is a screen

adaptation of the Ray Guy play

and signals Mary Walsh’s

directorial debut. The film stars

Mary Walsh (

), Fred Ewanuick

( , Remy Girard (

), Andrea Martin (In nearly

everything!), and Colin Mochrie

( ).

It is a farcical dark

comedy set in the small isolated

fictional town of Swyer’s Harbour,

Newfoundland in 1947. The plot

follows a joke of a rookie detective

from the Newfoundland Rangers,

as it was known

when it was it’s own

country (now part of

the RCMP), trying

to gain experience

in a world where

very little significant

crime occurs. His

fellow Rangers give

him a hard time,

making him the butt

of all jokes, and

routinely hazing

him. Our luckless

hero eventually

finds himself in the

midst of a murder

investigation and

comes across a

bunch of locals

during the course

of his investigation

who all seem to have

something to hide.

W h a t

follows is essentially

a series of misguided

slapstick attempts, bordering on

embarrassing. It is too sitcomish;

with jokes that would amuse not

a soul over 10 years old. There

are only so many doors you can

bang into. And how many different

ways can you bang your head

etc… and still get a laugh (a la Mr.

Bean)? There are a few truly funny

moments, most of which stemming

from Mary Walsh’s character. Walsh

was certainly the acting strength of

the film. Many of these comedic

moments require a certain level

of knowledge of Newfoundland

and Newfoundland humour, which

is fine for me (I’m from there).

However, many of the ‘inside’

jokes may be missed by the general

viewing public. With a talented

cast such as this I expected more.

It’s a shame too, because there is a

pretty decent premise for a film, but

missing the proper follow through.

The screenplay was quite good

and it is unfortunate that it didn’t

translate more clearly on screen. It

seems as if filming was rushed and

more takes on some scenes might

have done some good. The question

is: Did they not have the necessary

budget to do it right? It’s definitely

a possibility.

The best part of the film,

without a doubt, is the wonderful

cinematography captured by

the well-known, Quebec-born,

cinematographer, Eric Cayla. The

landscapes of the rugged and jagged

coves jump off the screen, and one

can’t help but be in awe of the

beauty that lies within this remote

part of the country.