Take a wonderful trip from Hollywood

Wilby Wonderful, written and directed by Daniel Maclvor is set in the small island town of Wilby, where the citizens prefer only the company of their own.

The story focuses on the townspeople’s urge to rid the island of pesky mainlanders (i.e. gays and sexual deviants), which includes much conspiracy among the authorities including the mayor (Maury Chaykin). Officer Buddy French (Paul Gross) on the other hand see’s no problem with the town as it is and seeks to uncover the conspiracy. Meanwhile, Buddy seeks to find himself as well, and how to repair things with his wife (Sandra Oh) back to how they once were.

Our attention is grabbed with failed suicide attempts, hormone-driven teens, and of course Sandra Oh’s character Carol, a crazed realtor. The standout is Emily, played by the young Ellen Page. It was a pleasure seeing Ms. Page perform pre-Juno. We see evidence of her beyond-her-years wit through her character Emily, daughter of Sandra Anderson (Rebecca Jenkins). Sandra’s reputation precedes her in the town, as she has recently moved back to open up the town diner.

Video store owner Dan Jarvis (James Allodi) is perhaps our most interesting character, and though his speaking lines are minimal, he captivates us the most. His interactions with the town carpenter Duck MacDonald (Callum Keith Rennie) move the soul, especially towards the end of the film.

This drama captures our emotions and plays with our sense of humor throughout. The film starts off kind of slow, and this reviewer felt it was difficult at first to point out the intention. However, the story ties together in the middle and ends with a great conclusion. Overall this film was acted realistically and the intentional exaggerations make us realize the important things in life. Take a trip from Hollywood and enjoy wonderful Wilby.

Rating: 5.5 out of 7

Buy Wilby Wonderful on DVD from Amazon

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