Riding the GravyTrain into Canadian cult status
By Lindsey Rivait
Arts Editor
May 18, 2010
 Canadian films are known for having a unique flavour, and the latest effort from Tim Doiron and April Mullen is no different.
The Ryerson graduates who created the cult hit Rock, Paper, Scissors: The Way of the Tosser are back with GravyTrain—a tale of two wayward detectives set in the present-day fictional Gypsy Creek, which boasts a 1970s backdrop.
The film follows police partners Charles Gravytrain (Doiron, who also penned the script) and Uma Booma (Mullen, who also directed) as they seek out Jimmy Fish Eyes, who is accused of murdering numerous people, including Gravytrain’s father.
In their search for justice, the tables are turned as Gravytrain and Booma are blamed for the murders themselves and somehow become actors in a snuff film produced by Hansel Suppledick along the way.
Shooting GravyTrain was much different than working on their previous film, although both were filmed on tight schedules. While Rock, Paper, Scissors took seven days with five people on set at all times, GravyTrain took 15 days, but with five times the locations and 20 characters. No matter how hectic it was, filming was the highlight for Mullen and Doiron. “It’s exciting in a way. You’re moving with adrenaline. You wake up with butterflies and you have butterflies until you finish the shoot. It’s also our favourite time because when shooting, you’re with everybody, everybody is really passionate about the film, and everybody is around you. When post-production happens, it’s just so lonely. There’s only the two of us again,” said Mullen.
Alan Frew, lead singer of Canadian rock outfit Glass Tiger, steals the show, of course. While casting the vocalist of a Canadian 80s band may seem obscure, Frew had been in talks with the pair for quite some time.
Doiron wrote a one-man play about a guy obsessed with Glass Tiger, Frew in particular. The pair met Frew when he came to the show. “Ever since then we’ve sort of been in talks about doing something creatively together. Alan and Tim started talking about his role, and he always wanted to play this incognito bum that lived under the bridge,” Mullen explained.
The role then evolved into his character, Ewan McCauley, in GravyTrain.
“He was really big into being undercover. He doesn’t even look like himself in the film. He has a black wig on and he’s dirty and has a mangy old guitar,” she continued.
With Rock, Paper, Scissors at cult status, it looks like Mullen and Doiron have knocked out another film under the cult tag.
“We didn’t really think that would happen, but it seems to be happening,” said Mullen.
“When you do anything unique and fresh-looking, it stands out and then people remember it because it’s unlike anything they’ve ever seen before,” she continued.
GravyTrain features an homage to Andy Warhol’s short films, which Mullen credits with pushing the cult label.
“There’s this crazy avant garde filmmaker named Hansel Suppledick who takes us on a journey in the middle of the film where a film within a film happens. It’s this crazy black and white world where the comedy is through the roof. I think people really like that,” she explained.
Doiron and Mullen are currently busy writing their next feature film, but were tight-lipped on the details. It will be another comedy, though, and they’ll begin shooting next spring, most likely in Ontario.
Although they’re most notable for their comedies, Doiron and Mullen haven’t ruled out exploring other genres—far from it.
“I think down the road, I would not count it out. I think down the road we would definitely make a drama or perhaps an actiony-fun type of film. For now, comedy is working well,” said Doiron.
GravyTrain, also starring Tim Meadows and Colin Mochrie, is available now on DVD. The DVD is jam-packed with special features, including a making-of, deleted scenes, bloopers, interviews, commentaries, short films, and much more.
“Anybody who likes special features, pick up GravyTrain because there is a ton of them,” Doiron promised.
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