''Funkytown'' is a 2011 Canadian drama film directed by

Daniel Roby Daniel Roby (born October 25, 1970, in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadians, Canadian film director and cinematographer. An alumnus of the film programs at Concordia University (Quebec), Concordia University and the University of Southern California, h ...

and written by

Steve Galluccio Steve Galluccio (born October 9, 1960) is a Canadian screenwriter and playwright, most noted for his play ''Mambo Italiano'' and its feature film adaptation '' Mambo Italiano''. Background Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec to immigrant parents ...

."Quebec filmmakers take viewers to Funkytown of '70s Montreal"
''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...

'', March 4, 2011. starring

Patrick Huard Patrick Huard (born January 2, 1969) is a Canadian actor, writer and comedian from Quebec. Career Huard broke into the Quebec show business scene in 1989 as a comedian, actor and television personality, with success as a stand-up comedian in the ...

Justin Chatwin Justin Chatwin (born October 31, 1982) is a Canadian actor. He began his career in 2001 with a brief appearance in the musical comedy '' Josie and the Pussycats''. Following his breakthrough role as Robbie Ferrier in the blockbuster '' War of the ...

Paul Doucet Paul Doucet (born 1970) is a Canadian actor known for his portrayal of Jean Duceppe in '' Jean Duceppe''. Early life Doucet was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1970. He studied drama at the Université du Québec à Montréal. Career His mo ...

, Sarah Mutch and Raymond Bouchard.

Plot summary

Set in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

during the

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

era, the film revolves around the Starlight, a fictionalized version of Montreal's famed Lime Light

discothèque A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighting displays, and a ...

. It depicts this world starting in 1976, when Montreal was considered one of the world's top

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

destinations, through to 1980, when the fashion for disco was about to experience a sharp decline. By the early 1980s political issues such as Quebec's 1980 independence referendum had fractured and polarized the city, and Montreal had also begun to experience a decade of economic decline. By then, it had ceased to be the largest city in Canada, and had ceased as well to be Canada's financial and industrial centre.
Lederman, Lew. "Some Effects on Investment of the Election in Quebec of the Parti Québécois". Canadian Insights and Perspectives (Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada) April 18, 2002.

Cast

as Bastien Lavallée, an influential radio and television personality. Lavallée is a fictionalized version of real-life Montreal radio and television personality

Alain Montpetit Alain Montpetit (September 24, 1950 – June 10, 1987) was a Canadian television and radio personality in Quebec, as well as an actor. Montpetit was a native of Westmount, where he was born and where he grew up. His grandfather was Édouard Montp ...

. *

as Tino Deifiori, a young Italian waiter and disco dancer *

as Jonathan Aaronson, a flamboyant gay radio, television and fashion personality and trendsetter (a fictionalised version of Douglas Coco Leopold) *

Raymond Bouchard Raymond Bouchard (born March 7, 1945, in Lauzon, Quebec) is a Canadian film, television and stage actor. He is most noted for his performances in the film '' Seducing Doctor Lewis (La Grande séduction)'', for which he received Genie Award and P ...

as Gilles Lefebvre, a record producer and impresario who runs the club with his son Daniel *

Geneviève Brouillette Geneviève Brouillette (born August 23, 1969 in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec) is a French Canadian television and film actress from Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. Since 1998 she has gradually appeared in film and she appeared in ''A Sunday in Kigali'' in ...

as Mimi, a former ''

Gogo Go go or Gogo may refer to: Geography * Ghogha, India, a town once also known as Gogo * Gogo, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso, a town * Gogo, Zoundwéogo, Burkina Faso, a city * Gogo Department, a department in central Burkina Faso * Gogo Formatio ...

'' singer now down on her luck * Sarah Mutch as Adriana, a model who wants to become a disco singer *

François Létourneau François Létourneau (born 1974 in Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Sainte-Foy, Quebec) is a Canadians, Canadian actor and writer, best known as co-creator and star of the television series ''Les Invincibles'', ''Série noire (2014 TV series), Série noire'' ...

as Daniel, Gilles Lefebvre's son * Sophie Cadieux as Helene, Daniel Lefebvre's secretary * Romina D'Ugo as Tino's girlfriend *Jocelyne Zucco as Nicole *

Janine Theriault Janine Theriault (born 1975) is a Canadian actress known for her work in the films '' Bleeders'' (1997), ''Owning Mahowny'' (2003), and ''Relax, I'm from the Future'' (2022), as well as the TV series ''A Nero Wolfe Mystery'' (2001–2002), ''MVP' ...

as Connie *

Dominic Longo Dominic Longo (born 23 August 1970) is an Australian retired football (soccer) player. He was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder. Longo played for the Australian national football team between 1993 and 1998. Honours Australi ...

as Carlo * David Tyler as DJ Scratch

Production

In June 2009, it was announced that

had been cast to play the lead role in the film,

, Sarah Mutch,

and

being also cast in supporting roles, with

directing from a screenplay by

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

took place between June 9, 2009, and August 8, 2009, in

. Some scenes of the film were in fact shot inside, outside and in the surroundings of the building which had housed the Lime Light, at 1258 Stanley Street. It now houses the premium strip club "Chez Parée" and the dance club "La Boom".Kelly, Brendan "Disco's stayin' alive: Steve Galluccio's latest feature, Funkytown, puts Montreal back into The Limelight to celebrate the city's dance-crazy heyday of the 1970s" The Gazette (Montreal) 15 June 2009. pg. A.22

Language

Like the 2006 film ''

Bon Cop, Bad Cop ''Bon Cop, Bad Cop'' is a 2006 Canadian black comedy- thriller buddy cop film about two police officers – one Ontarian and one Québécois – who reluctantly join forces to solve a murder. The dialogue is a mixture of English and French. The ...

'', the film features dialogue in both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

. For French audiences the English dialogue is

subtitled Subtitles are texts representing the contents of the audio in a film, television show, opera or other audiovisual media. Subtitles might provide a transcription or translation of spoken dialogue. Although naming conventions can vary, captions ...

, while for English audiences the French dialogue is subtitled. The film has faced some controversy for its mixture of languages, with one journalist for ''

La Presse is a French-language online newspaper published daily in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1884, it is now owned by an independent nonprofit trust. ' was formerly a broadsheet daily, considered a newspaper of record in Canada. Its Sunday edi ...

'' accusing it of being essentially an English film with only token dialogue in French, rather than a truly bilingual film.

Release

''Funkytown'' opened in a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

on March 4, 2011. In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the film was released

straight-to-DVD Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strateg ...

on October 2, 2012.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Funkytown 2011 films 2010s English-language films 2010s French-language films Canadian drama films Canadian LGBTQ-related films Films set in Montreal Films directed by Daniel Roby 2011 LGBTQ-related films 2010s LGBTQ-related drama films 2010s Canadian films English-language Canadian films French-language Canadian films