“Spinster” is being billed as “the anti-rom-com of the summer” and if there ever was a genre that needed a kick in the pants it’s the romantic comedy. Director Andrea Dorfman does more than that, curb-stomping the tired old boy-meets-girl formula in a story that celebrates self-empowerment and independence over slow motion runs through airports.
Chelsea Peretti of “Brooklyn Nine Nine” stars as Gaby, a wedding caterer whose boyfriend dumps her on her thirty-ninth birthday. Her friends encourage her to get back into the dating world but she’s not so sure. To avoid ending up like her great Aunt Elise, dead in a bathtub, undiscovered for a week, she tries speed dating and on-line sites but, she says, “I’d full-on rather be knitting.”
In the absence of a romantic life she fills her time hanging out with her niece Adele (Nadia Tonen), watching his brother Alex (David Rossetti) do terrible stand-up comedy and caring for her recently adopted “used dog.” As her fortieth birthday approaches, and the dream of owning her own restaurant comes closer to reality, she finds happiness in self-love and a speech from the opening scene reveals itself not to be prophetic. (SPOILER ALERT) “Everyone, deep down, wants someone to love,” bride-to-be (Amy Groening) tells Gaby early on. “It’s why Shakespeare ended all of his comedies with a wedding!”
“Spinster” has many charms. It has a wisecracking sense of humour courtesy of writer Jennifer Deyell, a snappy score by composer Daniel Ledwell and a firm hand in director Dorfman. Best of all it has Peretti whose practiced deadpan delivery brings some edge to the story. She has a way with a line but she also leads us down the path to Gaby’s self-discovery. As she helps Adele find confidence in her young life, Gaby is blossoming in her own. Her journey has warmth, believability and a great deal of humour.
“Spinster” is a nicely crafted, if somewhat modest, story of looking for and finding satisfaction in one own life, no matter what others say. It’s about a certain kind of love, but colours outside the rom com lines to create something refreshing.
Check out episode twenty-eight of Richard’s web series, “In Isolation With…” It’s the talk show where we make a connection without actually making contact! Today, broadcasting directly from Isolation Studios (a.k.a. my home office) we meet Andrea Dorfman, a filmmaker, animator and artist who joins us via Zoom from her home in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her films have played at film festivals around the world, won awards and she is back with a new one, now on VOD.
“Spinster” stars actor and comedian Chelsea Peretti from “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” as a wedding caterer gets dumped on her 39th birthday. Over the next year she builds a new life based on self-empowerment and independence.
“Spinster” is being called “the anti-rom-com of the summer,” so I began by asking Andrea Dorfman about subverting the rom com genre…
Watch the whole thing HERE on YouTube or HERE on ctvnews.ca!
Telefilm Canada’s Talent to Watch series of panel sessions is designed to spotlight the creative talents of our country’s emerging and established filmmakers. Whether it’s making the transition from shorts to features, the creative possibilities afforded by new technologies, or the cultural, artistic, and linguistic diversities of our landscape, a panel of young Canadian directors at various stages in their careers reflect on the art of storytelling and engaging audiences. Richard hosted this panel with Jacob Tierney, director Preggoland, Jeffrey St. Jules director Bang Bang Baby, Andrea Dorfman director Heartbeat and Mathieu Denis, director Corbo.
Telefilm Canada’s Talent to Watch series of panel sessions is designed to spotlight the creative talents of our country’s emerging and established filmmakers. Whether it’s making the transition from shorts to features, the creative possibilities afforded by new technologies, or the cultural, artistic, and linguistic diversities of our landscape, a panel of young Canadian directors at various stages in their careers reflect on the art of storytelling and engaging audiences.
Date: Friday, September 5
Time: 11:45am-12:30pm
Venue: Glenn Gould Studio
Jacob Tierney
Jacob Tierney was born in Montreal. He has been a professional actor since age six and appeared in numerous films and television shows before making his directorial debut with the short film Dad (02). His features include Twist (03), The Trotsky (09), and Good Neighbours (10), all of which premiered at the Festival. Preggoland (14) is his latest film.
Richard Crouse
(MODERATOR)
Richard Crouse is the film critic for CTV’s Canada AM, the 24 hour news source CTV’s News Channel and CP24. In 2011 he hosted In Short, a series of hour long shows showcasing BravoFact’s best short films. He was the host of Reel to Real, Canada’s longest running television show about movies, from 1998 to 2008 and is a frequent guest on many national Canadian radio and television shows. His syndicated Saturday afternoon radio show, Entertainment Extra, originates on News Talk 1010 in Toronto. He is the author of six books on pop culture history including Who Wrote the Book of Love, the best-selling The 100 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen, its sequel The Son of the 100 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen, the bestselling Raising Hell: Ken Russell and the Unmaking of The Devils and the upcoming Elvis is King: Costello’s My Aim is True. He also writes two weekly columns for Metro newspaper.
Jeffrey St. Jules
Jeffrey St. Jules was born in Montreal and grew up in Nova Scotia. Three of his short films, The Sadness of Johnson Joe Jangles (04), The Tragic Story of Nling (06), and Let the Daylight into the Swamp (12) premiered at the Festival. His other shorts include The Long Autumn (10), and The Rarebit Fiend (14). Bang Bang Baby (14) is his debut feature.
Mathieu Denis
Mathieu Denis studied cinema at l’Université du Québec à Montréal. He directed the short films Silent Remains (06) and Code 13 (07), the latter of which premiered at the Festival, and wrote and co-directed the feature film Laurentie (11). Corbo (14) is his solo feature debut.
Andrea Dorfman
Andrea Dorfman was born in Toronto and is currently based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her short films include Nine (98), There’s a Flower in My Pedal (05), and Lost and Found (08). Her features are Parsley Days (00), which premiered at the Festival, Love That Boy (03) and Heartbeat (14).
