, so long as the crafty killer is still on the loose, and seek to spot the clues they need to crack the case whenever and wherever they possibly can.

Enter the citizens of Gypsy Creek, the amiable yet eccentric fictional town in which the story is set – filled to bursting with one quirky character after another, and none of whom have ever remotely even thought of leaving the 1970’s behind. From nosey bartender, Full Serve (played to laughable, lisping perfection by Tim Meadows), to Mayor-with-feelings Chester Chubbins (Colin Mochrie, who appears to be relishing his role in absolutely every scene), to the musically-inclined homeless bar denizen Ewan McCauley (Alan Frew, in his ingeniously funny film debut), all the way to whore house proprietor and absurd portrait artist, Madame Harriette Handlescock (played to the hilt by the divine Jennifer Dale), Gypsy Creek is not lacking in the character department. But in the town’s police department, Chuck and Uma find little to no support in their quest to catch The Fish, even from their superior, Sgt. Leroy Fatts (Alan C. Peterson, in a role where he hilariously delivers far too much insight into his inner workings, so to speak), and the desk-preferring cop, Lance Dancaster (played with geeky glee by Kyle Schmid).

With the town and their own department against them, Chuck and Uma turn to the only person they can find who might lead them – in a very roundabout way – to the truth: the ‘avant-garde’ and (possibly accidental) snuff filmmaker, Hansel Suppledick. Played by versatile actor Ryan Tilley (in a performance completely different from the one he gave in Tosser), the sardine-and-mousse-loving Hansel becomes the centre to which all roads lead for Chuck and Uma and, latching onto this notion, he quickly makes Chuck an offer he can’t refuse, even at the expense of his budding affection for, and trust in, his new partner. As Chuck reluctantly agrees to star in a film about his own life (leading to the GRAVYTRAIN tagline, “Half Cop. Half Actor. All Action!”), his dogged pursuit of Truth and Justice begins to get bogged down in secrets, lies, and an ingeniously hilarious night with peyote that rivals that of the Young Guns film, and he has to struggle to keep his eye on the prize, and find the answer to the question he’s been seeking his whole life: Where’s The Fish?

Written by Tim Doiron (who sometimes appears to channel Jim Carrey in his comedic…flexibility, let’s call it), GRAVYTRAIN is full of memorable and unique one-liners that will have you laughing out loud so often, you’ll have to see the movie at least twice to make sure you got it all. Partnering again with the film’s director April Mullen (who seriously must roll out of bed looking that great, and yet isn’t afraid to dirty herself up for comedy’s sake, which only serves to make her characters all the more enjoyable to watch), the filmmakers and stars are once again hitting the road and pounding the pavement to promote their film, and will continue doing endless press and post-screening Q&A’s, while tirelessly handing out flyers and posters to help get the word out. It’s a very hands-on approach to film promotion, and for this pair it seems to be working. From Tosser’s successful debut to GRAVYTRAIN’s opening night red carpet event at Toronto’s Yonge/Dundas AMC theatre (where the movie was held over for a second fantastic week before moving on to other cities), Doiron and Mullen are no strangers to dressing in costume and putting themselves on the front lines, over and over, in an effort to spread the word.