''Passenger Side'' is a 2009

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

written and directed by Matt Bissonnette and produced by Corey Marr.John Griffin, "Great music and dialogue as a contact sport; passenger side Ex-N.D.G.er Matt Bissonnette directs a winning road movie". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', October 9, 2009. It stars Adam Scott,

Joel Bissonnette Joel Bissonnette is a Canadian-American actor. Early life and education Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Bissonnette was raised in Montreal, Quebec. He is a graduate of the Dawson College Theatre Program in Montreal. Career Bissonnette is best ...

and

Robin Tunney Robin Tunney (born June 19, 1972) is an American actress. Tunney made her film debut in the comedy '' Encino Man'' (1992) and rose to prominence with leading roles in the cult films ''Empire Records'' (1995) and '' The Craft'' (1996). Her perform ...

. It premiered at the 2009

Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episod ...

before screening at numerous film festivals worldwide, including the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...

and Whistler Film Festival. It won the

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 A ...

Award for Best Canadian Feature at the

Edmonton International Film Festival The Edmonton International Film Festival (EIFF) is a nine-day film festival in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, hosted at Landmark Cinemas at Edmonton City Centre. It is supported by and partnered with Telefilm Canada, Government of Alberta, Alberta Fou ...

, and was named to TIFF's annual year-end

Canada's Top Ten Canada's Top Ten is an annual honour, compiled by the Toronto International Film Festival and announced in December each year to identify and promote the year's best Canadian films."Canada's Top Ten awards will honour excellence in Canadian cinema". ...

list for 2009."Dolan, Nadda films among Canada's best of the year". ''

Waterloo Region Record The ''Waterloo Region Record'' (formerly ''The Record'') is the daily newspaper covering Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, including the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, as well as the surrounding area. Since December 1998, the ''Rec ...

'', December 26, 2009. ''Passenger Side'' was released theatrically in Canada in May 2009 by Corey Marr Productions and Kinosmith. 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 ...

in the U.S., Axiom Film in the U.K. and

IFC Films IFC Films is an American film production and distribution company based in New York. It is an offshoot of IFC owned by AMC Networks. It distributes mainly independent films under its own name, select foreign films and documentaries under its Sun ...

internationally.

Plot

On the morning of his thirty-seventh birthday, Michael Brown ( Adam Scott) receives a telephone call from his estranged brother Tobey (

). The two set off on a day-long odyssey in Michael's old BMW across a wild and weird

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

in search of Tobey's “reason for living.” They encounter a series of surprising, comical characters and reach an unexpected, magical destination.

Cast

* Adam Scott as Michael Brown *

as Tobey Brown *Richard Medina as Man with Knife *Mickey Cottrell as Suspicious Man *Vitta Quinn as Carla *

Dimitri Coats Dimitri Coats is an American musician, songwriter, producer, and actor. Music career Dimitri Coats is best known as the frontman for the hard rock band Burning Brides and as the guitarist in the hardcore punk band Off!. The Brides have releas ...

as Goofus *Victor Martinez as Alberto * Roberto Enrique as Manuel *

Penelope Allen Penelope Allen, also known as Penny Allen, is an American stage and film actress and acting coach. She is best known as the head bank teller being held hostage in the film '' Dog Day Afternoon''. She also played Annie, the wife of Francis Lionel " ...

as Henrietta *

Kimberly Huie Kimberly Huie is a Jamaican-born Canadian actress,"An `exotic in the land of blondes' wants to move the masses She covets meaty roles exposing disturbing sides of the human psyche". ''Toronto Star'', March 12, 1995. best known for her lead roles ...

as Laurie *

Greg Dulli Greg Dulli (born May 11, 1965) is an American musician from Hamilton, Ohio. Debuting as a member of the rock band the Afghan Whigs in 1986, Dulli has been a member of the Twilight Singers, Gutter Twins, and in 2020 released his debut solo albu ...

as Porn Director *

Gale Harold Gale Morgan Harold III (born July 10, 1969) is an American actor, known for his leading and recurring roles on ''Queer as Folk'', ''Deadwood'', ''Desperate Housewives'', ''Grey's Anatomy'', ''The Secret Circle (TV series), The Secret Circle'' and ...

as Karl *Maja Miletich as Karen *Rachael Santhon as Anna *Adam Balsam as Porn PA *Travis Walck as Gas Station Attendant *Sean Parker as Dog *

as Theresa

Music

Music features heavily in the film, including songs by numerous

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

performers, such as D.O.A.,

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

, and

SNFU SNFU was a Canadian hardcore punk band formed in Edmonton in 1981, relocated to Vancouver in 1992, and disbanded in 2018. They released eight albums, two live records, and one compilation amid many lineup changes and several temporary breakups. ...

Soundtrack

* “Punks in the Beerlight” Written by David Berman Performed by

Silver Jews Silver Jews were an American indie rock band from New York City, formed in 1989 by David Berman alongside Pavement members Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich. Berman was the only constant band member. During the last few albums, Cassie Berm ...

* “Hit the Ground Running” Written by William Callahan Performed by Smog * “Cannibal Café” Written by Mr. Chi Pig and Muc Performed by

* “Mini T.V.’s” Written and performed by

Chad VanGaalen Chad VanGaalen (born 1977) is a Canadian musician and artist from Calgary, Alberta. Career ''Infiniheart'' Following a few scattered independent releases, done mostly on homemade CDs with hand-drawn art, VanGaalen released '' Infiniheart'' (200 ...

