Author: Mitch Wolfe

Randi Cogan-Shinder, Toronto’s Hottest Perfume Entrepreneur Triumphs Despite Poor Ontario Busi

by Mitch Wolfe, posted in Lifestyle, Media, Politics

In Liberal Premier’s Wynne’s Ontario, small Ontario companies are being whacked with skyrocketing utility costs, higher taxes, user fees, increased labor costs, rising insurance premiums, ballooning transit costs and soul-destroying regulatory red tape.

Ontario may be a great place for fat cat public servants pulling down six figures and overgenerous pensions, but it ain’t the greatest place for innovative and aggressive entrepreneurs.

Unless you go by the name of Randi Cogan-Shinder, Toronto’s answer to New York’s beauty/fragrance/apparel powerhouse Tory Burch.

Despite overwhelming odds and the business-unfriendly governments of McGuinty and Wynne, Ms. Shinder’s fragrance and beauty companies have thrived during the last decade.

In 2002, Shinder, then based in Ottawa, launched her small beauty and fragrance company with her first product, called Clean, a very popular “fresh from the shower” scent.

Shinder than partnered with mega media star and singer Jessica Simpson on a beauty and fragrance line, “Dessert Beauty”, (based on edible flavors).

Shinder’s next big success was her development and marketing of the micro-collagen enhancer LipFusion which sold more than 2.5 million units within the first nine months of distribution.Within a few years, Shinder’s various fragrance and beauty products were sold in over forty-six countries and she and her company had become an international business success story.

By 2006, Randi’s little company had morphed into the very successful, multi-product Fusion Brands company- which in turn caught the attention of bio-chem billionaire Eugene Melnyk, ( and Ottawa Senators owner) who bought 55% of Fusion Brands, for millions of dollars.

Shinder, as CEO grew the company for another few years and then sold out her entire share of the company to Melnyk for many more millions of dollars in 2009.

Along the way, in recognition of her creativity, perseverance and entrepreneurial success, Shinder was named Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year and she was awarded numerous other national and international honors in the beauty, fragrance and marketing areas.

Her story is a great rags-to(Nina)-Ricci story.

Okay, rags may be overstating it a bit.

But Shinder’s achievement is still impressive in a brutally competitive environment and especially in Ottawa,  a predominantly one industry town- better known for fat, old, white male senators supping at the public trough, than for fit, lean, whip smart female entrepreneurs eating their domestic and international competition for lunch.

Post buy-out, Shinder devoted herself to the raising of her two children, a daughter and son (now 18 and 17 years, respectively).

Now based in Toronto, in 2012 Shinder together with her business partner and good friend,  Michael Nyman, of California, CEO of one of the largest marketing and communications companies in the world, jumped back into the fragrance fray and started developing a new line of scents and beauty products for young women and for women, young at heart.

Last year, Shinder launched a brand new beauty and fragrance line called,” i smell great.”

Four scents: angel cake, beach babe, candy crush and wild honey.

Bottled or incorporated in one of five sleek products: eau de parfum, wellness water mist, soft body whip,  and reactive lush lip.

During my interview with Ms. Shinder, I personally experienced all four wonderful scents with all my senses.

Frankly, I had great difficulty choosing between my two faves-  wild honey and beach babe.

According to the “i smell great” website,  wild honey “ intoxicates with the gentle yet enticing scents of honey, brown sugar, tahitian vanilla, sweet nectar with a touch of sexy. This delicious and soothing combination is almost edible, and will kiss your skin with an irresistible and yummy sweetness.”

On the other hand, beach babe, “ intoxicates with the gentle yet enticing scents of tropical breezes, coconut cream, golden suntan oil with a touch of sunshine. Close your eyes and let the warmth of the sun soothe you as the waves and salt air take you away.”

Shinder solved my dilemma by recommending layering these two scents together, thus wild honey + beach babe = wild beach babe.

I told you this business woman was smart and had all the answers!

I also inquired of Ms. Shinder whether she was considering a male line of scents and products, for the discerning female partner. Such as:

“Bay Street Banker” intoxicates with the rich new car scent of Porsche leather on your skin. Close your eyes and you almost smell the fresh cut fairways of the tony Rosedale Golf and Country club and feel the warm sea breezes off the dock of your multi-million dollar Muskoka cottage.“

Ms. Shinder suggested that I stick to my day job, whatever that may be.

