Bang Bang Baby

Plot

The film stars Jane Levy as Stepphy, a teenager living in the small town of Lonely Arms whose dreams of becoming a famous singer are dashed when her alcoholic father George (Peter Stormare) refuses to let her enter a singing competition in New York City. Her fate may change, however, when her idol Bobby Shore (Justin Chatwin) shows up in town after his car breaks down. Meanwhile, a dangerous leak at the local chemical plant is beginning to turn the local townsfolk into mutants.

Cast

Awards

The film won the award for Best Canadian First Feature Film at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, and was named the winner of the 2014 Claude Jutra Award. The TIFF jury remarked, “For its ingenious mixing of genres, sophisticated blend of tones and ability to create its own strange, tragicomic and original world without sacrificing any richness in regards to story, character and emotion, the jury recognizes as Best Canadian First Feature Film Bang Bang Baby by Jeffrey St. Jules.” The award carries a cash prize of $15,000.

The film garnered two Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 3rd Canadian Screen Awards, for Best Supporting Actor (Chatwin) and Best Overall Sound (Christopher Guglick, Dave Mercel, Steve Moore, Justin Sawyer and Alex Turner).

Release

Bang Bang Baby premiered in 2014 at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8. The film was also screened at Santa Barbara International Film Festival on February 5, 2015 and Omaha Film Festival on March 11. The film opened in select theaters in Canada on August 21, 2015 distributed by Search Engine Films. On November 10, 2015 the film was released in U.S through video on demand by Random Media.

Critical reception

Bang Bang Baby received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 57%, based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 6.3/10. Bruce Demara of Toronto Star gave the film a negative review writing: "St. Jules clearly has talent. What he needs is a story that maintains its consistent level of zany wit from beginning to end.". However, Glenn Sumi of Now Toronto gave the film a positive review writing: "St. Jules's script takes too many detours, and many plot points aren't carried through. Sometimes the meta film jokes feel strained. But he gets strong performances from the cast, who all channel 60s archetypes while maintaining their individuality."