Spinal tapping a maple tree
The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico Starring Matt Murphy, Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, Phil Kaufman, Natalie Radford and Donnie Fritts. Written and directed by Michael Mabbott. 86 minutes. At the Carlton and Kennedy Commons theatres. 14A Q. How do you know when you’re a star in Canada? A. When you’re too famous to ride the subway but still too poor to buy a car.
It’s an old joke, but sadly a true one. Sure, we have Shania Twain and Céline Dion and dear ol’ Gordon Lightfoot, but for the vast majority of Canuck entertainers, audience appreciation is just a ( TTC) token gesture.
For better or worse, Canada lacks a star system. Any patriotic paparazzo who foolishly opted to chase only domestic talent would have a lot of spare time on his or her hands, and an empty bank account. Which is why The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico succeeds so well as both satire and drama, and on so many levels. Written and directed by Vancouver’s Michael Mabbott, a transplanted Albertan, it proceeds from the highly amusing assumption that Canada is capable of hatching an outlaw singer-songwriter of international infamy. One whose mysterious disappearance and threatened return would strike chords of admiration and alarm in even the blackest of Yankee hearts.
There may or may not be a real Guy Terrifico. He may just be a figment of Mabbott’s fevered imagination, which he presents as “ a honky tonk- umentary” in the deadpan vein of This Is Spinal Tap. The Canuck rocker Matt Murphy (ex- Super Friendz) who plays Terrifico may just be a great natural musician and actor or the reincarnation of a restless spirit. We may never know for sure, especially if you’re not in on the gag.