Interestingly, this time around, Shinder is primarily marketing her “i smell great” products online through her very well-crafted website and through several popular YouTube bloggers as MakeupMandy24 and Juicystar07 and well-known beauty websites as PopSugar.com. Many such bloggers and websites have very favorably touted Shinder’s products. Such bloggers and sites represent millions of followers and visitors.

Shinder recently partnered with Hollywood and tv star, Sophia Bush, to promote her “i smell great “ line. Apparently, online sales have skyrocketed.

(I personally loved Sophia as the hot and funny Brooke Davis on the very successful, coming of age “One Tree Hill”, tv series.  So partnering with the vivacious Sophia Bush is truly inspired.)

Shinder and her team also actively use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and many other innovative ways to drive online traffic to her company’s webpage. Eschewing traditional retail outlets.

To date, her clicks over bricks, appear to be working. In a nod to Brooke Davis’ “Clothes Before Bro’s” line on “One Tree Hill”, how about “Chicks Before Bricks”?

According to Shinder, the feedback and response to her website have been overwhelming.

For now Randi Cogan-Shinder and her team are concentrating on marketing, promoting and developing her current line of “ i smell great” products.

But as Shinder’s personal brand and reputation soar, I would not be surprised if Shinder leaps into apparel and home accessories, with her signature and unique style.

Because what woman does not want to feel, look or live as great as Randi Cogan-Shinder.

Patrick Brown Demolishes Christine Elliott to Win Leadership of the Ontario PC Party

by Mitch Wolfe, posted in Politics

This was supposed to be a coronation for Christine Elliott. Instead, the queen in waiting, pulled a Hillary Clinton in 2008, and lost to a relatively unknown candidate, who out hustled and out organized her. And thoroughly destroyed Elliott in all parts of the province. Even in the GTA. In Ford Nation, notwithstanding the support of the Ford brothers.

I like Christine Elliott as a person. She has substance. She was a practicing lawyer, a business person, a mother who raised three sons, and a terrific supportive partner of her husband Jim Flaherty.  She has been a tireless campaigner for the Conservative cause and an excellent MPP for her riding.

Ms. Elliott has integrity. She has character. In sum, a mensch.

But she is not and has never been leadership material.

Notwithstanding all of Elliott’s strong qualities and intelligence, she performed very weakly at Queen’s Park. Her opponents Vic Fedeli and Lisa MacLeod, though not as well known as Ms. Elliott, every day, day by day hammered the McGuinty government and then the Wynne government over its many scandals: OLG, Ornge, the cancellation of the gas plants, the deletion of the emails,  and MARS2.

Gang who could not shoot straight!!

For the most part, Elliott was missing in action. She just did not come across as tough and strong, even in opposition. Unlike her lesser known opponents.

Despite all of Elliott’s experience and intelligence and alleged knowledge of the provincial issues, Elliott’s campaign was a disaster. She came across as painfully boring and a totally uninspiring speaker, reminiscent of the disastrous Olivia Chow, during her pathetic attempt to win the Toronto mayoral race.What was Elliott and her brain trust thinking when they assumed the same Yonge Street location as the political headquarters of Olivia Chow? Talk about bad karma. Talk about guilt by associated location.

To a large extent Elliott snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. She showed very poor judgment in apparently just relying upon support from her caucus, who failed to deliver their own people in their own ridings. Elliott also seemed to just rely upon the same political advisers and political elites who were responsible for Tory defeats in the last four elections.

Talk about the gang who could not shoot straight!!

To Brown’s credit, he was not another right wing,  tone-deaf socially conservative Tim Hudak clone.

To the surprise of Elliott and her people, Brown pulled a Jason Kenney and he went out to all the socially conservative new Canadian groups, in the 905 areas and beyond, and brought in a ton of new Conservative supporters, among the South Asian, Tamil, Arab, Muslim and Asian communities.

