''A Problem with Fear, or Laurie's Anxiety Confronting the Escalator'' is a 2003 absurdist comedy film by Canadian film-maker Gary Burns.

Plot

Laurie Harding (

Paulo Costanzo Paulo Costanzo (born September 21, 1978) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for playing Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill (Ax) in the TV series ''Animorphs'', the roles of Rubin Carver in the comedy film ''Road Trip'', Alexander Cabot in '' Josie an ...

) is a small shop clerk in the local

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

mall. His world is full of tragic accidents - crosswalks, elevators, escalators and virtually anything associated with

commercialism Commercialism is the application of both manufacturing and consumption towards personal usage, or the practices, methods, aims, and distribution of products in a free market geared toward generating a profit. Commercialism can also refer, positi ...

or technology is parodied as objects of fear and tragedy. An elevator plunges 30 stories. A woman's scarf is caught in an escalator, strangling her to death. A man is struck by a car, right before Laurie had the premonition to not cross. His own world is full of fear of these very events, his predictions of them, and his dependence on his less-than-sympathetic sister, Michelle (

Camille Sullivan Camille Sullivan (born July 6, 1975) is a Canadian actress. Among her notable television appearances are ''Rookie Blue'', ''Da Vinci's Inquest'', ''Intelligence'' and '' Shattered''. She won a Leo Award for her role in '' Normal''. She was also no ...

). Michelle heads product development at the company Global Safety Inc., whose mission is to provide products to combat the "Fear Storm" which assails the city. With their "Early Warning 2 Safe System tm", the PDA-like device warns you of danger ahead of time and the "Safe Bracelet tm" senses your fear and allows you to beep for help. Along with Laurie's prophetic powers, and the endless onslaught of accidents, the movie is full of absurd events: a mall announcer who continually requests a speaker of x foreign language - without any apparent reason; the same mall's population which slowly dwindles, being virtually empty by the film's end; an entire classroom population which is accosted simultaneously by hiccups; Some of these are more apparently

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...

: to comfort himself, Laurie repeats commercial refrains, such " Rice-A-Roni, the

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

treat"; his girlfriend, Dot (

Emily Hampshire Emily Hampshire is a Canadian-American actress. Her best known roles include Angelina in the 1998 romantic comedy ''Boy Meets Girl (1998 film), Boy Meets Girl'', Vivienne in the 2006 film ''Snow Cake'', Jennifer Goines in the Syfy drama series ' ...

), does a survey on "how the clothes you wear define you" - one she both detests and is obsessed by. These events are framed by the pretextual plot of Laurie conquering his fears — and by extension, the fears of those around him. However, by the film's end, it is doubtful that anything has been changed or achieved.

Cast

as Laurie *

as Dot *

Willie Garson William Garson Paszamant (February 20, 1964September 21, 2021) was an American actor. He appeared in over 75 films and more than 300 TV episodes. He was known for playing Stanford Blatch on the series ''Sex and the City'', in the related films ...

as Erin *

Keegan Connor Tracy Keegan Connor Tracy (born December 3, 1971) is a Canadian actress, author and director. She is best known for her roles as Audrey Malone in the Showtime comedy-drama series '' Beggars and Choosers'' (1999–2000), the Blue Fairy in the ABC fa ...

as Vicky *

as Michelle *

Benjamin Ratner Benjamin Immanuel (also credited as Ben Ratner or Benjamin Ratner) is a Canadian actor, film director and screenwriter. He is most noted for his performances in the films ''Last Wedding'' and ''Looking for Leonard''. Career Immanuel has appeared ...

as Alan * Jennifer Clement as Tina * James McBurney as Bill * Marnie Alton as Daphne *

Melba Montgomery Melba Joyce Montgomery (October 14, 1938 – January 15, 2025) was an American country music singer and songwriter. She was known for a series of duet recordings made with George Jones, Gene Pitney, and Charlie Louvin. She was also a solo artis ...

as The Escalator Lady

References

External links

* * 2003 films Canadian comedy films 2003 comedy films Canadian independent films Films directed by Gary Burns Canadian satirical films English-language Canadian films Films shot in Calgary Films shot in Montreal Films set in Calgary 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films {{2000s-comedy-film-stub