Just for larfs

>> The strange case of Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?

by MATTHEW HAYS

Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? is one of those bizarre, off-kilter and truly strange films that will either leave you very satisfied or scrape you the wrong way. Like so many films with question titles (think Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? or Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf?) it's an oddball movie, like none I've seen before.

The film involves one awkward British teen, Vince (played with endearing panache by Michael Legge), who's stuck in a dreary low-end office job in the late '70s. But Vince has an escape: he retreats to his room, where he studies how-to disco dance books. Vince wants to be just like his hero, John Travolta. Not surprisingly, Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?'s soundtrack is packed with disco hits from the period.

If Vince's life wasn't fragile enough, his family isn't exactly a bastion of stability. His father, Harold Smith, exhibits paranormal abilities, bending spoons and forks without touching them and lifting objects with his mind. Dad is soon being investigated by the police, however, as he inadvertently kills several seniors at an old folks' home by stopping their pacemakers. Mom, meanwhile, is a nymphomaniac who makes passes at Vince's teen friends.

Screenwriter Ben Steiner pushes the limits of idiosyncratic fantasy with this film, making Vince an entirely sympathetic victim of his strange family and the horrors of adolescence. Complicating things further is the inevitable first crush, which falls upon Vince in the form of a punk gal. He's soon shifting styles, painting his suit jacket up and gelling his hair into a spike. It's an hilarious bit of teen posing, brought to life brilliantly by Legge.

Though at times Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? doesn't always feel like it's hanging together, there are so many glorious moments in the film that the parts make up for their somewhat incoherent whole. My favourite comes when Legge breaks into disco dance in the middle of a punk club. This is sheer fantasy, of course, considering the hatred that ran between fans of punk and disco. But director Peter Hewitt milks the scene for all its crazy potential, having Vince do Travolta to the Bee Gees' "Night Fever" while the punk band onstage begins to jam along. Surely this is British zaniness at its very best. Attend with an open mind and a good time will be had.

Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? opens Friday, Sept. 7