Elliott played it safe. She made few errors, but she was destroyed nonetheless

Brown and his people did what Elliott should have done. Gone out and brought in new members, from the ethnic communities who had gradually gravitated to the federal Conservative fold through the efforts of Kenney and Harper.

Instead, Elliott played it safe. She made few errors, but she was destroyed nonetheless.

Though the left wing media has and will paint Brown as a hard core right wing nut, he is and will be a formidable opponent to Premier Wynne. He is very likeable. He is charming. He is young, smart and very aggressive.

Not only did Brown attract thousands and thousands of new members from previously non Conservative communities,  more importantly he and his organization were able to successfully get these new Conservatives to come out and vote. A true test of Brown’s organizational skills and formidable ground game, in this case, reminiscent of Obama’s successful ground game.

Premier Wynne. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Your time in office is well past due. And the new invigorated Conservatives are stronger than ever and they are going after you and your scandal-ridden government.

Congratulations to Patrick Brown

by Mitch Wolfe, posted in Politics

This was supposed to be a coronation for Christine Elliott. Instead, the queen in waiting pulled a Hillary Clinton circa 2008 and lost to a relatively unknown candidate, who out hustled and out organized her. And thoroughly destroyed Elliott in all parts of the province. Even in the GTA. Even in Ford Nation, notwithstanding the support of the Ford brothers.

I like Christine Elliott as a person. She has substance. She was a practicing lawyer, a business person, a mother who raised three sons, and a terrifically supportive partner of her husband Jim Flaherty.  She has been a tireless campaigner for the Conservative cause and an excellent MPP for her riding.

Ms. Elliott has integrity. She has character. In sum, a mensch.

But she is not and has never been leadership material.

Notwithstanding all of Elliott’s strong qualities and intelligence, she performed very weakly at Queen’s Park. Her opponents Vic Fedeli and Lisa MacLeod – though not as well known as Ms. Elliott – day by day hammered the McGuinty and then the Wynne government over its many scandals: OLG, Ornge, the cancellation of the gas plants, the deletion of the emails,  and MARS2.

For the most part, Elliott was missing in action. She just did not come across as tough and strong, even in opposition.

Despite all of Elliott’s experience and intelligence and alleged knowledge of the provincial issues, Elliott’s campaign was a disaster. She came across as painfully boring and a totally uninspiring speaker, reminiscent of the disastrous Olivia Chow, during her pathetic attempt to win the Toronto mayoral race.

What were Elliott and her brain trust thinking when they assumed the same Yonge Street location as the political headquarters of Olivia Chow? Talk about bad karma. Talk about guilt by location.

To a large extent Elliott snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. She showed very poor judgment in apparently just relying upon support from her caucus, who failed to deliver their own people in their own ridings. Elliott also seemed to just rely upon the same political advisers and political elites who were responsible for Tory defeats in the last four elections.

Talk about the gang who could not shoot straight!

To Brown’s credit, he was not another right wing tone-deaf socially conservative Tim Hudak clone.

To the surprise of Elliott and her people, Brown pulled a Jason Kenney and he went out to all the socially conservative new Canadian groups, in the 905 areas and beyond, and brought in a ton of new Conservative supporters, among the South Asian, Tamil, Arab, Muslim and Asian communities.

Brown and his people did what Elliott should have done. Gone out and brought in new members, from the ethnic communities who had gradually gravitated to the federal Conservative fold through the efforts of Kenney and Harper.

Instead, Elliott played it safe. She made few errors, but she was destroyed nonetheless.

Though the left wing media has and will paint Brown as a hard core right wing nut, he is and will be a formidable opponent to Premier Wynne. He is very likeable. He is charming. He is young, smart and very aggressive.

Not only did Brown attract thousands and thousands of new members from previously non Conservative communities. More importantly he and his organization were able to successfully get these new Conservatives to come out and vote – a true test of Brown’s organizational skills and formidable ground game, in this case reminiscent of Obama’s successful ground game.

Premier Wynne, be afraid. Be very afraid. Your time in office is well past due. And the new invigorated Conservatives are stronger than ever and they are coming after you and your scandal-ridden government.

