Waydowntown
| waydowntown | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Gary Burns |
| Produced by | Gary Burns Shirley Vercruysse |
| Written by |
Gary Burns James Martin |
| Starring |
Fab Filippo Don McKellar Marya Delver Michelle Beaudoin |
| Music by | John Abram |
| Distributed by |
United States: HomeVision Lot 47 Films Canada: Odeon Films Alliance Atlantis CTV Telefilm Canada Australia: Madman Entertainment |
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Release date
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September 10, 2000 |
|
Running time
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87 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $700,000 CAD (estimated) |
waydowntown is a film directed by Gary Burns, released in 2000 which explores office driven culture. The film takes place in Calgary, Alberta, where many downtown buildings are connected by a network of skywalks called Plus 15. As a result, the hustle and bustle of the main street has been replaced by recirculated air, food courts, and fluorescent lights. This is the setting for Burns' sardonic comedy about Canadian corporate culture.
The film centres on a group of colleagues in downtown Calgary, Alberta, who bet a month's salary on who can last the longest without going outside. The film takes place over one lunch hour during the course of the month-long competition. The dark comedy often uses surrealism to achieve its goals.
The cast includes Fab Filippo, Don McKellar, Marya Delver and Michelle Beaudoin.
The film's title is derived from a particular form of suicide where one smashes the (non-openable) window of one's high-rise office and then jumps through. Many people go "downtown", but such folks go "waydowntown". In the movie, one of the characters has accumulated a 2-litre pop bottle full of marbles in the hopes of breaking his window.
The majority of the film was shot in TD Square, the Calgary Eaton Centre, and Bankers Hall. The company's offices are situated in the TD Canada Trust Tower. The low-budget film was shot on digital and later transferred to 35 mm.
The film as of May 1, 2009 has a 70% freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Most critics praise the satirical elements, casting, and plot. Others find the film to be humourless, incomplete, and the plot to be too nonsensical and uninteresting.
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