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Fubar: Balls To The Wall

Blu-ray | DVD | On Demand

Directed by Michael Dowse

Starring: David Lawrence, Paul J. Spence, Andrew Sparacino, Terra Hazelton

Screen Media Films

Release date: April 20, 2011

The sequel to the Canadian mockumentary comedy, Fubar, has arrived. Screen Media Films have been marketing this film as "Spinal Tap meets The Trailer Park Boys" - but it's got a bit of Jackass in there too, as well as a touch of Tenacious D, Bill and Ted, and Wayne's World thrown in for good measure. And while there is truth to the comparisons above, there's something about the sequel, Fubar: Balls to the Wall that stands on its own. If you're a metalhead, and enjoy any of the films mentioned above, then this is a movie you will most likely enjoy.

And there's metal and hard rock spread nicely throughout this film, with songs from and references to bands such as Dio,...

Because guys who won’t grow up never ever ever cease to be hilarious. From the film’s Facebook page: Headbanger relics, Terry (Dave Lawrence) and Dean (Paul Spence), are tired of trying to give'r while barely scraping by, so when their old buddy and party leader, Tron (Andrew Sparacino), hooks them up with jobs they head up North to make sweet cash working on the pipelines during the holidays. Flush with money and confidence, Terry starts dating Trish (Terra Hazelton), a local waitress, and things get serious in a hurry. Meanwhile, Dean is playing up the part of 'cancer survivor', and upon hearing about the glories of Worker's Compensation, purposely injures himself in an attempt to qualify. When Terry moves in with Trish, Dean does his best to save his buddy from swapping the banger life for domestic captivity, but it’s a lost cause. When the Workers’ Compensation Board denies Dean,...

Deaner and Terry are back in this hilarious new sequel, on Blu-ray and DVD April 19th

One of the funniest Canadian movies of last year is finally making its way to the States, as Fubar: Balls to the Wall gets released on Blu-ray and DVD this Tuesday, April 19th. Following the further adventures of Terry (David Lawrence) and Deaner (Paul Spence), two head bangers who managed to get jobs and finally pay their own rent, director Michael Dowse (Take Me Home Tonight) has crafted a superb follow-up to the 2002 cult hit Fubar that will actually make you care deeply about these two wayward, lovable dipshits.

We recently caught up with Michael to chat with him about the movie. Here is our conversation.

A lot of us comedy fans living in the States have not seen the original Fubar. How did you go about constructing a story for Balls to the...

What’s Fubar: Balls to the Wall, you ask? The film is a sequel to the cult hit from 2002, which marked Michael Dowse’s debut, who would later on direct Take Me Home Tonight and the upcoming Goon adaptation.

Screen Media Films sent us a press release for the film, which will be hitting Blu-ray, DVD, VOD April 19th.

In Fubar: Balls to the Wall, headbanger relics, Terry (Dave Lawrence) and Dean (Paul J. Spence), are tired of trying to give’r while barely scraping by, so when their old buddy, Tron (Andrew Sparacino), hooks them up with jobs they head up North to make sweet cash working on the pipelines during the holidays.

Flush with money and confidence, Terry starts dating Trish (Terra Hazelton), a local waitress, and things get serious in a hurry. Meanwhile, Dean is playing up the part of ‘cancer survivor,’ and upon hearing about the glories of Worker’s Compensation,...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(from the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival)

Directed by: Michael Dowse

Written by: David Lawrence, Paul J. Spence and Michael Dowse

Starring: David Lawrence, Paul J. Spence, Tracey Lawrence, Terra Hazelton and Andrew Sparacino

In this Canadian stoner comedy, director Michael Dowse attempts a combination of “Wayne’s World” and “This Is Spinal Tap,” mixing comedy and mockumentary styles fairly flawlessly. Our heroes, Dean (Paul J. Spence) and Terry (David Lawrence), are two loser, drug-addled metalheads whose lives are going nowhere, slowly.

Still, these failures are lovable in their sheer ineptitude, and they’re acutely aware of their lack of skills, declaring, “Knowledge of no knowledge is power.” This is a place where “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” by Bon Jovi is the ultimate love ballad and where all there is to lovin’ life is exploiting workers’ compensation, grinding guitars and blowing through cash at strip clubs.

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(from the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival)

Directed by: Michael Dowse

Written by: David Lawrence, Paul J. Spence and Michael Dowse

Starring: David Lawrence, Paul J. Spence, Tracey Lawrence, Terra Hazelton and Andrew Sparacino

In this Canadian stoner comedy, director Michael Dowse attempts a combination of “Wayne’s World” and “This Is Spinal Tap,” mixing comedy and mockumentary styles fairly flawlessly. Our heroes, Dean (Paul J. Spence) and Terry (David Lawrence), are two loser, drug-addled metalheads whose lives are going nowhere, slowly.

Still, these failures are lovable in their sheer ineptitude, and they’re acutely aware of their lack of skills, declaring, “Knowledge of no knowledge is power.” This is a place where “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” by Bon Jovi is the ultimate love ballad and where all there is to lovin’ life is exploiting workers’ compensation, grinding guitars and blowing through cash at strip clubs.

Here is the first trailer for Fubar: Balls to the Wall. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year and it's set to premiere at this year's SXSW.

The film is the sequel to the 2002 Canadian mockumentary Fubar, "about two dimwitted metal heads. Fubar: Balls To The Wall catches up with them almost a decade later, and they’re no smarter."

Here is the synopsis for the film:

"Headbanger relics, Terry (Dave Lawrence) and Dean (Paul J. Spence), are tired of trying to give’r while barely scraping by, so when their old buddy, Tron (Andrew Sparacino), hooks them up with jobs they head up North to make sweet cash working on the pipelines during the holidays.