Al Jazeera America to Buy CBC: Future of Peter Mansbridge in doubt

by Mitch Wolfe, posted in Politics

(CONTENT WARNING: Satire)

Hubert T.  Lacroix, President and CEO of CBC, announced a major change in the public broadcaster’s funding this morning to a packed crowd of CBC staff in the lobby of CBC’s Front Street head office.

“That evil Harper won’t have the CBC to kick around anymore,” Lacroix told the crowd, “because mes amis, we are free at last. Hallelujah, we are free at last! CBC has finally secured long term funding from Al Jazeera.”

Lacroix was joined at the podium by his opposite number at Al Jazeera America- CEO Ehab (Abe) Al Shihabi.

Apparently Hubert and Abe had been meeting in secret for several months in the basements of various Toronto mosques, disguising themselves as niqab-wearing ISIS brides-to-be.

Unfortunately, these secret meetings had come to the attention of CSIS, the CIA, Homeland Security, TMZ and online tabloid listicle site BuzzFeed.

As a result, such CBC execs as Lacroix, Heather Conway and VP for People and Culture Roola Zaarour were placed on America’s “no fly list”, their phones and computers were tapped and killer drones authorized by Obama were seen buzzing the CBC’s Front Street office.

Hence today’s premature announcement.

Al Jazeera America is owned by Doha-based Al Jazeera Network, which is in turn funded by the House of Thani, the ruling family of oil-rich Qatar. The House of Thani is like the Ewing family of Dallas but with more scheming polygamous wives.

Al Shihabi has pledged to replace $1 billion of Canadian taxpayers’ money with massive petro dollars from the House of Thani in roughly the same amount.

One CBC wag was heard to mutter, “Forget the BS, just show me the money, Thani!”

Abe also assured the assembled CBC employees, “No one would lose their job, provided that all you dirty infidels and non-believers convert to Islam, otherwise heads will roll. Just kidding. No, just watch me.”

On the editorial front, there was good news and bad news.

The good news, according to Abe, was that under its new ownership, CBC would continue to present its highly praised and  highly biased anti-Israeli reporting across all of CBC’s platforms under the direction and leadership of Al Jazeera’s favorite self-hating Jews, Avi Lewis and his self-promoting spouse Naomi “I’m My Own Logo” Klein.

The bad news is that, unfortunately, music is out at the CBC. The embattled “q” and its new host shad are history, to be replaced by radical Muslim imam and Khadr family favorite Aly Hindy in his new morning drivetime program, “No More Lindy, with Hindy,” followed in the afternoon with Sook-Yin Lee’s revamped show, “Definitely No Opera Here.”

Speaking of Omar Khadr, he was named Al Jazeera’s Terrorist of the Year. Abe has high hopes for the hirsute hero and convicted killer, as the new Al Jazeera team is grooming Khadr to take over from the follically- challenged Peter Mansbridge.

Yoga for conservatives

by Mitch Wolfe, posted in Lifestyle, Politics

I am thinking of starting a new Facebook Group, for stressed-out conservatives who have seen our hopes of a conservative resurgence in Ontario provincial politics dashed regularly by unpopular and politically tone-deaf provincial conservative leaders.

On the federal level, now we are faced with the popularity of one of the most content-free, superficial and dangerous federal Liberal leaders in recent memory.  The Boy Wonder Justin with the great hair and economic/environmental policies that may destroy our stable Canadian economy.

Much as Trudeau Sr. did in the ‘70s and early ‘80s.

If Trudeau the pretty boy puppet is elected, will he carbon tax us Canadians to financial death? Will he stop the oil pipelines flowing oil east to west and west to east and kneecap our oil and gas industry – the economic engine of our Canadian economy?

One day, Trudeau is pro-Israel, the next day he is pro Palestinian while he parties at mosques connected to Islamic terrorists, bent on destroying Israel, killing Christians and wreaking havoc on the west.

Once elected as PM, will he throw Israel and Jews under the bus as he courts Canadians who want to impose Sharia law in our communities in violation of our Canadian rights, freedoms and values.

As conservatives, how do we combat this New Age Adonis?

Well, instead of pulling our graying hair out, we should fight fire with fire.

We should breathe new life into our conservative mission, by stopping, and literally breathing in and out – yoga style.

