ametaphysicalshark I've sold many movie tickets to Gary Burns, but had never seen one of his films. Since I finally watched Mike Judge's "Office Space" this morning I figured I should probably watch the other, far lesser-known but very popular (locally, at least) comedy from around the same time centered on the banality of office life, Burns' "Waydowntown". Where Judge focused on easy targets like the annoying office printer and caricatures like office weirdo Milton, Burns is focused on sardonic, surreal comedy, and broadens the scope away from just the banality of office life and onto the suffocating effect of skywalk systems and life inside giant malls are having on our society.Indeed, "Waydowntown" is very clearly a commentary on how the +15 system (the world's most expensive pedestrian skywalk system, stretching over 16km in the downtown core) has affected street life in Calgary, or rather suffocated it. While this all means very little to non-Calgarians, or really to anyone who lives in a city without an extensive skywalk system, the film makes very few specific references to Calgary and most of the comedy is still based in the banal nature of the modern office workplace, so accessibility is not an issue and Burns is not self-indulgent in his commentary on Calgary, with the film still focusing for the most part on plot and humor.As previously mentioned, the humor here is occasionally of a broad slapstick nature (and those jokes, including the replacement of computer mouses with an actual dead mouse generally work), but is mostly of a very dark satirical nature, tapping into the petty grievances and mind games of office culture with real realism, which helps ground the lead character's flights of fancy and superhero obsession in reality and keep the film's more surreal moments from feeling like they belong in another film. The plot, with four office workers participating in a bet to stay indoors, using the +15 system to shop, eat, clothe themselves, and sleep as well as work, for as long as possible is very well-executed. It never overtakes the character moments or the generally mundane, claustrophobic atmosphere as the main focus of the film, but keeps the narrative momentum going throughout. The film has been compared to "Office Space" quite frequently (and no, "Waydowntown" is not even close to being a ripoff, it was written well before "Office Space" was released and was filmed not long after "Office Space" wrapped filming, I believe), but aside from the basic idea of suffocated office employees going a little insane the movies aren't very similar at all, with "Waydowntown" being much darker and more surreal, and far more poignant and clever as well in my estimation.The cast are really terrific and while I initially found Burns' direction and the cinematography to be jarring and a bit annoying, I eventually grew to like the style a lot, which considering it was a digital-to-film transfer at the time (1999 when the film was shot or early 2000), it looks really terrific overall, and while all the jump cuts overdid things a bit the claustrophobic, suffocating air Burns was going for was ultimately accomplished. There are a lot of nice touches in the film, visual commentary on the nature of the characters and their lives, ranging from the extremely obvious (the main character has an ant farm on his desk), to subtler, like the constantly changing attire of most of the characters. It was nice to finally see a Gary Burns film, and while "Waydowntown" is perhaps not absolutely perfect it is a very unique and special workplace comedy, one with a lot of imagination and a lot of great, different humor. For all those whining about Canadian film not being accessible to foreigners, here's one which I can see anybody who has been in this sort of atmosphere understanding and enjoying, even if they don't quite understand the nature of the +15 in Calgary and how one can literally live inside breathing recycled air for their entire lifetime if their apartment is in the downtown core. A great, smart film and one I suspect I will be watching over and over and over.

psychobillygrl13 Just by chance I picked this movie up about 6 months ago. I loved it. The plot is simple, a group of co workers make a bet as who can stay inside the longest. As the film progresses the use of camera shots and split screen suggest the "walls are closing in" feeling of claustrophobia. It is a wonderfully quirky movie, subtly funny - which is nice, because slap-you-in-the-face humor is getting quite old now a days. The film hits home because the acting is realistic. There aren't perfect one-liners constantly spewed out by the lead character set up by pointless dialog on the part of the supporting characters. The conversations are realistic and awkward at times - you end up feeling you're trapped inside too.

connermcnicholas I liked this movie a lot. I mean, we all know it's not incredible. But it is quite entertaining and witty. It's one of those movies I like to fall asleep to every night.Also, I'm not sure if anybody else realized this goof, but in the elevator at the beginning, Tom asks Randy for some of his bagel. In the following scenes, they switch positions. It's possible this was intentional because of some mirror in the elevator, but I don't think so. To add to this, lots of characters have extremely purple lipstick on, especially the men.I'd enjoy making sweet, sweet love to Sandra, by the way. I'm not gay or anything but Tom is really hot for a guy. I wish I looked like him.E-mail me if you'd like to discuss this movie or others like it at [email protected]

Bandit228 From the first few minutes of watching this movie I could tell it was going to be a good one. The narrators humor is dark, pessimistic and completely truthful. The plot itself is seemingly humorous.Four coworkers become involved in a bet to see who can stay inside the longest. But do not be fooled. It's much darker and deeper it sounds. That is only one aspect of it though, it's much darker and deeper than it sounds. This film takes off into a completely unexpected direction right from the get go, serving as a commentary on people and the monotony of office life. It points out that being trapped in an office could make anyone start to question their sanity. This film contains the in your face reality and sharp edge that only an independent film could capture. A good watch that makes you think.