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Review

In this expertly crafted black comedy of marriage, the perfect gay couple Ryan and Grant, are having a wedding in their backyard, and they’ve invited the family and all their emotional baggage. When the happy couple starts fighting over what to call it, you know it’s going to be a long day. Actor Bill Marchant makes his writing-directing debut by tackling all the foibles and traumas of modern-day relationships in this intimate ensemble comedy. Besides extra-marital affairs, a decoration-crazy mom and an angry alcoholic, a mysterious guest (Brendan Fletcher) has his eyes on one of the grooms. Named Best Canadian Film at the Montréal Film Festival, Everyone has a sarcastic sense of humor that will make you laugh and grimace at the same time.

Today's the day. Ryan and Grant, the model of a perfect urban gay couple are getting married. The ceremony is set to be a small affair with only immediate family on the invite list. What could possibly go wrong? The answer isn't everything; it's everyone, in this dark comedy from writer-director Bill Marchant.

Five couples, siblings and spouses of the bound-for-the-altar boys, all prepare for the day's celebration with one thing on their minds: the state of their own relationships. Reflection and a few shattered conversations reveal that true love travels on a gravel road, as we follow these lovers through booze, babies, bulimia and a host of other trappings that beset the modern marriage. Throw in a meddling mother-in-law, a wise-ass street punk who takes his clothes off, a sexually ambiguous priestess and a bartender with a bad case of verbal diarrhea and you have a wedding list unlike any other.

Ryan (Matt Fentiman) starts the day with cold feet, but that might just be because he's meditating nude in the garden, his way of preparing for the big day. Grant (Mark Hildreth) has other plans, donning a tuxedo to add a bit of traditional flair to the proceedings and maybe to mask his own possible misgivings about matrimony and lifetime commitment. This clash of styles starts the day off on the wrong foot - opening up a debate between the pair as to whether gay couples should even get married at all. The ensuing fireworks end in a kiss and tumble match in the kitchen but all is not settled. With everyone present, bodies and stories collide - testing the bonds of matrimony and challenging notions of monogamy as each couple tests their vows.

 -- Raymond Murray