by Robert Alstead

Parodies of the Hollywood film industry have been worn thin by repetition, and the idea of watching prima donnas indulging in movie-set melodramas might seem a trying experience, especially when the prima donna in question is a spoilt-brat, 12-year-old movie star. However, Toronto-based writer-director-star Don McKellar’s feel good comedy Childstar manages to negotiate most of the pitfalls of the genre by blending a smart script with fine performances.
Hollywood moguls desperate to wring the last cent out of their hottest star before his voice breaks, send Taylor Brandon Burns (Mark Rendall) to Canada to shoot an action thriller that sounds like Home Alone Meets Air Force One.
Rick (McKellar), a struggling indie filmmaker, who is hired to chauffeur the pre-pubescent star and his listless, hard-nosed mother Suzanne (Jennifer Jason Leigh), quickly finds that he’s got himself into a lot more than he bargained for. Taylor is permitted to act the little Napoleon on and off set, getting through a succession of tutors and creating a waking nightmare for his producers. Rick is blind enough to the politics to be drawn closer to the boy and his mother. He also has an ability to negotiate the boy’s manipulations and tantrums, which lands him with greater responsibility over the star, so that when Taylor disappears from the set, it is Rick who leads the search for him.
Although some scenes making fun of the movie industry machine have a same-old feel, the focus on the peculiar way that the Hollywood celebrity system treats children like mini VIP adults gives the satire and showbiz jokes a freshness and bite. McKellar, Rendall and Leigh also provide a strong emotional axis around which events take place, with great rapport between them throughout.

Also out now is The Chorus (Les Choristes) – France’s entry in the foreign-language movie category at this year’s Oscars – about a music teacher who wins over and inspires his tough bunch of children at a Draconian boarding school by forming a boys’ choir. Critics are calling the film a French sell-out, but the feel-good weepy has been pulling in the crowds in France.
Walt Disney is in its traditional stomping ground with Pooh’s Heffalump Movie, which opens on February 11. The animation follows the adventures of Pooh Bear and friends as they track down a mysterious purple beast in 100 Aker Wood.

Finally, if you are looking for something a little more highbrow, catch Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons in The Merchant of Venice before it goes. The Wolf on iofilm.com gave this his highest recommendation. He writes: “The acting is spot on and the dialogue, commonly the trickiest element in Shakespeare adaptations, is impeccably delivered in a modern tone that really makes the film accessible to audiences of all literary backgrounds – a feat in itself. Pacino’s performance is nothing short of superb, one of the most passionate and inspiring of his career. Don’t let the fact that this is Shakespeare put you off. As well as a great way of introducing yourself to the most influential Englishman who ever penned a sonnet, the film is a gem.”


Robert Alstead, who also writes for iofilm, is currently making a documentary about cycling called You Never Bike Alone.