Still of Pat Mills in Guidance (2014)
Trying to fit perfectly into an imperfect world – does that even make any sense? Not to the mind of David Gold, a washed-up former child actor who as an adult hasn't a clue about how to play himself.
Gold is the vodka-swilling, sexually confused but optimistic lead character in Guidance, a small and thoughtfully oddball Canadian comedy starring Pat Mills, also the writer-director. After finagling his way into a job as high school guidance counsellor, Gold alienates himself from the teaching staff while endearing himself to students with methods that are unconventional – and even prosecutable.
Watching Mills on screen, it's hard not to think of a Bruce McCulloch character from The Kids in the Hall, with more than a touch of Al Franken's daily-affirming Stuart Smalley. The film is not significant, but it is principled and sweetly subversive. And, like high school, if you're not careful, you might just learn something from it.
Brad Wheeler