Some day in the near future, someone will write about how audiences at the turn of this present century have been bombarded with a variety of films and television shows that are in essence staged, and even fictionalized reality. One of the more recent examples of this genre is the film Jimmywork, newly released on DVD from the idiosyncratic Canadian company, Atopia. Shot in grainy black and white, the film looks and feels like a documentary . . . until one takes a closer look at some of the events “documented” by filmmaker Simon Sauve.
The film centers on Jimmy Weber, a down on his luck former salesman, living in Montreal. Facing his fiftieth birthday, Jimmy decides that his next career move will be to make commercials. He decides that he is going to film commercials for the rodeo in St. Tite, a major rodeo in rural Quebec, for play on U.S. television. Jimmy goes to the small town with the name that rhymes with “it”. The rodeo organzers pass on Jimmy’s offer to make commercials. While in St. Tite, Jimmy discovers the storage facility where beer, about 12,000 cases, is held for the rodeo patrons. He comes up with the nutty scheme to ‘kidnap” the beer and hold is ransom, or sell it cheap to a friend.
The title refers to any of the scams that Jimmy Weber may be involved with. Whether Jimmy Weber, the real one or the one we see playing himself, has learned anything from his many misadventures is up for debate. The film has a happy ending of sorts. This is the kind of film worth checking out if you want to see something truly different, made with small amount of money and a large amount of imagination. For those who might want to know a little more about the film, Jimmywork has an official website.
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