Synopsis

The story follows Trevor, a naive grocery clerk, as his life spirals out of control when he inadvertently helps Ian, his inept manager, rob the store. When the money is lifted, they enlist the help of Glen Munn, a slimy, incompetent detective, to retrieve the stolen cash. But events soon go awry and Trevor must now determine friend from foe, and get the cash back before it’s too late.

Cast

• James Clayton as Trevor Wolnik
• Ross McMillan as Ian Cullmore
• Kim Poirier
  Kim Poirier
  Kim Poirier is a Canadian actress, singer, film producer, and television host.-Personal life:Kim Jacinthe Poirier was born in Drummondville, Quebec, the daughter of actress/model Carol Laquerre who was Miss Toronto in 1976, she has one sister. She enjoys watching movies, writing, meditating,...
  
   as Lucy Eklund
• Stephen Eric McIntyre as Glen Munn
• Aaron Merke as Rick
• Jason Malloy as Anthony
• Nancy Drake as Lesley
• Aaron Hughes as Cliff
• Kate Yacula as Vicki
• Alicia Johnston as Shelly
• Peter Jordan
  Peter Jordan
  Peter Jordan is best known for the work series It's a Living, which aired on CBC Television from 1989 to 2003.Peter was also a regular contributor to CBWT's 24Hours LateNight program in the 1980s....
  
   as George Leap
• Doreen Brownstone as Ian's Mother

Production

Foodland is an 2010 Canadian film which was filmed in Winnipeg

Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...

, Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

. The script was selected for the National Screen Institute of Canada's Features First Program. The film stars James Clayton, Ross McMillan and Kim Poirier

Kim Poirier

Kim Poirier is a Canadian actress, singer, film producer, and television host.-Personal life:Kim Jacinthe Poirier was born in Drummondville, Quebec, the daughter of actress/model Carol Laquerre who was Miss Toronto in 1976, she has one sister. She enjoys watching movies, writing, meditating,...

. It had its premiere in Winnipeg on , 2010 and a limited run from , 2011. The film is actor Kim Poirier's first time singing on screen in a feature film. She sings a cover version of the classic song "You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)

You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)

"You Made Me Love You " is a popular song.The music was written by James V. Monaco, the lyrics by Joseph McCarthy. The song was published in 1913. It was introduced in the Broadway revue The Honeymoon Express....

".

Reception

Winnipeg's foremost alternative weekly Uptown

Uptown (newspaper)

Uptown is an alternative weekly arts and entertainment newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Like most alternative weekly newspapers in Canada, Uptown includes articles regarding the arts and entertainment, CD reviews, concert reviews, book reviews and extensive current events listings...

Magazine compared Foodland to the films of the Coen Brothers

Coen Brothers

Joel David Coen and Ethan Jesse Coen known together professionally as the Coen brothers, are American filmmakers...

 for the way its "twisty, often brilliant plotting... seems to want to set records for sheer number of turns: the plot fishtails continuously to the final scene". Beyond that, Uptown also said that "Splendidly written Winnipeg indie comedy Foodland highlights what a good screenplay can do for a film."

An article in the Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press

The Winnipeg Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1872, as the Manitoba Free Press, it is the oldest newspaper in western Canada. It is the newspaper with the largest readership in the province....

highlighted the strong performances of the cast, "The particular triumph of Smoluk's film is that the performances are generally in sync with the Winnipeg milieu of the crime caper."

A positive review by the CBC

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

's Alison Gilmor wrote, "In this offbeat crime caper by young local filmmaker... Smoluk is working on a tight budget, but he gets quite a lot out of a little. His cast is crackerjack... and the flat, dead-of-winter Winnipeg setting is weirdly atmospheric."