Close our eyes and dream of a Canada, free of hypocritical, opportunistic Trudeauites and loony leftists.

We should inhale through our noses and let our breath circulate through our joints, muscles and up and down our chests and backs.

After a series of preliminary poses, (Sun Salutations, Downward Facing Dog, cat and cow poses) which loosen our limbs and open our hearts to new thoughts and ideas, we should then engage in my favorite pose: Warrior II, known as Virabhadrasna II.

After several years, I am still a novice yogi, but my yoga instructor, the strong and ethereal Iris, is the real deal.

  • 1. Open the arms so they are parallel to the floor. When the right leg is forward, bring the right arm in front of you and the left arm behind.
  • 2. Open the left hip toward the back of your mat.
  • 3. Keep the right knee bent and the right thigh parallel to the floor.
  • 4. Draw the belly in slightly.
  • 5. Find the shoulders directly over the hips.
  • 6. Reach out through both finger tips.
  • 7. The gaze is forward over the right hand.
  • 8. Engage the triceps to support the arms, and the quadriceps to support the legs.

Repeat on the left side.

Make sure the right knee stays tracked over the middle toe of the right foot. Don’t allow the knee to drift over to the left.

Hold the pose for ten breaths.

This yoga pose strengthen the legs and arms, opens the chest and shoulders, tones the abdomen and makes us fighting Conservatives – strong enough to take on the invading hordes of Trudeau lefty lightweights who want to weaken our national resolve and take us back to the disastrous tax and spend/stagflation days of Trudeau Sr.

Namaste, you left-leaning Liberal/lefty bastards!

Ex Machina makes artificial life look lovely

by Mitch Wolfe, posted in Entertainment

The newly released sci-fi thriller Ex Machina captures and stimulates the imagination on so many levels.

The premise is simple, but I warn you – writer/director Alex Garland has much more on his mind as he deftly navigates the filmgoer through the windowless corridors of his evil genius’ lair.

Software coder Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), an employee at Bluebook – a popular search engine company a la Google, with the power of IBM and intrusiveness of  Facebook – has won an in-house company contest to spend a week with the company’s reclusive founder, Nathan (Oscar Isaac), at his private Alaskan compound in the middle of nowhere.

Caleb is clearly intelligent and painfully single, geeky, nerdy and in apparent need of female companionship – human or otherwise.

Nathan, a heavily bearded eccentric genius with a bulked up body of a mixed martial arts fighter, possesses the massive ego of a Jobs and a Zuckerberg. In his highly secretive post modern lab, Nathan has developed the latest in female androids.

Nathan has chosen Caleb to interview and assess Nathan’s latest creation, the almost life-like female robot, Ava, as to the level and sophistication of Ava’s artificial intelligence.

Ava, played by beautiful Swedish actress and dancer Alicia Vikander, is clearly an artificial creation, very far from the pneumatically perfect dream girl cyborg Kelly LeBrock of John Hughes’ Weird Science.

Ava possesses Alicia’s beautiful face atop a sexy silver, mesh-like exoskeleton which clearly discloses her inner wiring and other bells and whistles.

Yet over the course of a few days, the lonely Caleb gradually falls in love with Ava. Ava in turn confides to Caleb her loneliness, her desire to be free, her suspicions about her creator and her apparent yearning for Caleb.

Or does she?

Has Nathan programmed Ava to be cunning, empathetic, loving and sexually attractive to Caleb, or has Ava developed these human-like qualities on her own in learned response to Caleb’s needs and wants – and to her own confinement?

Nathan appears in complete control of his environment, his Ava and his beautiful but silent Asian girlfriend. The writer/director Garland clearly poses the question as to whether man can ever be truly in control – of his employees, his lovers or even of his own artificial creations?

Garland also raises important questions about what we as Google users or Facebook friends, sacrifice in terms of our personal information, privacy and identity and control of our lives to the Nathans or Zuckerbergs of the world.

The film drags a bit, in the middle, as Caleb interrogates Ava, exploring his relationship with her as Ava learns more about Caleb.

But don’t despair, the film ultimately takes a few very interesting twists and turns, and what was initially an apparently misogynistic fembot fantasy becomes a thrilling feminist revenge flick.

