Passenger Side

Running time: 85 mins

Putting the odd in odyssey.

The last thing Michael expected on his birthday was a telephone call from his estranged, drug-addicted brother, Tobey. But Tobey has not called with a celebratory birthday wish for Michael. Instead, as Michael discovers, Tobey?s car is broken, and he has called to beg that his brother drive him on various, apparently legitimate, vital errands. As Bruce Springsteen has astutely noted, ?a man who turns his back on his family just ain?t no good,? and so Michael puts off his romantic birthday plans and, along with his brother, embarks on a sketchy, winding, day-long odyssey through Los Angeles County. But as the day wears on, it becomes clear that this drive will lead them to some very unexpected destinations.

Touted by LA Weekly as ?a thinking man?s Judd Apatow flick,? Passenger Side marks the festival return of director Matthew Bissonette (Who Loves the Sun, Cinequest 2007). A superb concoction of comedy and drama with an excellent cast, Passenger Side was noted in Canada?s Top Ten Films of 2009.

? Michael Rabehl

New Visions Program made possible by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences