# Waydowntown

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{{Infobox film
| name         = waydowntown
| italic_title = no<!-- set below -->
| image        = Waydowntown-movie-poster.jpg
| writer       = [Gary Burns](/source/Gary_Burns_(director))<br>[James Martin](/source/James_Martin_(writer))
| starring = {{Plainlist | 
* [Fabrizio Filippo](/source/Fab_Filippo)
* [Marya Delver](/source/Marya_Delver)
* [Gordon Currie](/source/Gordon_Currie_(actor))
* Tobias Godson
* [Tammy Isbell](/source/Tammy_Isbell)
* Jennifer Clement
* James McBurney
* [Don McKellar](/source/Don_McKellar)}}
| cinematography = [Patrick McLaughlin](/source/Patrick_McLaughlin_(cinematographer))
| editing      = Mark Lemmon
| music        = [John Abram](/source/John_Abram)
| director     = Gary Burns
| producer     = Gary Burns<br>[Shirley Vercruysse](/source/Shirley_Vercruysse)
| distributor  = '''United States:'''<br>[HomeVision](/source/The_Criterion_Collection)<br>Lot 47 Films<br>'''Canada:'''<br>[Odeon Films](/source/Odeon_Films)<br>[Alliance Atlantis](/source/Alliance_Atlantis)<br>[CTV](/source/CTV_Television_Network)<br>[Telefilm Canada](/source/Telefilm_Canada)<br>'''Australia:'''<br>[Madman Entertainment](/source/Madman_Entertainment)
| released     = {{Film date|2000|09|10}}
| runtime      = 87 minutes
| language     = English
| budget       = $700,000 CAD (estimated)

}}
{{Lowercase title|italic=yes}}
'''''Waydowntown''''' (stylized as '''''waydowntown''''') is a 2000 [Canadian film](/source/Cinema_of_Canada) directed by [Gary Burns](/source/Gary_Burns_(director)) and starring [Fab Filippo](/source/Fab_Filippo), [Don McKellar](/source/Don_McKellar), Marya Delver and [Michelle Beaudoin](/source/Michelle_Beaudoin). The film is a [dark comedy](/source/dark_comedy) that explores office culture and its effects and often uses [surrealism](/source/surrealism) to achieve its thematic goals.

The film is set in [Calgary](/source/Calgary), Alberta, where many downtown buildings are connected by the [Plus 15](/source/Plus_15), an extensive network of indoor [skywalk](/source/skyway)s.  Because of this network, the hustle and bustle of the traditional "main street" has been replaced by recirculated air, food courts, and fluorescent lights.  The result is a bleak and often humorous [dark comedy](/source/dark_comedy) about Canadian corporate culture.

== Plot ==
The film centres on a group of office colleagues in downtown Calgary, Alberta, who bet a month's salary on who can last the longest without going outside by using [the system of covered walkways that connect the buildings](/source/%2B15). The film takes place over one lunch hour on day 24 of the month-long competition.  Things start to become complicated as the office prepares for the company founder's retirement party.

The film's title is derived from a particular form of suicide where one smashes the (non-openable) window of one's high-rise office and then jumps through. In the movie, one of the characters has accumulated a 2-litre pop bottle full of marbles in the hopes of breaking his window. The dark joke for this is referenced in the film : "a 15 bus takes you downtown, [but] a bottle of marbles takes you way downtown."

==Cast==
*[Fab Filippo](/source/Fab_Filippo) as Tom Bennett
*[Don McKellar](/source/Don_McKellar) as Brad
*[Marya Delver](/source/Marya_Delver) as Sandra West
*[Gordon Currie](/source/Gordon_Currie_(actor)) as Curt Schwin
*Jennifer Clement as Vicki
*[Tammy Isbell](/source/Tammy_Isbell) as Kathy
*Tobias Godson as Randy
*James McBurney as Phil

==Production==
The majority of the film was shot in [TD Square](/source/TD_Square), the [Calgary Eaton Centre](/source/Calgary_Eaton_Centre), and [Bankers Hall](/source/Bankers_Hall). The company's offices are situated in the [TD Canada Trust Tower](/source/TD_Canada_Trust_Tower%2C_Calgary). The low-budget film was shot digitally and later transferred to [35&nbsp;mm](/source/35_mm_movie_film).

