" I am the monster’s mother "
— Sigourney Weaver, Alien Resurrection

MRQE Top Critic

Betty Blue

There can be beauty in tragedy, particularly when the key ingredient is the same in both —Marty Mapes (review...)

Betty arrives like a bolt from the Blue

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Everything’s Gone Green asks the viewer through its hero, Ryan (Paulo Costanzo) “What ever happened to just being real? Why can’t we just be content to be middle class?”

This movie is an excellent musing on the baby boomers, and generations X, Y and Z. It joins a respectable fraternity of existentialist examinations of life in the early 21st century like Office Space and Garden State.

Following the tribulations of Ryan, a slacker on the cusp of 30, Everything’s Gone Green highlights the importance of focusing on one’s inner vision in the face of unsolicited advice from a world that does not have its act together.

A Day in the Life

Ryan wakes up, falls out of bed (or in this case, the couch) and gets dumped and evicted by his girlfriend. Later that day, he finds himself fired from his technical writing job when the company finds his bad poetry on the server and deems him unstable. The final insult is finding out his parents got the right lottery numbers on the wrong week. At least Ryan doesn’t walk away empty handed. He gets a job offer from the lottery board.

The movie contains a menagerie of characters that personify Ryan’s internal struggles. Spike (Gordon Michael Woolvett) demonstrates the importance of staying true to character with his illegal marijuana grow operation. Bryce (JR Bourne), Ryan’s co-conspirator personifies the dangers of practicing social Darwinism and moral relativism. Ming (Steph Song) is the muse, prize and distillation of Ryan’s conscience.

Simple Pleasures and Redemption

Ryan and Ming eventually realize it is OK to be where they are, so long as they follow their own truth. The moral is that possessions are a fringe benefit and not a source of happiness. The new couple renounces materialism and embarks on a road trip in a milk truck. (With gas prices as they are, however, I found this a little dubious(chuckle)).

Everything’s Gone Green honestly articulates the panic attacks and crises of identity and conscience we all experience while we pretend to have it so together while fumbling through life. This movie is about learning to tell the difference between pursuing what we want and what we think we want. It is a movie about wisdom. The reality of being real is that individual efforts and results will vary because we all have our own path.

DVD Extras

There is a Video Pop-ups track, but there are insufficient factoids for an in-line interactive feature. Still, the pop-ups offer several interesting factoids about the actors, the making of the film and the city of Vancouver. For example, Paulo Costanzo, Steph Song and Tom Butler (Ryan’s Dad) all appeared in Josie and the Pussycats.

There is a trailer and a movie poster gallery. Whoopie! There are Extra Scenes. Their exclusion didn’t harm the plot or the character development, or the viewer’s enjoyment of the film.

The Photo Gallery includes the work of Lincoln Clarke, the man behind Ryan’s camera and the photos for Winners magazine included in the film.

Musicology includes a rundown of the artist featured on the soundtrack, along with where to buy.

The DVD also includes a Special Brownie Recipe. Please consult your doctor or medical marijuana provider first. If bothered by legalities, skip the infusion step ... (for now).

The Audio Commentary features writer Douglas Coupland and director Paul Fox reflect on their lives, the movie and its making.