Plays February 21 to 27 at Cinematheque.

Asphalt Watches is the story of two friends, Bucktooth and Skeleton Hat, who are on a hitchhiking odyssey across Canada. At least, I think it is. Skeleton Hat is a pale kid with a ratstache, and I think Bucktooth might be a ghost. I’m not sure where they’re hitchhiking to, or why they’re going there. The entire picture feels like two skateboarders ate hallucinogenic mushrooms, went hitchhiking, and then animated the entire trip using the Windows 95 edition of MS Paint. And, just so we’re clear, I mean all of these things as a compliment.

This film certainly isn’t for everyone - it’s grotesque and very esoteric. But if you’re the kind of person who can lock into the picture early enough, you’ll be rewarded. The lo-fi animation style is reminiscent of the work of David Firth or, to a lesser extent, Aqua Teen Hunger Force and other more overtly comedic fare. The sense of humour evokes a particular brand of anti-comedy that I love. The laughs are driven by surreal situations and non sequiturs, with often hilarious results. I’ll definitely be saying, “Don’t forget your Boston Pizza, son!” to my friends.

In addition to the morbid animation and bizarre humour, the movie is actually pretty insightful about road tripping in Canada. Anyone who’s ever hitchhiked, toured with a band, or taken a similar trip knows the kind of meandering feeling that Asphalt Watches gets right. The movie is also actually pretty spot on when it comes to Canadian regionalism. You can always tell where the film’s heroes are geographically based on who they meet.

All that said, it must be noted that this movie is way too long. The run time is a little over 90 minutes, and it drags. Experimental material like this, without a real driving narrative, can’t sustain a feature run time. This would have been much better as a thirty minute short.

Published in Volume 68, Number 21 of The Uniter (February 19, 2014)