arts // no. § Classic Canadian comedy evolves with the times » A decade-and-a-half of laughs with ‘Corner Gas’ Cheryl Minns Senior Columnist forner Gas has been making Canadians laugh since it premiered in 2004 with the first of six seasons. Followed by the crowd-funded film Corner Gas: The Movie in 2014 and animated series Corner Gas Animated in 2018, Brent Leroy and his friends continue to entertain Canadian audiences on Crave TV, as well as international viewers on Amazon Prime Video. “Tt really struck a chord with Canadians,” said Corrine Koslo, who voices Emma Leroy in Corner Gas Animated, ina phone interview with the Other Press. “The characters were incredibly well developed and it’s just a lark .” “I’m proud that it’s a family show that people can enjoy together,’ said Fred Ewanuick, who plays Hank Yarbo, in an interview with the Other Press. The series follows the day-to-day lives of eight residents in the fictional prairie town of Dog River, Saskatchewan. The Corner Gas station and convenience store is run by Brent Leroy (played by series creator Brent Butt) and Wanda Dollard (Nancy Robertson). Frequent patrons include Brent’s best friend, Hank Yarbo, and Brent’s retired parents, Oscar (Eric Peterson) and Emma Leroy (played by Janet Wright in Corner Gas). Next door is The Ruby diner, run by Lacey Burrows (Gabrielle Miller). Patrolling the streets is Sgt. Davis Quinton (Lorne Cardinal) and Const. Karen Pelly (Tara Spencer-Nairn). Each episode usually includes two to three plots to accommodate all eight characters. “I feel like all of the episodes are really balanced, which is incredible because there are eight main characters and then townsfolk thrown in there as well,’ Ewanuick said. “I think everybody gets their moments to shine.” In keeping with the times, the second season of Corner Gas Animated has a significant focus on modern technology, a noticeable difference from the live- action series. “When I watch the live- action episodes, it’s hilarious because I was involved in something where the technology has shifted dramatically,” Ewanuick said. “When we started, there was no such thing as social media or iPhones.” It’s a stark contrast to Corner Gas Animated’s tech-heavy episode “Tag You're LT” where Davis tags the townspeople with tracker bracelets, Lacey discovers people are exploiting The Ruby’s complimentary Wi-Fi, and Brent and Emma get into a viral video-making competition with their smartphones. Brent tries to convince Hank to do an impossible series of stunts for his video, while Emma tries to prank Oscar for her video. “You couldn't do half of what we do on the cartoon in a real-life television show. You couldn't afford it nor would it be possible to even shoot it,’ Koslo said. “That’s the beauty of the cartoon. They can really dream up whatever they want because you can draw it and you can voice it.” The second season of Corner Gas Animated shows the writers are trying to stay on top of current trends and create relevant storylines that are relatable for viewers. “It’s too bad we couldn't do it weekly like a sitcom, so they could be even more on top of things, but logistically that would be impossible,’ Ewanuick said. However, the series got lucky this season with the episode “Paper Sashay,’ in which Karen befriends a clever crow that later Scary just isn't enough > ‘IT Chapter Two’ film review Sonam Kaloti Arts Editor kek YY I hapter Two was released on September 6. Directed by Andrés Muschietti and based on the story by Stephen King, [T Chapter Two follows the story of the Losers Club 27 years after the events of IT (2017). Per the trailer, the main antagonist Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgard) is back, despite members E fa f Gi s Q| fy pe o) = r, fe] 4 wv fo) co £ = Ss fe] os) fe] = fe] © a of the Losers Club believing the clown was defeated at the end of the first movie. (Spoilers ahead!) The entire movie jarringly goes from present-time scenes of the adults to memory scenes of their childhood counterparts. This is also done far too many times and most of the scenes just re-cap what we already knew from the first movie. Disappointingly, the best scene in the movie was right at the beginning. The Losers Club members each get a call from Mike (Isaiah Mustafa) who informs them that they must come back to the town of Derry. The adult versions of the original group reunite at a Chinese restaurant. Catching up, they throw playful jabs at each other and the scene does a fantastic job at reintroducing the characters as their adult selves. The humour in this