''Guidance'' is a Canadian

dark comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

film, which premiered at the 2014 Toronto Film Festival on September 5, 2014 as part of the Discovery program. The full-length directorial debut of

Pat Mills Patrick Eamon Mills (born 1949) is an English comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since. He has been called "the godfather o ...

, the film stars Mills as David Gold, a down on his luck former child star who fabricates his credentials to take a job as a high school

guidance counsellor A school counselor is a professional who works in primary (elementary and middle) schools or secondary schools to provide academic, career, college access/affordability/admission, and social-emotional competencies to all students through a school ...

."Toronto Film Review: ‘Guidance’"
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', September 5, 2014. An unrecovered alcoholic and drug addict troubled by his faded success and in deep denial about both his closeted

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

sexuality and his health following a

skin cancer Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. There are three main types of skin cancers: basal-cell skin cancer (BCC) ...

diagnosis, he becomes unexpectedly popular with the students after his habit of introducing them to his own deeply unhealthy coping mechanisms actually helps many of them solve their own problems. The film's cast also includes

Kevin Hanchard Kevin Hanchard (born July 4, 1974) is a Canadian actor, best known for his roles as Det. Arthur Bell in ''Orphan Black'' and Inspector Sematimba in ''The Expanse''. Hanchard currently appears as Superintendent Joseph Donovan in ''Hudson and Rex. ...

Alex Ozerov Alex Ozerov (born 1992) is a Canadian actor. He is most noted for his performance in the short film '' Pyotr495'', for which he won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead Performance in a Digital Program or Series at the 7th Canadian Screen Awar ...

, Jen Goodhue,

Maria Vacratsis Maria Vacratsis (born July 28, 1955) is a Canadian actress. She has been featured in several Canadian television series, including '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'', ''Little Mosque on the Prairie'', ''Tactical Girls'', and '' Rent-a-Goalie''. In ...

, Eleanor Zichy and

Allison Hossack Allison Hossack (born January 26, 1965) is a Canadian actress. Early years Born in Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada, Hossack grew up in Killarney, Manitoba, and participated in musical theatre productions while a student there. She began her studies ...

. It has been picked up by

Strand Releasing Strand Releasing is an American film production company founded in 1989 and is based in Culver City, California. The company has distributed over 300 auteur-driven titles from acclaimed international and American directors such as Apichatpong Wee ...

for distribution in the United States.

Background

Mills, a former child actor who appeared on the television series ''

You Can't Do That on Television ''You Can't Do That on Television'' is a Canadian sketch comedy television series that first aired locally in 1979 before airing in the United States in 1981. It featured pre-teen and teenage actors in a sketch comedy format similar to that of ...

'' in the 1980s,"Starring in own film costly for director"
''

Brampton Guardian The ''Brampton Guardian'' is a locally distributed, free, weekly community newspaper in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. History In the late 1950s, the Bramalea development began, under the oversight of Bayton Holdings Ltd., then Bramalea Consolidat ...

'', September 9, 2014 drew inspiration both from the troubled history of many child actors and from a desire to subvert the conventions of the stereotypical

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

narrative."High school confidential"
''

Xtra! ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former pr ...

'', September 4, 2014 He describes David Gold as an "alter ego" who faces some of the same insecurities that Mills had dealt with in his own life, but has much more dysfunctional ways of coping with them.

Release

''Guidance'' has received positive reviews from critics upon its release. ''

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

'' called it "a must see and a moving laugh-out-loud romp from start to finish". ''

'' gave the film a positive review, stating that it was a "delightful debut" and "The modest pic's laughs get bigger as it goes along, and so does its surprising warmth". ''

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' called it "a creative hat-trick of wildly amusing proportions".

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

wrote "the writer-director's premiere effort announces him as a major new onscreen talent and a fresh and welcome comedic voice." It was reviewed as a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' Critics' Pick upon its release. Review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

gives the film a score of 88% based on 16 reviews.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 3369248, Guidance 2014 films 2014 black comedy films 2014 LGBT-related films Canadian LGBT-related films English-language Canadian films 2010s English-language films LGBT-related black comedy films Canadian black comedy films Films about actors 2014 directorial debut films Films directed by Pat Mills 2010s Canadian films