Rock, Paper, Scissors: The Way Of The Tosser

MOVIE DETAILS

Rating: 5.1 out of 10
Director: Tim Doiron, April Mullen
Writer: Tim Doiron, April Mullen
Star: Tim Doiron, April Mullen, Ryan Tilley
Genres: Comedy
Release Date: July 6, 2007 (United Kingdom)

Rock, Paper, Scissors: The Way Of The Tosser

I wasn’t expecting much for the cinematic show two days later when I first saw Tim Doiron and April Mullen at 2009 FaneXpo in Toronto, dressed as well as acting silly as their filmic personas from Rock, Paper, Scissors: The Way of the Tosser. In both what they were doing and their characters’ actions in addition to the marketing materials on display, the feeling was very Napoleon Dynamite-like, which I hate. But they were so enthusiastic man; signing everything, talking to anyone who approached them and posing for photo after photo.

When you put that much effort into something that genuine eight hours a day for three days straight it deserves a look even if you know you’re gonna hate it. Just goes to show “don’t judge a book by its cover” still stands true sometimes. It ended up being more Christopher Guest-lite than any Napoleon/Pedro antics but like so many indie-quirky comedies these days delivered laughs with its originality.

This film school graduate project out of Toronto was just something these two friends wanted to get out there as quick as possible. Tim stayed east and started writing hoping to launch his own project without having to rely on others while April went west and learned how cutthroat auditioning against Kirsten Dunst can be.

So they decided to work together paid for by credit cards and filmed in seven days (“seven straight through so more like fourteen” April said post-film) and make their own movie about anything that could be a character itself since no name actors would be attached to it; Rock, Paper, Scissors seemed like the most recognizable thing that could sell some copies. The story was born around Gary Brewer (Doiron)’s place in RPS Championships after writing themselves into a corner trying to come up with an idea around him.

Documentary-style and filmed in the days leading up to the main event, where Gary Brewer wants to win a championship just like all those other great champions. But it’s also about Holly Brewer who isn’t related (yet) and their buddy Trevor Morehouse, who they found living on the streets in army fatigues with no memory and a few screws loose, too. According to Doiron, New Brunswick is the simplest place on earth. You can drive down any old street counting mailboxes and 75% of them will say “Brewer” while 20% say “Morehouse” and then there’s 5% of different surnames mixed in there somewhere.

There’s also Hubcap Valley which is supposed to be some kind of interesting stretch or something that Doiron said was basically just ruined because he had to explain it himself but I think it has something to do with hubcaps. The absurdity comes from grounding so much in reality even interviews with heads of the Rock Paper Scissors tournament are real, as well as a book on rules and etiquette for playing professionally: who knew? This thing takes us into a world we might never have known.

But while this story follows Gary through his fight for the championship against rival Baxter Pound (Peter Pasyk gives a great sleazeball performance), his quest for a trading card of himself, enough money to marry Holly (Mullen) and success in life; these are all well written fun times but really you should watch this movie for the characters. They’re having fun all the time. Two words: comedy goldmine. Dioron and Mullen played with scripts at every given moment, changed things around all day long and tried new stuff all night ‘round; so it was bound be good eventually but lucky us! Their comedy deals heavily in slapstick physicality but also quick quips & great retorts; facial expressions rule the day, adding some fantastic laughs just from reaction shots or faces in the background.

Like when Gary’s hand goes limp before the tournament sure that was funny, but not as funny as Trevor (Ryan Tilley) looking at it with his mouth open like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Or knowing how hard we all laughed when Holly said, “I’m scared of scissors” because we’d already seen her get snipped at a match once before.

There are never any dull moments here either folks; between montages of warm-ups & training, glimpses into their life like karaoke night at the neighbor’s and idiosyncrasies such as Gary’s inability to toss paper after a horrific car crash yes I said toss paper and then also Holly saying she’ll never be able to look another scissor in the eye. I mean come on! Each gag stands on its own yet still adds to the driving plot while always keeping things moving forward.

The duo at the top and Tilley’s Trevor work together so well, and everything they do is stone faced. A few gag-reel moments sprinkled in during the credits is a stroke of genius because you know there were flubs and uncontrollable laughter from the actors. Add in supporting players like Pasyk and Mairtin O’Carrigan as the crotchety old hall of famer Finnegan O’Reilly (think Dodgeball’s “Patches O’Houlihan”) and it’s an hour and a half of good fun.

Doiron took a big leap with this one, watching it grow after a year of post production editing followed by a year of trying to find distribution, ending up at Alliance Films. It’s definitely a success story, and after meeting them it couldn’t be more deserving. Their next feature GravyTrain has Colin Mochrie and Tim Meadows starring alongside them with a full budget from Alliance behind it which will now be on my radar for sure!

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