* “Ordinary Night” Written and performed by

the Mekons The Mekons are a British band formed in the late 1970s as an art collective. They are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands. The band's style has evolved over time to incorporate aspects of ...

* “Kid Dynamite” Written by David Grubbs Performed by

Squirrel Bait Squirrel Bait was an American punk rock band from Louisville, Kentucky active from 1983 to 1987. Squirrel Bait's dense, moody, melodic hardcore sound, featuring pronounced tempo shifts, foreshadowed the grunge sound of the late 1980s as well as ...

* “The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory” Written by

Robert Pollard Robert Ellsworth Pollard Jr. (born October 31, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter who is the leader and creative force behind indie rock group Guided by Voices. In addition to his work with Guided by Voices, he continues to have a prol ...

Performed by Guided By Voices * “Good Guys & Bad Guys” Written and performed by

Camper Van Beethoven Camper Van Beethoven is an American rock band formed in Redlands, California in 1983, later based in Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Their style mixes elements of pop, ska, punk rock, folk, alternative country, and world music. The band ini ...

* “Call of the Wild” Written by Alex & Carlos Soria Performed by The Nils * “Final Day” Written by Stuart Moxham Performed by

Young Marble Giants Young Marble Giants were a Welsh post-punk band formed in Cardiff, Wales, in 1978. Their music was based around the vocals of Alison Statton along with the minimalist instrumentation of brothers Philip and Stuart Moxham. Their early sound was ...

* “Jak” Written by Peter Prescott Performed by

Volcano Suns Volcano Suns was an American alternative rock band from Boston, Massachusetts formed by Mission of Burma drummer Peter Prescott in 1984.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 559 History The band was founded ...

* “Driveway to Driveway” Written by Laura Balance, Ralph McCaughan, James Wilbur, and Jonathan Wurster Performed by

Superchunk Superchunk is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, consisting of singer-guitarist Mac McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, bassist Laura Ballance, and drummer Jon Wurster. Formed in 1989, they were one of t ...

* “Freak Scene” Written by

J Mascis Joseph Donald Mascis Jr. ( ; born December 10, 1965), better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo art ...

Performed by

Dinosaur Jr. Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow ...

* “Fucked Up Ronnie” Written by

Joe Keithley Joseph Edward "Joey Shithead" Keithley ( né Keighley; June 3, 1956)
is a Canadi ...

Performed by D.O.A. * “Isabel” Written by Mark Robinson Performed by

Unrest Unrest, also called disaffection, is a sociological phenomenon, including: * Civil unrest * Civil disorder * Domestic terrorism * Industrial unrest * Labor unrest * Rebellion * Riot * Strike action * State of emergency Notable historical instanc ...

* “Wild Sage” Written by

John Darnielle John Darnielle (; born March 16, 1967) is an American musician and novelist best known as the primary, and originally sole, member of the American band the Mountain Goats, for which he is the writer, composer, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist. ...

Performed by

The Mountain Goats The Mountain Goats are an American band formed in Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle, despite the ...

* “We Saw Jerry’s Daughter” Written and performed by

* “Rough Gem” Written by

Nicholas Thorburn Nicholas Thorburn (born 27 November 1981), also known by his stage name Nick Diamonds, is a Canadian musician originally from Campbell River. He has fronted numerous bands such as The Unicorns, Th' Corn Gangg, Islands, Reefer, and Human Highw ...

Performed by

Islands An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be cal ...

* “Be What You Want” Written by Freisen,

John Kastner Jean-Guy "John" Kastner (born 12 August 1969) is a Canadian musician and composer born in Beaconsfield, Quebec. He is the singer for Montreal hardcore punk band the Asexuals as well as singer-guitarist for Montreal alternative band Doughboys ...

, Remington, Plenty Performed by Asexuals * “Suzanne” Written and performed by

* “You Don’t Have to Make Me Feel Better” Written and Performed by

Mac McCaughan Ralph Lee "Mac" McCaughan (; born July 12, 1967) is an American musician and record label owner, based in North Carolina. His main musical projects have been Superchunk since 1989 and Portastatic since the early 1990s. In 1989 he founded the inde ...

* “Last Night on Earth” Written and performed by

* “Graveyard” Written and performed by

* “Hard Drive” Written by

Ben Lee Benjamin Michael Lee (born 11 September 1978) is an Australian musician and actor. Lee began his career as a musician at the age of 14 with the Sydney band Noise Addict, but he focused on his solo career when the band broke up in 1995. He appe ...

Performed by

Evan Dando Evan Griffith Dando (born March 4, 1967) is an American musician and frontman of the Lemonheads. He has also embarked on a solo career and collaborated on songs with various artists. In December 2015 Dando was inducted into the Boston Music Awards ...

* “Passenger Side” Written by

Jeff Tweedy Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, started his music career in high s ...

Performed by

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently d ...

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, id=1227170, title=Passenger Side 2009 films Canadian drama films English-language Canadian films 2000s English-language films Films directed by Matt Bissonnette 2000s Canadian films