Hooray for Girl Robot Power!!!

Same Sex Marriage Between Jewish Canadian and Palestinian Women – More Uplifting Than Fiction

by Mitch Wolfe, posted in Entertainment, Lifestyle

The American writer, Mark Twain, famously wrote, “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.”

For me, the word, “strange” denotes weird, with certain negative connotations.

But there is nothing strange or weird with the wonderful same sex relationship and marriage of Jess Salomon and Eman El Husseini, seen in this photo. (and note the link to an interview Jess and Eman gave recently on CBC radio).

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/palestinian-jewish-comedy-1.3251867

Full disclosure. Jess is not only a Facebook friend, and a friend, but I am also very proud to say that she is my second cousin from Montreal. A very successful human rights, international war crimes lawyer, turned brilliantly funny stand-up comedienne.

Think a wittier, smarter, bi-sexual red-headed Amy Schumer whose had a kick-ass international legal career. Who is not only laugh out funny, but in her spare time writes devastatingly smart political satire and political commentary.

Reminiscent of her more politically conservative,(but socially libertarian and libertine) and even stranger male cousin, moi. ( Hey, it’s in the genes, we’re family, after all)

Eman is also a brilliantly funny and smart stand-up comic and a terrifically, warm, passionate and compassionate person.

I was initially introduced to Eman as Jess’ partner, a few years ago, at the shiva ( Jewish funeral) of Jess’ grandmother and my great aunt, Nicki.

Admittedly, that was a gutsy move. But what better time to introduce one’s partner, one’s significant other, to the greater, extended Salomon clan. ( for those trying to keep score, my grandma Fanny and Nicki’s husband, Joel aka, Babe, were brother and sister, of a total of 9 siblings, Oy Vey!)

As to the very large and tight Salomon clan, who all stayed and lived in Montreal. And produced children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Think the Sopranos, as if the Sopranos, were manufacturers of men’s wear on Montreal’s The Main.

Both Jess and Eman headline and perform in Yuk Yuks comedy clubs throughout Canada.

Whenever they are in Toronto, I try to catch their individual performances. Both are amazingly funny and quick. They are both a delight.

Now they are making the move to The Big Apple, to seek fame and fortune and who knows, maybe their own show on Comedy Central.

Move over Amy Schumer (who I believe is a cousin of our very own Harvard-Radcliffe classmate, Fran Schumer) and Sarah Silverman, you now got some serious competition, from two brilliantly funny and awesome comics and performers.

jess and eman 2jess and eman

shad is out, Khadr is in at CBC

by Mitch Wolfe, posted in Entertainment, Media

(WARNING: MATURE LANGUAGE. And satire.)

Politically correct hip hop artist shad was shown the door today by CBC senior brass after barely two weeks hosting “q,” the troubled Radio One chat show formerly known as “Q.”

shad’s last day at CBC was announced by Executive VP Heather Conway.

In a written press release, Conway thanked the apparently shocked shad for his service. She further stated, “Although shad was only with CBC for one week, shad at CBC helped significantly unify Canadians by sharing Canadian melodies and lyrics with fellow Canadians, and showcasing Canadian music by a plethora of aboriginal throat singers, Cape Breton fiddle players, and Winnipeg klezmer bands. “

Conway continued, “We at the CBC wish shad the best and hope our payment to him of $5 million dollars of taxpayer money will soften his transition. But frankly, shad’s numbers were not there. He could not hold onto (former host Jian) Ghomeshi’s more youthful and robust audience of horn dogs and alleged sexual abusers.”

“So we have decided to go another direction and we welcome well-known celebrity and convicted killer Omar Khadr, aka, ‘khad’ to the CBC family.”

“khad promises to shakes things up at “q”. khad promises to go after our growing local population of Taliban and ISIS freedom fighters and sympathizers – a terrific growing market for CBC’s new and improved multicultural programming.”

According to khad, his solution for preventing any further incidents of sexual harassment or abuse at CBC is simple.

“Get rid of all female employees! Those dirty, slutty, menstruating whores should be at home tending to their jihadi babies and their jihadi men.”

Personally, though I only listened to shad a bit during his highly abbreviated sojourn at CBC “q,” I am really going to miss that dude. He was cool and dope, as the kids say these days.

