 Perhaps Canada (where this film was made)
is an idyllic world where trees grow caramel apples and lamp
posts are made of candy canes. Although I am not entirely
convinced that Canada even exists, I am sure that if it does,
the bubblegum there NEVER loses its flavor.
Truly,
this film has made me a believer.
Certainly, the bubblegum is flavorful at Hatley High.
The geekiest kids are the coolest. The basketball team is
non-existent. The popular girls play role-playing games and
chess is the hottest thing around.
When Tommy Linklater’s (Nicolas Wright) mother dies
and he gets transferred to the titular school, he recognizes
that something is very different about this place, but he
takes it like the most lethargic man in the world overdosing
on valium. He just sort of glides through the Hatley experience.
Remember Zach Braff in Garden State? Think
something like that and you have a good idea about Tommy.
Tommy, unbeknownst to himself, is a chess prodigy who instead
plays slight-of-hand card tricks with the local children.
This continued lack of doing anything is only interrupted
when he discovers that his mom was a local celebrity in the
town, and would have been a grandmaster chess player had she
not been beaten by the Russians in a match back in 1976. To
this day, she is considered a local hero – and it just
so happens that the Russian team is coming  back
in their first visit since the end of the Cold War. Will Tommy
be able to complete the job started by his mother?
He won’t be without help, of course, because what is
an independent comedy without quirky friends? Well, it can’t
be an independent comedy, for one.
So here is the breakdown: Hyacinthe is the dungeon master
cheerleader who falls in love with Tommy. Julius is the school’s
black basketball player, who is fantastic and has a shot at
the NBA, but would much rather be surfing, even though he’s
never even seen a coastline. Trevor is an aspiring film director
averaging about one film a week. He is also stereotypically
British and fits in every single piece of Brit slang in his
first five minutes on screen. Darryl is a mute. Shaun is the
current Chess Team captain who is extremely good, but no Tommy..
 This
all might sound a bit too much, and you would be forgiven
for thinking so. The fact is, however, that Hatley
High delivers lighthearted entertainment without
ever feeling like it is aimed directly at the pre-teen set.
I found this refreshing, because all the film wants to do
is tell a cute story, not challenge anyone, and throw a few
sly jokes and observations in the viewer’s direction.
Some of it is pretty clever, too. There is an absolutely great
parody of Rocky IV when the Russian chess
team enters and the two coaches talk to each other. You see,
both coaches are Russian and cut from the same cloth, and
while they speak Russian they subtitle the scenes
in Russian, too, so the viewer never knows what is said. This
same thing is done earlier when Tommy plays chess with a Chinese
man. When they are training for the chess meet, the coach
has them doing suicide runs on the football field, running,
moving a piece, running back, moving a piece and continuing.
It makes for a good visual joke. Since this film is all about
stereotype reversals, having these visual gags are welcome,
because any film that has cheerleaders quoting Oscar Wilde
can’t be taken very seriously to begin with.
Hatley High is one of those high school
films that would never, ever happen in real life. It is fiction
in every sense of the word just as Hellraiser, Blade Runner and The Empire
Strikes Back are fiction. No one could possibly mistake
it as fact. It makes American Pie look like
a documentary.
It’s highly refreshing to see a film like this. I hope
that it finds an audience here because it is certainly a film
worth seeing.
 Presentation
Let’s start things off. I just
don’t get the presentation here. First, the film is
widescreen, yet the packaging makes no indication of this
whatsoever. Secondly, it is non-anamorphic, which is beyond
shitty, even from a smaller label. Two strikes right there.
Now the audio is reasonable. There isn’t anything to
really cheer about though, as the film itself doesn’t
exactly have much to offer in the way of surrounds. But the
sound is very clear, and the video, while non-anamorphic,
is generally clean. The third strike comes from not having
subtitles. This is a fine movie so it is pretty sad to see
that it received nothing in the way of care in regard to its
release.
Extras
Ardustry Trailer Gallery! - I shall now
entertain you with mini reviews of films I haven’t seen…
Lost - Dean Cain (yes, Superman)
gets stuck on an unmarked dirt road while masked criminals
try to find him. No relation to the hit television show of
the same name, Lost is remarkable in that
it makes you remember that Dean Cain’s whereabouts as
an actor are still known by some, when you would much rather
he be “lost.”
See This Movie - “Why don’t
we make a dramatic mockumentary?” Oh my God! It is a
movie about making movies! Fuck, I have to see this! Wait,
I already have – a million fucking times.
 The
Simian Line - Two spirits predict that a couple,
amongst four couples, will break up within a year. This actually
looks cute and fun for an indie-comedy-drama. I would see
this. Pretty interesting cast too. William Hurt, Cindy Crawford,
Harry Connick, Jr. and personal favorite Eric Stoltz.
Then there is the requisite trailer for our feature Hatley
High which captures the mood of the film well enough
although it spoils a hell of a lot, too.
Indie films are ripe for explanation. I am sure that the
director would have loved to do a commentary or at least do
an interview to supplement this. But alas, nothing. It’s
a tad disappointing.
The Bottom Line
There is a lot to like in smaller productions like Hatley
High; it has heart which is something that a great
number of similar films sadly miss. As a result I am compelled
to recommend it as good safe family viewing. There is no nudity,
and no vulgarity, and with a film as clean and entertaining
as this, you don’t need it and it isn’t missed.
It’s hard to recommend going out and purchasing this
with the half-assed DVD package, however. It’s probably
best you rent this.
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