Road Kill was director Bruce McDonald's feature debut in 1989 and the first in his trilogy of rock 'n' roll road movies (Road Kill - Highway 61 - Hard Core Logo). Written by Don Mckellar, the movie is a snap shot of a high point of the Queen Street West Toronto, indie rock and art scene. Coincidentally, the day I got this review copy, I saw Don Mckellar having lunch on a patio on Bloor Street.
Valerie Buhagiar stars (note, the film had a crew of nine, and was shot over 13 days, so "stars" might be streatching a bit) as Ramona, who is sent by a promoter to pull a rock band off a tour of Northern Ontario. However, she doesn't know how to drive, so she takes a cab to track down the band. Her cab driver is Buddy who talks about all the rock stars (who shall remain nameless) he has driven. As she gets closer to tracking down the band, and after meeting a film crew who are trying to do a documentary about the band, she learns to drive, and has adventures in Sudbury, North Bay, and other towns across Northern Ontario.
The movie soundtrack is excellent and with the exception of the Ramones, is a great compilation of late 80s and iconic Canadian bands (including the Cowboy Junkies, Razorbacks, Handsome Ned, the Ugly Ducklings, Stompin' Tom Connors and more) and includes on screen performances by the Leslie Spit Tree-o and Nash the Slash (who also did the score). Oh, yeah, Joey Ramone shows up at a gas station in the middle of nowhere to ask the taxi driver, Buddy for a ride.
Shot in black and white, the DVD is mastered from the original negative, includes commentary by Don McKellar and producer Colin Brunton, two short films by McDonald and a trailer for Hard Core Logo.
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