(Canada, 96 min.)
Written and directed by Murray Foster
Starring: Lyndon Ogbourne, Luke Marty, Edward Hillier, Adam McNab
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| Photo credit: Robin Cymbaly |
The Brits invade Toronto in the eclectic musical-comedy The Cocksure Lads. This funny rock
musical brings the funk with a side order of bangers and mushy peas as Brit rock group The Cocksure Lads
lands in Hogtown for its first North American concert. The lads can’t believe
that they’re finally making it in America—or, no… “Canada,” as they frequently
correct one another—and they bring a dash of budding Beatlemania to the city in
this irreverent comedy. The Cocksure Lads
is a rocking lark and an unconventional
Canadian indie comedy.
Put the emphasis on “indie” as The Cocksure Lads brings an idiosyncratic humour that jives with the local film beat and alt music scene alike. The fun starts when the boys—Dusty (Lyndon Ogbourne), Derek (Luke Marty), Blake (Edward Hillier), and Reg (Adam McNab)—land in Toronto and discover the foreign land around which they can’t quite wrap their heads/egos. The Cocksure Lads are on the cusp of fame now that they’ve finally scored a tour in North America, but the band dissolves before it even plays its first set overseas when Dusty, the lead singer, demands a bigger cut of the royalties and his bandmates cry bullocks. Music isn’t about money, the other Cocksure Lads say. It’s about the group, the music, the art, the fans, and the thrill of performing.
The Cocksure Lads offers
a different set for musical comedy as the bandmates take their own separate
paths, roam the streets of Toronto, and ponder the future of The Cocksure Lads.
The film features a variety of performances and songs with a range of catchy musical
numbers. Some sets take the form of conventional band performances, songs flow
logically with the rock band storyline as The Cocksure Lads rehearse and get
pumped up for the gig that may or may not happen, while other numbers take a more
escape approach with sexy nurses joining the party as, say, one Lad bursts into
song at The Beach. Animated cutouts
bring to life numbers about mushy peas and spam, and the humour mostly lives in
the lyrics and tongue-in-cheek energy with which the bandmates perform the
songs. The Cocksure Lads plays like
the Spinal Tap of the Canadian indie
film scene with a dash of lo-fi funk.
The film brings to the screen a movie based on a fictitious
band called The Cocksure Lads of
which writer/director Murray Foster is a part. The film pays a handy nod to the
Canadian music scene with fun cameos from Great Big Sea’s Allan Doyle as a
bartender and Walk Off the Earth as a Toronto indie band that reminds Dusty
that true indie artists live in harmony without worry for posh royalties. The
film plays with the notion that commercial success and artistic integrity are
mutually exclusive by having Dusty and Reg (the two closest friends of the
band) take divergent paths that intersect with different music lovers who
remind them why The Cocksure Lads formed in the first place. While Dusty gets a
tour from indie rock girl Chloe (Chelsea Leaman), who introduces him to the
hippie squalor of other indie bands, Reg finds a guide to Toronto in a
Coldplay-loving Brit (there’s one in every city) named Lily (Sophia Labili).
The Cocksure Lads
fares best with the two storylines with Dusty and Reg, which also feature some
flashback parallels that teach viewers and the characters how and why the band
got together. The film hits a few flat notes, however, with the loony bits
involving Derek and Blake, who bugger off to a pub when the shit hits the fan and
grab a few pints to celebrate the demise of the band. The boys run into Allan
Doyle at the bar, which is fun, but they also encounter a pair of sneering
Brit-hating Torontonians who plot revenge and aim to get even at the inevitable
Cocksure Lads reunion concert scheduled for that night. The film crosscuts this
part of Derek and Blake’s story with some scenes featuring randy fangirls ready
for some nooners with these charming British rockers. These two parts of the films
lack the punch of the threads with Dusty and Reg and the musical sequences don’t
integrate into the story as comfortably as the other ditties do. Every album
has hits and misses alike.
The Cocksure Lads
charts more hits than misses though as the quartet proves to be a lot of fun.
They’re a mix of The Beatles and Spinal Tap with their style, sound, and
spirits. Foster also gives the film lots of life by shooting the film breezily
around Toronto hot spots and by integrating the scenery and pulse of the city
into the musical numbers as the bandmates thrive on the high of making it big
across the pond. DP Sami Inayeh shoots the Toronto porn and musical numbers
warmly and whimsically, while Luke Sargent cuts the film smoothly and guides
the differing musical numbers into one seamless song. This rollicking rock
musical is a lot of fun.
Rating: ★★★½ (out of ★★★★★)
Rating: ★★★½ (out of ★★★★★)
The Cocksure Lads screens at select Landmark Cinemas on Wednesday,
August 5 as part of the Canadian Indie Film Series and opens in select theatres
on Friday, August 7 in Toronto, Calgary and Ottawa (Landmark Kanata).
