The Dick Knost Show

Outside of hockey, women's bodies and himself, there isn't much room in the head of radio sports talk host Dick Knost. When upper management decides diversification is the key to future success, they pounce on an insensitive tweet sent from Knost's Twitter account, ask him to take a break and hire a replacement host whose main concern is (shudder) soccer. Things go from bad to worse when Dick, who rages against hockey players that suffer from concussions, experiences one himself. His hard driving yet sympathetic boss is adept at keeping the peace with management, yet Dick may have gone too far this time or, with his concussion, be in no position to return. It may be that I enjoy the genre more than most, yet this film, despite its low budget, is well written, witty, consistent and truly funny. The actors, who said as much after the performance, really had fun making the film and it showed in and enlivened their performances. Above all I saw, despite all his errors, a bit of myself in Dick Knost and supported him when he pleaded with people to "say what they mean." Seen at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.