As shad headed out the door, he improvised this following rhymed farewell:

“The gig was rad

I know I weren’t bad

I’m shad.

I’m shad.

Now I’m sad.

Who’d da frack

That khad?”

While We’re Young: The Best Feel Bad Film of 2015

by Mitch Wolfe, posted in Entertainment

When you travel to Noah Baumbach country, it is certainly no day at the beach.

A good Baumbach film is not a fluffy rom-com, where disbelief is suspended from the nearest and tallest oak tree;   where the attractive hero and heroine wittily banter until they jump in the sack, fall in love, then fall out of love, then fall in love again and presumably live happily ever after as a married and successful couple with children.

In a Baumbach film, the hero and heroine, though attractive and ambitious, are usually bitter and disappointed with their careers, with themselves and with their relationship.  But Baumbach has an amazing way of squeezing humor out of darkness, disappointment, bitterness and failed dreams.

With his latest film, While We’re Young, he successfully delivers.

Josh Shrebnick, (Ben Stiller) and his wife, Cornelia (Naomi Watts) are your archetypical Baumbachian characters.

Josh and Cornelia are both forty-something New Yorkers – intellectual, hyper-articulate, self-centered and painfully self-aware.  Josh writes, directs and produces documentary films; Cornelia produces documentaries, primarily in association with her very successful and well-known writer-director father (played by Charles Grodin).

Josh once made a very entertaining and successful documentary, but for the last ten years he has been struggling to complete his second film, an esoteric, disorganized, painfully boring and non-commercial commentary about the American power elite.

Cornelia, whose own producing career is too dependent upon her famous father, is between jobs.

Years ago, Cornelia and Josh nearly worked together on a film of which they were both passionate, but then Josh preferred going it alone; the project was stillborn and Cornelia never forgot or forgave Josh for that missed opportunity. Cornelia and Josh have also repeatedly failed at conceiving a child, and their childlessness has created a gulf between them and their married friends with children.

They are stagnating both together and apart.

Fortunately, Josh and Cornelia meet up with two young twenty-something New York artistic hipsters, Jaime (Adam Driver) and Darby (Amanda Seyfried).

Jaime is an aspiring film maker. He shoots hours of film, literally and figuratively from the hip, then thinks later. Jaime is bursting with creativity out of his oh so tight jeans. Darby makes natural and organic ice cream. To Josh and Cornelia they represent their former energetic youth, vanished idealism and – perhaps – surrogate children.

Initially, Jaime wins Josh over. He is charming and deferential to Josh; he appeals to Josh’s vanity and professional insecurity. He wants Josh to be his mentor and advise him and assist him on Jaime’s own film project.

But things are not what they appear, and Jaime is more manipulative rake than devoted student to Josh.

Driver as Jaime is very well cast. As in his role of Adam (Lena Dunham’s dynamic and emotionally unstable boyfriend on Girls) he exudes a powerful and explosive energy. He is very effective as a charming, ambitious and single-mined hustling film maker, who will fabricate, manipulate and take advantage of his wife, Josh, Cornelia and even Cornelia’s famous father in order to make and complete his film and become famous in the process.

Admittedly, I was a little reluctant to enter Baumbach country, but I was rewarded with flawed and complex characters created by a director at the top of his game, as he deftly touched on subjects like youth, age, ambition, creativity , honesty, authenticity and how documentary films have been transformed from honest portrayals of reality to manipulated personal statements of the writer/directors.

As for Ben Stiller, one can devote an entire article, just to his craft. Unlike Woody Allen, Stiller refuses to play sympathetic and likeable characters who win the beautiful girl at the end.

In this film, he is neurotic, narcissistic, self-centred, insensitive and single-minded. Uncharacteristically, Stiller as Josh opens himself up to working with Jaime and he is predictably punished and humiliated in the process. Stiller’s Josh is cringe-worthy, but it is impossible to turn away from Stiller and his purposely pathetic performance.

On the other hand, Naomi Watts is certainly worth the price of admission, even at Cineplex’s grossly inflated VIP ticket rates.