==Reception==
The film has a 70% freshness rating on [Rotten Tomatoes](/source/Rotten_Tomatoes). Most critics praise the satirical elements, casting, and plot. Others find the film to be humourless and incomplete, and the plot to be too nonsensical and uninteresting.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Waydowntown |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/waydowntown |website=[Rotten Tomatoes](/source/Rotten_Tomatoes)}}</ref> The film won the [Best Canadian Film Award](/source/Toronto_International_Film_Festival_Award_for_Best_Canadian_Film) prize at the 2000 [Toronto International Film Festival](/source/Toronto_International_Film_Festival).<ref>{{Cite book |title=Great Canadian Film Directors |publisher=University of Alberta |year=2007 |isbn=9780888644794 |editor-last=Melnyk |editor-first=George |pages=374}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Goodridge |first=Mike |date=September 18, 2000 |title=waydowntown, Crouching Tiger top Toronto prizes |url=https://www.screendaily.com/waydowntown-crouching-tiger-top-toronto-prizes/403636.article |access-date=20 September 2022 |website=[Screen Daily](/source/Screen_Daily) |language=en}}</ref>

In 2001, an industry poll conducted by ''[Playback](/source/Playback_(magazine))'' named it the 10th best Canadian film of the preceding 15 years.<ref>[Michael Posner](/source/Michael_Posner_(journalist)), "Egoyan tops film poll". ''[The Globe and Mail](/source/The_Globe_and_Mail)'', November 25, 2001.</ref>

The film was shown at the [Calgary International Film Festival](/source/Calgary_International_Film_Festival) on September 19, 2019, to celebrate its 20th anniversary.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Waydowntown |url=https://www.calgaryfilm.com/films/2019/waydowntown/ |access-date=November 14, 2019 |website=Calgary International Film Festival}}</ref>

In 2023, Barry Hertz of ''[The Globe and Mail](/source/The_Globe_and_Mail)'' named the film as one of the 23 best Canadian comedy films ever made.<ref>Barry Hertz, [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/article-best-canadian-comedies/ "The 23 best Canadian comedies ever made"]. ''[The Globe and Mail](/source/The_Globe_and_Mail)'', June 28, 2023.</ref>

In 2025, in celebration of the film's 25th anniversary, the film was shown at [Revue Cinema](/source/Revue_Cinema) in [Toronto](/source/Toronto) as part of the 11th annual [National Canadian Film Day](/source/Reel_Canada).<ref>{{Cite web |title= Revue Cinema presents waydowntown |url=https://canfilmday.ca/event/revue-cinema-presents-waydowntown/ |access-date=20 September 2022 |website=National Canadian Film Day |language=en-US}}</ref>

== See also ==

* ''[Office Space](/source/Office_Space)''

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*''[https://web.archive.org/web/20091112074629/http://waydowntown.com:80/ Waydowntown]'' website
* {{IMDb title|id=0219405|title=Waydowntown}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|id=waydowntown|title=waydowntown}}
*AV Club [https://www.avclub.com/waydowntown-1798192474 DVD Review]

{{TFCA Award for Best Canadian Film}}
{{TIFF Best Canadian Film}}

Category:2000 films
Category:2000s business films
Category:English-language Canadian films
Category:Canadian black comedy films
Category:Films directed by Gary Burns
Category:Films set in Calgary
Category:Films shot in Calgary
Category:Canadian satirical films
Category:2000 black comedy films
Category:2000 English-language films
Category:2000 Canadian films
Category:Canadian independent films
Category:2000 independent films
Category:English-language black comedy films
Category:English-language independent films

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Waydowntown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waydowntown) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waydowntown?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.