Wilby Wonderful (2004)

A day-in-the-life dark comedy concerning a group of islanders, their respective secrets, and one man's plan to kill himself quietly.

Director:

Daniel MacIvor

Writer:

Daniel MacIvor

Stars:

James Allodi, Callum Keith Rennie, Elliot Page

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Allodi	...	Dan Jarvis
Callum Keith Rennie	...	Duck MacDonald
Elliot Page	...	Emily Anderson (as Ellen Page)
Rebecca Jenkins	...	Sandra Anderson
Sandra Oh	...	Carol French
Paul Gross	...	Buddy French
Marcella Grimaux	...	Mackenzie Fisher
Daniel MacIvor	...	Stan Lastman
Terri Sanderson	...	Reporter
Chris Saunderson	...	Photographer
Caleb Langille	...	Taylor
Patrick Keeler	...	Stuart
Maury Chaykin	...	Mayor Brent Fisher
Chett Buchanan	...	Golfing Businessman #1
Mike Goodfellow	...	Golfing Businessman #2

Storyline

Wilby is the name of a small island in the Canadian Maritimes and the name of the main town located on the island. According to residents, there are two types of people who live on Wilby: islanders (people who were born on Wilby) and non-islanders. Among the townsfolk of Wilby are: single mom and recently returned islander Sandra Anderson, who was known as the girl in town with the reputation, something that has not changed in her adult years; Sandra's teen-aged daughter, Emily, who doesn't want to end up like her mother but can only think about making out with her new boyfriend; Buddy French, the local police officer who is having unspoken marital problems with his non-islander wife, Carol, the town realtor whose controlling behavior is pushing her and others around her on the verge of a nervous breakdown; the Mayor, Brent Fisher, who is secretly planning for his life post politics; dyslexic Duck McDonald, the town handyman; and recently separated non-islander Dan Jarvis who, because...

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Plot Keywords:

wife | female | bra | lust | slut | 

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Taglines:

Everybody gets a second chance.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul Gross played a different kind of Canadian police officer in a television series called Due South (1994), where instead of being a local police officer, he was a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Constable.

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Quotes

Duck MacDonald: Aren't you your mother's daughter.

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Crazy Credits

Movie title is rolled out on a festival banner on a bridge.

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Soundtracks

Something's Coming
Written by Rebecca Jenkins
Vocals and Guitar: Rebecca Jenkins
Guitar: Joel Bakan

User Reviews

Full of wonderful characters

WILBY WONDERFUL is an enjoyable and quirky film--the sort Independent film lovers will love and most others will find not particularly compelling. That's because the traditional style of film making is definitely NOT what you see here and the film is extremely hard to characterize. This doesn't bother me, as I see it as a nice "slice of life" film but some may balk because it really isn't a comedy, romance or drama--though it definitely has elements of all three genres.

Wilby Island is a small resort town near Nova Scotia. The film concerns just a few residents and their struggles. While all these characters are seriously flawed, you tend to like most of them as beneath all their crazy baggage, there are shreds of decency. Some of the struggles involve a work-a-holic woman and her forgotten husband, a gay man struggling with self hatred and a trampy single mother whose daughter is struggling with either continuing or breaking the cycle of early pregnancy and desperation.

I think all these story elements work well due to the gentleness of the film. The stories unfold slowly and with a touch of humor--helping to pull the viewer into a story that isn't filled with great excitement or action. As a result, the acting, writing and direction all are given a chance to stand out and be noticed! The only failing, and this may not bother everyone, is the music. The opening song is catchy but the voice is seriously grating. Also, several times during the film, they have little music video montages. A few films have done this in recent years and I suppose it is "hip" but to me it just looks sloppy and distracting. It really disrupted the flow and seemed like filler. Still, this isn't a big problem and the film's many positives greatly outweigh this--making this a film worth seeing if you are looking for some sort of alternative entertainment and not the typical Hollywood fare.

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 September 2005 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Вилби Великолепный

Filming Locations:

Picton, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD2,500,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,749

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mongrel Media, Palpable Productions, Da Da Kamera

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1