“Sorry, I thought you were garbage” says a man to Owen (Aaron Abrams) after peeing on the piece of cardboard he has been sleeping under. In the eye of many in The Go-Getters, the man’s assessment is not too far off. A drunk who cannot seem to do anything right, Owen has been reduced to living in the leaky boiler room of his brother Kevin’s (Kristian Brunn) bar.
The only person who he seems to be doing slightly better than is a junkie prostitute named Lacie (Tommie-Amber Pirie). Fresh out of the hospital after OD’ing, and nothing to her name but a dirty bra and a hospital gown, the disheveled Lacie cannot even get work from her former pimp and frequent drug dealer Cerebral Paulie (James Cade).
Desperate for money and sharing a common distaste for each other and the city, Owen and Lacie devise a scheme to flee the city. Unfortunately, they need to raise $98 for the bus tickets out of town, a task that proves to be a tougher challenge than either anticipates.
A hilarious dark comedy full of energy and crude humor, The Go-Getters is a delight from beginning to end. The script, co-written by Abrams and Brendan Gall, is filled with jokes that will surely offend some as everything from physical disabilities to the homeless is fair game. Director Jeremy LaLonde, thanks in part to the hilarious performances by Abrams and Pirie, ensures that we never tire of Owen and Lacie’s numerous antics.
They may represent the worst of life in Toronto, but it’s clear that they need the city and each other more than they are willing to admit.
