Contrary to contemporary views on the film, which is a mix between comedy and drama, I found the “Sundowners” indie Canadian movie to be absolutely dreadful. Ebert summarizes my sentiment perfectly when he says “A good movie is never too long, and a bad movie can never be too short.” Perhaps bracing myself meant being utterly bored for over fourteen hours.
In the case of “Sundowners,” the discomforting nature of time is harnessed in a unique manner. I am not able to remember another film in which every scene makes the entire film excruciating. Thus, while my personal opinion about this indie drama is not favorable, I can safely say it is still quote peculiar.
Additionally, let’s amend my previous idea. I believe that most scenes in these type of films have too much content packed in them. However, the only exception is that brutal restaurant scene, where one of the character’s has a sudden reverse digestion. The reason for me calling that scene brutal is because in the rest of the movie, pacing is agonizingly slow. However, I am willing to accept that movie, after this scene does feel a little bit better as pacing does improve.
Pavan Moondi, the Toronto-based filmmaker, wrote and directed “Sundowners,” which revolves around the life of two Canadian friends in their thirties who are given the task of shooting a wedding in Mexico. Phil Hanley star plays Alex, a photographer by trade, but deeply unfulfilled by his surroundings. His disinterested demeanor changes when his unconscionably rude boss, Tim Heidecker, offers Alex the opportunity to go to Mexico. Alex employs the help of his equally uninterested friend Justin Luke Lalonde to join him as an assistant.
This movie falls under the category of particularly bad for two reasons. First, Hanley and Lalonde seem like they would be decent people to grab a drink with, but this is their first time acting on screen and they have no experience. Hanley is a comedian and Lalonde is a musician. Second, and far more important for this movie, they were given too much creative freedom.
I bet I can hear the sighs from a good number of filmmakers reading that. As is clear to any seasoned in this trade, there is a high probability that unscripted films are not that great. It might be different if you have amazing and seasoned improvisers at hand like Steve Martin and Chevy Chase, but. For them too, a good script was significant. Put the two amateurs doing improv in front of a camera and after your first three editors leap from the building, you get a film where not a single scene is properly timed, just way too long.
This film takes 26 minutes for the trek into Mexico. Most of today’s films on its premise might minimalistically deal with the Canadian setting within the five to seven minutes range and then straight to the sunshine. “Sundowners” fusses over Alex and his boss to the point where it takes about one third of the whole movie. The scene where Justin is confronted by the bitter ex-girlfriend does seem to be quite painful due to the argument that doesn’t seem to fit anywhere else in the movie kind.
The situation in Mexico (which is actually played by Colombia) is not too different from before the cab tour. There are familiar problems revolving around taxis and locating the correct hotel. This group somewhat satirically attempts to explain the situation by elaborating on how it shouldn’t have taken this long in the first place. One of them quips that they took four hours to try and find the room. But it funny only superficially because to us, it quite literally felt as if it took that long. A very telling moment comes when, while trying to locate their space, the boys aimlessly run about, using their electronic keys to test various doors.
There is quite a lot we can miss about the plot, but there are couple of wonders moving around the wedding party, the other vacationers, and the vacation gone wrong from which our overworked heroes retreat to Canada. It just so happens that ‘sundowners’ seems to be the kind of unique Hollywood buddy flick that is repeatedly made. One can only imagine how hilarious it would be if it were acted by Owen Wilson or Seth Rogen because despite the expenses they would incur, they would give us plenty of good reasons for laughter – top-notch writing and clever directing. This does not mean there is no audience for Moondi’s film. In addition to Canadians, fans of unsophisticated and low-budget style indie films will appreciate it.
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