''Hayseed'' is a Canadian comedy film, directed by Josh Levy and

Andrew Hayes Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...

and released in 1997.

Gerald Pratley Gerald Arthur Pratley (September 3, 1923 – March 14, 2011) was a Canadian film critic and historian. Piers Handling"Gerald Arthur Pratley" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', September 18, 2011. A longtime film critic for the Canadian Broadcasting Cor ...

, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 95. The film stars

Jamie Shannon Jamie Christopher Shannon (born February 26, 1972) is a Canadian actor, voice actor, puppeteer, director, writer and producer, best known for his work in the Canadian television series ''Nanalan, as well as '' Ooh, Aah & You'', and the Canadia ...

as Gordon, a naive "hayseed" from a small town in

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Provi ...

who travels to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

after receiving a tip from a

psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...

that his lost dog is in the city, and meets a bizarre cast of characters, from prostitutes to gay sex slave traders, during his trip.Josh Brown, "Lights, camera, premiere: First-time filmmaker Josh Levy is off to a good start". ''

Hamilton Spectator ''The Hamilton Spectator'', founded in 1846, is a newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. One of the largest Canadian newspapers by circulation,''The Hamilton Spectator'' is owned by Torstar. History ''The Hami ...

'', September 2, 1997. The film's cast includes

Deborah Theaker Deborah Theaker (born April 6, 1964) is a Canadian actress. She is best known as Casey Edison on the Lucasfilm science fiction satire ''Maniac Mansion'' which ran from 1990 until 1993. Early life and education Theaker was born in Moose Jaw, Sas ...

Elva Mai Hoover Elva Mai Hoover is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her performance as Betty Fox in ''The Terry Fox Story'', for which she garnered a Genie Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 5th Genie Awards, in 1984, and her televisio ...

Dan Lett Daniel Frederick Lett (born April 16, 1959) is a Canadian actor. He has acted in films, theatre and television. His principal roles have been in the series '' F/X'', ''The X-Files'', '' E.N.G.'', '' Street Legal'', ''Wind at My Back'', and '' Mad ...

Daniel MacIvor Daniel MacIvor (born July 23, 1962) is a Canadian actor, playwright, theatre director, and film director. He is probably best known for his acting roles in independent films and the sitcom ''Twitch City''. Personal MacIvor was born in Sydney, Nov ...

, Scott Thompson,

Mark McKinney Mark Douglas Brown McKinney (born June 26, 1959) is a Canadian actor and comedian. He is best known as a member of the sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, which includes starring in the 1989 to 1995 TV series ''The Kids in the Hall'' and 1 ...

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 ...

Dan Redican Dan Redican (born 1956 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian comedy writer and performer and puppeteer, best known for his work with the comedy troupe, '' The Frantics.'' As a founding member of the troupe he has worked since 1979 on numerous stage ...

and

Bruce LaBruce Bruce LaBruce (born January 3, 1964) is a Canadian artist, writer, filmmaker, photographer, and underground director based in Toronto. Life and career LaBruce was born in Tiverton, Ontario. He has claimed both Justin Stewart and Bryan Bruce as ...

. The soundtrack included songs by Andy Kim,

Babybird Babybird are an English rock band formed by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Stephen Jones, who has been releasing music since 1995. While Jones' early solo work was released under the "Baby Bird" name, the altered "Babybird" was first us ...

, By Divine Right,

Local Rabbits Local Rabbits were a Canadian alternative rock band based in Montreal, Quebec, active in the 1990s and early 2000s. The band consisted of vocalists and guitarists Peter Elkas and Ben Gunning, bassist Ryan Myshrall and drummer Jay Tustin. Backgro ...

Odds Odds provide a measure of the likelihood of a particular outcome. They are calculated as the ratio of the number of events that produce that outcome to the number that do not. Odds are commonly used in gambling and statistics. Odds also have ...

Pansy Division Pansy Division is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California, San Francisco, California, United States, in 1991 by singer-songwriter Jon Ginoli and bassist Chris Freeman (musician), Chris Freeman. Conceived as the first openly hom ...

Rusty Rusty may refer to something covered with rust or with a rust (color). Rusty is also a nickname for people who have red hair, have a rust-hued skin tone, or have the given name Russell. Rusty may also refer to: People *Rusty Anderson (born 1959 ...

and

Treble Charger Treble Charger is a Canadian rock band formed in 1992 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, consisting of vocalist and guitarist Greig Nori, vocalist and guitarist Bill Priddle, bassist Rosie Martin and drummer Richard Mulligan. They began with a melodic ...

. The film premiered at the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival, and was subsequently broadcast on television by

Citytv Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The licence of the original Citytv station, granted the callsign of CITY-TV by the CRTC on November 25, 1971 to Cable Television Ass ...

Critical response

In his 2003 book ''A Century of Canadian Cinema'',

called the film "a low-budget fairy-tale romp and a welcome change from other films claiming to be comedies". Writing for the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', Mitchel Raphael positioned Levy alongside LaBruce, playwright

Brad Fraser Brad Fraser (born June 28, 1959 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian playwright, screenwriter and cultural commentator.Gaetan Charlebois and Anne Nothof"Fraser, Brad" ''Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia'', June 2, 2019. He is one of the most widely pr ...

and novelist

Todd Klinck Todd or Todds may refer to: Places ;Australia: * Todd River, an ephemeral river ;United States: * Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community * Todd, Missouri, a ghost town * Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated ...

as one of a wave of "new degenerates" whose work challenged rather than assimilating into the "gay establishment".

Thomas Waugh Thomas Waugh is a Canadian critic, lecturer, author, actor, and activist, best known for his extensive work on documentary film and eroticism in the history of LGBT cinema and art. A professor emeritus at Concordia University, he taught 41 years ...

's ''MediaQueer'' site describes the film as a "

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...

-style parable" which "somehow missed entering the Canadian canon, perhaps because the fresh, folksy but sex-savvy satire of innocence adrift was hard to pigeonhole as either queer or otherwise, or because the Egoyan- Cronenberg tastemakers prefer to keep our frothy comic sensibilities on television and reserve the Art Cinema for world-heavy themes.""Joshua Levy"
''MediaQueer''.

References

External links

* 1997 films 1997 comedy films 1997 LGBT-related films Canadian comedy films Canadian LGBT-related films LGBT-related comedy films English-language Canadian films Films set in Toronto Films shot in Toronto 1990s English-language films 1990s Canadian films {{1990s-Canada-film-stub