Film funnies

>> JfL unleashes the celluloid laffs with Comedia

by MATTHEW HAYS

It seems a bit odd, that Just for Laughs, Montreal's massive comedy event, would push movies as part of their programming. Odd, because the fest has really been driven by the excitement generated from live events.

But JfL's Comedia does offer up some pretty cool celluloid here. And best of all, there's some Cancon worth catching. Kids in the Hall groupies won't want to miss the documentary concert film Kids in the Hall: Same Guys, New Dresses. The film offers a hilarious glimpse at the Kids during their reunion tour of last year. Dave Foley, it's explained the film's opening moments, felt that cameras should be rolling as the Kids toured, capturing their every gag. It's by no means a tell-all, unauthorized type of thing, seeing as Foley himself directs, but it is a crucial bit of comedy Canadiana and essential screening for any fan. I was filled with nostalgia for the show, particularly when the crew all pretend to bump into each other in their most famous female personae.

Exploring Bill Murray's innards

The Farrelly Brothers aren't your typical fraternal moviemaking team. They have become famous for their penchant for body fluids, with cum, pee and puke figuring prominently in their movies. With Osmosis Jones, the two may have created the ultimate body-fluid movie. In an apparent homage to Fantastic Voyage, the film has Bill Murray infected with a deadly virus, Thrax (voiced by Laurence Fishbourne). Injected into his body to battle the evil flu bug is renegade white corpuscle Osmosis Jones (voiced by the sublime Chris Rock). Having not seen this, I can only report that I'm eager to catch it, but am ready for either the best or worst. The Farrellys are undeniably talented but pretty uneven.

Animator extraordinaire Bill Plympton brings his trademarked weirdness to feature-length once more with Mutant Aliens. Family fights, corporate greed and alien invasions take off in this movie, a lively, often hilarious and bizarre foray into Plympton's wacky

universe.

Was it really a riot?

Also noteworthy, in large part because it's closer to home, is Montreal ex-pat Albert Nerenberg's It's a Riot. The video includes several trailers from the renegade filmmakers' infamous Web site (www.trailervision.com, which features nothing but faux trailers for movies that don't exist), and a doc about the riots in Quebec City during the Summit of the Americas. Nerenberg and his crew work to muster up laughs as the tear gas canisters fall, with mixed results. The best trailer is for Cry, a fake movie in which men try to rediscover themselves (à la Fight Club) through crying. "No onions, no grabbing of balls, the first tear that hits the table is a winner," go the rules. It's another wicked Nerenbergian sendup.

Perhaps there wasn't anything too terribly amusing about the riots in Quebec City, but much of Nerenberg's entourage seems strangely at a loss when trying to point up the absurdity of the situation. It's difficult to isolate why some of this stuff appears almost dry. Is it because the scenario was so overtly ludicrous as to be lampoon-proof? Best is the theatre-of-the-absurd shtick one Nerenberg disciple embarks on, when she begins having a heated lovers' quarrel with a riot cop. Even through full riot gear, you get a dumbfounded, delightfully what-the-fuck? sense from the cop, who stands there, unmoved by lines like, "I know you're working right now, but this relationship is more important than your job!" At best, these guys are odd little riot jesters, popping up in weird places, mocking everyone involved.

The Cinémathèque québécoise is also joining in, with retrospectives of both Italian film genius Totò and Brit phenom Monty Python. The latter has undoubtedly been overplayed, but if you're in the mood they can certainly supply the laughs. The former is a wildly underseen little fellow who was rightly regarded as an Italian national treasure.

Comedia runs until Sunday, July 22. Trailervision/It's a Riot screens Friday, July 20 at the NFB. Totò and Monty Python continue at the Cinémathèque québécoise until July 29. See repertory listings for showtimes