Official US Trailer for ‘I Like Movies’ – Video Store Comedy from Canada
by Alex Billington
October 27, 2024
Source: YouTube
“I thought I got hired here to talk about real cinema.” Ha! Oh, you wish buddy. Freestyle Digital Media is finally releasing this acclaimed Canadian indie film in America. I Like Movies is the feature directorial debut of Canadian filmmaker Chandler Levack and it premiered at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival a few years ago. It’s an exceptionally smart, nuanced, entirely original take on a young movie nerd geeking out over his job at a video store. Although he comes to learn that his obsession with movies prevents him from connecting with others. Set in the early 2000s (back when video stores still existed), Lawrence Kweller, a socially inept 17-year old cinephile, gets a job at a video store, where he forms a complicated friendship with his older female manager. I Like Movies stars Isaiah Lehtinen as Lawrence, along with Romina D’Ugo, Krista Bridges, Percy Hynes White, Alex Ateah, and Andy McQueen. I wrote a rave review of this film in 2022, calling it “a remarkably empathetic and warm-hearted film about the challenges of growing up as a nerd and growing into yourself.” Highly recommend watching I Like Movies once it’s on VOD in the US.
Here’s the official US trailer (+ posters) for Chandler Levack’s film I Like Movies, direct from YouTube:
Intro via TIFF: “Lawrence Kweller (Isaiah Lehtinen) is an irascible, self- and movie-obsessed teenager living in the wilds of early-2000s Burlington, Ontario, Canada. He’s the kind of guy who, when he buys a movie ticket, mentions the director’s name just to show that he’s there for the right reasons. He dreams of NYU, where he’ll be mentored by a grateful Todd Solondz. But for Lawrence, who delivers every statement with utter certainty, this isn’t a mere dream: it’s locked in — as long as he can make thousands of dollars working part-time at his local video store, Sequels, to afford tuition. Lawrence has more serious problems — ones that the 10 free video rentals he gets weekly at Sequels won’t solve. His egocentrism threatens his only real friendship, with longtime buddy and fellow lonely guy Matt Macarchuk (Percy Hynes White), the put-upon co-star and co-creator of his student short. It becomes increasingly clear that Lawrence’s movie obsession (and his inability to tolerate anyone) is a way of burying a world of hurt and avoiding any real connection.”
I Like Movies is written and directed by Canadian indie filmmaker Chandler Levack, making her feature directorial debut after a few other short films previously. Produced by Lindsay Blair Goeldner. This initially premiered at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival a few years ago, and it also played at 2023 Santa Barbara Film Festival. The film already opened in Canada in early 2023 as well. Freestyle Digital Media is finally releasing Levack’s I Like Movies direct-to-VOD in the US to watch starting November 1st, 2024. It’s worth a watch.
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