Coudonc, the characters of the film Single All the Way Netflix boarding a gondola in Bromont? Do they shop for bottles of wine in a barely disguised SAQ? Do they take an Instagram photoshoot at Parc Jean-Drapeau? And is it Victor Andres Trelles Turgeon who plays the role of the shy brother-in-law, almost hidden behind the Christmas tree?
The answers are: yes, yes, yes and yes. Netflix’s first gay romantic holiday comedy was filmed last spring in the greater Montreal area and features two well-known Hollywood actresses, Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus) and Kathy Najimy, who will always remain, in my opinion, Sister Marie-Patrick in Rock’n nun. An outstanding role.
If you love geographic detail on TV, Single All the Way (That romance blows, in French version) will pour tons of it into you. I spent the 99 minutes of the film almost screaming: but it’s in Griffintown, that! It’s happening in the Laurentians, let’s see!
We all understand each other here. Like Christmas bluettes The Princess Switch, Single All the Way is not a great movie.
We know in advance how it will end (discloser: great). But it’s not the point of arrival that matters. It is the path (disclosure: full of misunderstandings) to get there that entertains us.
On Tuesday, this feature film made entirely in Montreal with a small budget of 7.7 million was ranked second among Netflix’s most popular films in Canada.
Single All the Way revolves around Peter (Michael Urie, seen in Ugly betty), a young social media professional established in Los Angeles for nine years. Peter, who is gay, lives with his roommate and best friend Nick (Philemon Chambers), also gay.
As with any Hallmark sweet production, Peter goes to his parents’ house who – it’s a classic – a pretty fictional New Hampshire village, where the Main Street looks like a postcard of snow-capped happiness. Small cozy café, welcoming restaurant-pub, you can imagine the place almost made out of gingerbread.
Peter invites his roommate Nick to the East Coast to make his family believe he’s finally a couple. This plan crumbles quickly, as Peter’s mom introduces her to James, her handsome Spinning trainer (hoo!), And it clicks. Obviously, everyone around Peter and Nick, including two adorable insightful nieces, knows that these two have to end up together and they are all up to the task for the two roommates to realize it for themselves. Christmas bells. Small falling snow. Generic.
What’s fun about Single All the Wayis to recognize the places where the actors have shot their scenes.
The trendy Los Angeles bakery at the start of the film is actually Café Maman on Notre Dame Street West. The pub where Peter and the Spinning Coach meet for the third time is McKibbin’s on Bishop Street. Their first date, however, was filmed at the Maison 1890 restaurant, in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, in the Laurentians.
Moreover, the main street of the fictional village of Bridgewater is rue Saint-Vincent, still in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts. And Peter’s family home is located in Pointe-Claire, in the west of the island.
As for Victor Andres Trelles Turgeon (The breakaway, Can you hear me ?), he has a mini-role in Single All the Way, that of the husband of Peter’s younger sister.
“Our production designer Guy Lalande did an excellent job of recreating a small American town,” remarks Michael Prupas, head of the company Muse Entertainment, which produced this likeable film.
In February and March, the team of Single All the Way had to run with all the Quebec restrictions related to COVID-19. But for the scene of the final kiss, which required reconciliations lasting more than 15 minutes, the team moved 24 hours to Cornwall, Ont., Where the laws were more permissive, recalls Michael Prupas.
Contrary to Happiest Season (Our most beautiful season), offered on Amazon Prime, the sexual orientation of the protagonists of Single All the Way is not hidden nor an issue in history. The guys are gay, their families accept them, and there is no discomfort under the mistletoe!
PHOTO FROM THE SHOW FACEBOOK PAGE
Patrick Emmanuel Abellard and Antoine Pilon in Completely high school
Completely funny!
There is alas! that eight 10-minute episodes of the parody comedy Completely high school, who laughs at the series of American teens The OC. It’s really very funny. And it’s free at noovo.ca.
On a horse The heart has its reasons and The Scott brothers, the episodes were first shot in English, then dubbed into international French in a very, very exaggerated way. We follow Allison Thompson (Rosalie Vaillancourt), the new student who arrives at New Garden Hills Valley High School.
As in any type production Dawson’s Creek, Allison will rub shoulders with the wicked, beautiful and rich Ashley Winterbottom (Katherine Levac), the stupid sportsman Brian (Pierre-Yves Roy-Desmarais), the bum taciturn (Antoine Pilon) and she will bond with Keith (Patrick Emmanuel Abelard), who will become his gay best friend.
Confrontation in front of the lockers or close school elections, you will see a bunch of 30-year-old actors playing 15-year-old teens. And you will laugh a lot.