Quebec filmmaker Vincent Biron is up to new tricks in

Prank

Quebec filmmaker's off-beat, off-colour comedy Prank is not as simplistic as it seems

BRENDAN KELLY, MONTREAL GAZETTE

Published on: October 27, 2016 Prank **** Directed by: Vincent Biron. Starring: Étienne Galloy, Simon Pigeon, Alexandre Lavigne, Constance Massicotte. Running time: 78 minutes. It’s all there in the first scene. A woman and man are sitting at a picnic table outside a Lafleur-like fast-food resto with all-dressed hot dogs, poutine and Pepsis and they look thoroughly miserable. When the woman takes a good hearty bite into the dog, the sad-sack guy says: “I can’t believe you’re able to eat.”

She apologizes and then the guy continues: “Why did you bring me to eat hot dogs if you knew you were going to dump me?”

Then what looks like some sort of confetti comes tumbling down from above and the camera zooms to show an iPhone filming the scene from the other side of the fence. Then, bam, it’s into the opening credits, complete with blazing punk music and the title in huge letters — Prank.

As in, you’ve been pranked buddy. And in some ways it’s as simple as that. The first feature from Montreal filmmaker Vincent Biron is Jackass meets Punk’d (the old MTV series with a young Ashton Kutcher). It’s an often-hilarious, frequently vulgar off-kilter comedy about four young people on a quest to pull off the ultimate prank. If you don’t find it funny to watch a guy trying to take a dump on the hood of a sports car, then this isn’t the film for you.

RELATED  A chat with Vincent Biron That said, it actually isn’t as simple as that. Biron has cited Richard Linklater and Kevin Smith as influences, and the effect of their early films is clear, films like Linklater’s Slacker and Dazed and Confused and Smith’s Clerks. Biron has also been compared to Harmony Korine, the American writer and director most famous for penning Kids and writing and directing the 2013 satirical comedy Spring Breakers, my hands-down choice as the most inspired American film of the past decade. (Let the debate begin!)

Prank is most definitely an offspring of that style of American indie cinema. While an angst- ridden adolescent comedy with edge to spare might be old hat south of the border, it’s all- too-rare in Quebec cinema. That’s probably a big part of the reason Prank has already made a big impression on the worldwide art-film circuit, playing at a few of the world’s most notable film festivals.

It works in large part because Étienne Galloy is so good as the main character, Stefie. To be politically correct, let’s say he’s not a winner. He’s a young guy who’s lost and alone — until he meets three pranksters. Martin (Alexandre Lavigne), Jean-Sé (Simon Pigeon) and Léa (Constance Massicotte) live for pulling idiotic stunts and filming them on their iPhones. Their idea of a good time is putting a dog mask on one guy and walking him through a grocery store to terrorize elderly ladies.

Another caper: they put a $20 bill on a fishing hook, drop it in front of passing pedestrians and snap it back up just as the person is set to pick it up. I know, they’re a barrel of laughs.

Stef joins in, because it seems no one else has ever asked him to join in on anything else. Along the way, he develops a thing for Léa — probably because he’s never been close to another woman before, and, well, let’s just say this isn’t an upbeat romantic comedy.

If you’ve seen all those other indie films about messed-up teens and twentysomethings, this might all look a little too familiar. But on a Quebec film scene where so little is made for moviegoers under 40, this is a blast of fresh air. Biron shows a remarkable talent for balancing the dick jokes with dark emotional drama. Credit for that balancing act has to be shared with Biron’s co-writers, Alexandre Auger, Éric K. Bouliane and Marc-Antoine Rioux. The film also has a cool feature: Jean-Sé recounts the silly plots of Jean-Claude Van Damme movies in excruciating detail, which Biron complements with vivid drawings inspired by the films.

The other three actors are also excellent, particularly Massicotte, who nicely gives some depth to Léa, a woman who’s into the nihilistic pranking, but feels the most empathy for Stef.