scene is gold and explains the characters’ personalities, fears, and relationships with each other clearly. There is an undeniable chemistry between the actors. Richie (Bill Hader) and Eddie (James Ransone) are hilarious as a duo, while Bill (James McAvoy) and Bev (Jessica Chastain) create tension in every scene they appear in together. Respectively, any scene the latter duo appear in with Ben (Jay Ryan) becomes awkward due to dramatic irony where the audience knows Ben is madly infatuated with Bev, but she remains unaware. The love triangle plot takes up too many scenes, and although the movie makes it seem like the audience is supposed to root for Ben, he is ridiculously creepy. Young Bev (Sophia Lillis) doesn’t demonstrate any flirtatious behaviour towards young Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and yet the plot has Ben keep a page of his yearbook (signed only by Bev) in his wallet for 27 years. The young Bev and Bill (Jaeden Martell) coupling was cute in the first movie, sure, but I wasn’t invested in their adult half-hearted relationship at all. Also, the love triangle trope is embarrassingly cliché. Luckily, the feelings obviously run deep (shared trauma and all that) but that’s the only redeemable part. We all know that the gang should never split up (thank you Scooby-Doo), but as all good horror movies know, vulnerability makes a dangerous situation that much scarier. The characters acknowledge that splitting up is dumb but do it anyway because there is “no other choice.” The best scares in the movie used the classic anticipation and darkness plays. I knew each time a jump scare was coming, yet it still got me every time. A huge aspect to thank for this is the sound engineering and scores that went into creating that dreadful feeling. I noticed the classic minor key trombone with reverb used often to build up what was coming next. Pennywise’s ability to induce hallucinations in his victims was used terrifically. There were many scenes that were dizzying with effects making you feel like you're tripping the hell out, like scenes in Doctor Strange and Spider-Man: Far From Home. The movie made great use of the unknown, as well, for the audience never knew what was coming. The surround sound is especially exciting. Being in the dark with the characters and hearing a cry or demonic noise from behind really puts theotherpress.ca Photo by Cheryl Minns steals Hank’s pocket-knife. The action is an obvious nod to Vancouver’s famous knife-stealing bird, Canuck the Crow. Coincidentally, the episode aired on The Comedy Network on July 15, the same week Canuck the Crow was declared a federally protected bird and received an official numbered band around his leg. “We'll see how well this season does. Hopefully, we get another one,” Ewanuick said. “It would be nice if we could get six seasons out of the animated one, to mirror the live-action one. That'd be fantastic.” Corner Gas, Corner Gas: The Movie, and Corner Gas Animated are available on Crave TV in Canada. you in the atmosphere. The gore affects are done realistically and are very uncomfortable to watch. Most of the creatures in the movie are CGI, and they are pretty hit or miss. Some look goofy and unrealistic, while others (like a decapitated talking human head with spider legs) are disturbing, to say the least. Most disturbing though, is the sewer scene where the characters don’t even hesitate to step right into the disgusting sewer water with their shoes and socks on. Worse—they get deeper and eventually start swimming in it! They didn’t even flinch but God, I did. Before the big final fight, the Losers have their pep talk hyping each other up, saying “Losers stick together. Let’s kill this fucking clown!” Too bad the ending sucks. That’s right—I said it. Throughout the entire movie the Losers are amped up and go through perilous tasks in order to perform a ritual that Mark had spent 27 years researching, which was all for jack. Instead, they throw some primary school insults at Pennywise until he’s a baby. “Youre just a fucking clown motherfucker! You're an idiot! You're stupid and ugly!” the Losers yell, and for whatever reason, this works as the big kill move. The horror movie did its job as a good horror movie: It gave me a spooky thrill. It did not, however, do its job as a good movie, alone. The throwbacks were jarring, the plot focused on too many points that were either uninteresting or completely pointless in accordance with the ending, and the kid scenes stole the show throughout the movie. Turns out scary just isn’t enough.