Naomi Watts is a brilliant actress who has played some very strong and complex roles, like the Russian-British midwife in Eastern Promises, the American CIA agent/suburban housewife in Fair Game and a hysterically funny Russian hooker with a heart of gold opposite Bill Murray in St. Vincent.

Watts’ Cornelia, barren and professionally frustrated, also tries to recapture her youth by doing hip hop with Darby and experimenting with hallucinogens. She’s caught between her love and loyalty to the stubborn and uncompromising Josh and the intoxicating lure of success with the flawed but creative Jaime.

Even Cornelia’s “old school” filmmaker dad is taken in by Jaime’s film making style and entertaining though fabricated product.

Enter Baumbach country at your own risk. You may or may not leave entertained but Baumbach’s complex themes and messages will stay with you whether you’re young or not so young.

The Feel-Good Film “Hector” is in Search of an Audience

by Mitch Wolfe, posted in Entertainment

Finally, spring has sprung.

Canada has emerged from its winter of discontent. So instead of ranting and raging, Lear-like, against the usual forces of darkness: the bloated CBC, the fiscally irresponsible Kathleen Wynne, and The Unbearable Being of Nothingness known as Trudeau Jr., I thought I would post something warm, fuzzy, and life-affirming. Instead of dark, depressing, and soul-destroying.

So, here goes a brief commentary of a very under-rated but enjoyable film, based upon a deceptively smart and wise screenplay. It is beautifully written with depth, complexity, and understanding. The film? Hector and the Search for Happiness.

It stars Simon Pegg (The World’s End and Hot Fuzz) as Hector, and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl; but more about her later) as his long-suffering girlfriend. Hector is directed by Peter Chelson and the screenplay was written by the said Chelson, along with Maria von Helad and Tinker Lindsay.

Full disclosure of my conflict of interest. I am terribly biased. I wish I could say I was paid thousands of dollars to shill (or to Lang) for this film a la CBC’s infamous Amanda Lang. Or that I am in a deeply romantic/erotic sado-masochistic relationship with Rosamund, but alas, neither are the case.

I do however, consider myself a friend of one of the screenwriters, Tinker Lindsay. Tinker and I were at Harvard together in the 70s. And like most callow college men on campus, I had a crush on the very beautiful, elusive, and seemingly ephemeral Tinker (pictured below). She was a legend among us men in the Harvard Yard: adorable, smart, artistic, a tough spiritual, and totally out of our league.

Tinker Lindsay10

But this was many decades before Facebook. The legend of Tinker Lindsay spread by word of mouth, as opposed to through cyberspace.

Post Harvard, we had heard she had “gone Hollywood,” married some well-known actor, and became a writer. Years later, I learned that Tinker had helped write Hector and I tracked her down through Facebook, thus renewing our friendship. Brilliant and talented, Tinker shared with me her experience of writing this film.

In effect, she gave me an insider peek into this film. So, of course, when it was released in Ontario I went to see it a few times. What struck me about this film was how superior the actual movie was to its trailer. I have come to believe that this was one of the key problems that impeded Hector’s success and shot at more widespread popularity. The trailer was perhaps too upbeat, too feel-good, and too warm and fuzzy. It was one of those trailers that seemed to show all the best jokes and reveal the essential story-line. So why bother going to see the actual film?

In fact, the actual film, which I urge one and all to check out on DVD or Netflix, was much darker, sexier, and disturbing.

Unlike the superficial trailer, the dialogue crackled. The main characters were complex and flawed; they were more unlovable than portrayed, and thus more interesting and compelling. Some scenes and language resonated for me the first time, some more so on the second and third viewing.  As the main characters evolved, there were subtle changes in their personalities.

Rosamund Pike was a revelation. In some ways, she gave a more chilling performance, both literally and figuratively, than in her psychotic and sociopathic Gone Girl role. And though I am not a big fan of Simon Pegg, he gradually won me over with his honest portrayal of a stunted man-child, throwing himself into crazy situations (clearly outside of his comfort zone) in order to force himself out of the predictable and boring life he had created for himself.

The above is just an amuse bouche. A tempting mouthful. But I guarantee the full film will leave you fulfilled.

I do not know about you, but I feel pretty happy about this effort.