 Last night I had the opportunity to watch Cooper's Camera, and with the right mix of dysfunctional family members, trashy characters, 80's everything, alcohol and a ton of fontrum for just about everyone in the movie, I found myself thoroughly enjoying this movie. As the Globe and Mail put it, “A relentless gut-wrenching comedy… destined to be a holiday classic.”
Portrayed exclusively through recordings from the family’s new VHS camera, acquired from a friend of the family, played by Kids in the Halls' Dave Foley, whose past recordings keep popping up on the used tape that came with the camera. The movie is filled with touching family moments, done in a very real way.
"You have to take the good with the bad," Samantha Bee's character Nancy says at one point in the movie and when asked what it means she replies that she doesn't even know. On this particular Christmas day, there's certainly more bad than good for their family.
On more than one occasion, I found myself cringing and chuckling at the same time as Gord (played by Daily Show correspondent Jason Jones) further embarrasses himself by getting drunk and creating all kinds of awkward moments for those around him. Things go from bad to worse for Gord's Christmas as his brother starts making ground with his wife.
The film was co-produced by Uvic Alumni Nicholos Tabarrok who has produced 35 films to date including the upcoming Defendor, starring Woody Harrelson, as an everyday guy who believes he’s a superhero, and other past VFF favourites Hank and Mike, Run Robot Run, and The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico.
For director Warren P. Sonoda, this is his second film to be in the Victoria Film Festival. His first time around was with the popular mockumentary Ham & Cheese, with much of the same cast and crew as Cooper’s Camera. It's terrific to see Canada keeping up the tradition of making great comedies.
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