Flush with money and confidence, Terry starts dating Trish (Terra Hazelton), a local waitress, and things get serious in a hurry. Meanwhile, Dean is playing up the part of ‘cancer survivor,...

Fresh from the Canadian border is the hilarious sequel Fubar: Balls to the Wall, which reunites stars David Lawrence and Paul Spence from 2002's original cult hit Fubar. This time out, headbanger relics Terry (David Lawrence) and Dean (Paul J. Spence head north to work on the oil pipelines. This newfound job brings them unexpected wealth and unexpected problems. We have the trailer for Fubar: Balls to the Wall, as well as the new State-side version of the theatrical poster and stills from the upcoming comedy, which you can check out below:

Click to watch Fubar: Balls to the Wall Trailer!

Fubar: Balls to the Wall comes to theaters April 20th, 2011 and stars David Lawrence, Paul Spence, Rose Martin, Matthew Brennan, Andrew Sparacino, Lori D'Amour Heidt, Tracey Lawrence, Hanna Lawrence. The film is directed by Michael Dowse.

Fubar was released December 2001 and stars Paul Spence, David Lawrence, Gordon Skilling, Andrew Sparacino,...

The South by Southwest Film Festival announced its feature film line-up Wednesday, piling heaps of cinematic goodness on an already stellar program that includes Jodie Foster’s The Beaver, Duncan Jones’ Source Code, Ti West’s The Innkeepers, Conan O’Brien’s tour documentary, and the latest Simon Pegg-Nick Frost comedy, Paul, with Seth Rogen.

Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) returns to the festival with her latest film, Red Riding Hood starring Amanda Seyfried, after the writer-director spoke on a screenwriting panel in 2009.

Plus a few favorites from the Sundance Film Festival last month, like Tom McCarthy’s Win Win, Morgan Spurlock’s The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, and Max Winkler’s Ceremony.

I’m extremely excited, even if I’m already having flashbacks to intense sleep deprivation. Like the last two years, I’ll be on the ground covering as much of the festival as I can within the packed 9 days of screenings,...

‘Tapping into the cultural zeitgeist,’ at SXSW 2011

Austin, Texas – The SXSW 2011 Feature Film Lineup was unveiled Wednesday afternoon. The festival lineup will consist of 130 features, in nine full days of programming, promising to deliver a film-going experience unlike previous years.

With a reputation for taking chances on relatively unknown filmmakers, the SXSW panel of judges carefully picked 130 films from 1,792 feature-length film submissions, (1,323 U.S. and 469 international). The program consists of 60 World Premieres, 12 North American Premieres and 16 U.S. Premieres.

The main competition categories return with eight Narrative Features, and eight Documentary Features, both competing for their respective Grand Jury Prize. New for films in competition this year, are awards for screenplay, editing, cinematography, music, and acting.

(The Midnighters and SXFantastic feature sections, along with the short film program, will be announced next week.)

Here are a few of the Features to be screened, among many others.

Narratives:

The Beaver (World Premiere)

Dir.

Readers of Sound On Sight can be sure that we will indeed be covering the SXSW Film Festival once again. As previously reported, Duncan Jones’ latest film Source Code is opening the festival and there will also be premieres for the documentary Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop, Greg Mottola’s Paul, and Jodie Foster’s The Beaver. Now the full line-up has been announced it is incredible.

Hit the jump to check out the line-up, and be sure to visit our site during the event.

The 2011 SXSW Film Festival runs from March 11 – 19th in Austin, Texas.

SXSW Film Announces 2011 Features Lineup

Austin, Texas – February 2, 2011 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 11 – 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, highlighting emerging talent and breakthrough performances and supporting first-time filmmakers.

The South By Southwest Film Conference and Festival announced this year's features lineup. The festival takes place March 11-19 in Austin, Texas.

There are a total of 130 features screening this year including 60 world premieres, 12 North American premieres and 16 U.S. premieres! This year the a total of 1,792 feature-length films were submitted, which is the most ever.

There are going to be some amazing films shown this yea. Opening night kicks off with Duncan Jones' Source Code (Moon). The fest rolls on with Jodie Foster‘s The Beaver, Greg Mottola‘s Paul, Sundance Grand Prize doc winner How to Die in Oregon, Errol Morris‘ Tabloid, Victoria Mahoney‘s Yelling to the Sky, Azazel Jacob‘s Terri. There will also be a special screening of Catherine Hardwicke‘s Red Riding Hood.

The Midnight and SXFantastic sections will be announced with the shorts program next week.

See the complete lineup below via...

The South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) just announced their entire 2011 feature film lineup, and there’s isn’t a lot of note, with regards to this blog’s focus.

Titles you should be aware of – all of which we’ve previously profiled on Shadow And Act – include, Victoria Mahoney’s feature film debut, Yelling To The Sky (which will actually make its world debut at the Berlin Film Festival later this month); plus Blacktino, the first feature film from writer/director Aaron Burns, a self-described “blacktino nerd from Austin, Texas,” who got his start at Robert Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios doing visual effects; Benda Bilili, a documentary about a band of homeless, disabled Congolese; and last, but not least, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, a documentary about the black man that happens to be the man behind the puppet (which also played at Sundance).

There might be...

The South by Southwest Film Festival has announced their features lineup for the 2011’s Festival, which will take place March 11th to the 19th in Austin Texas. Read the full press release after the jump. SXSW Film Announces 2011 Features Lineup Austin, Texas – February 2, 2011 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 11 – 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, highlighting emerging talent and breakthrough performances and supporting first-time filmmakers. The Midnighters and SXFantastic feature sections, along with the short film program, will be announced next week. “This is the most exciting moment for us. After a fantastic festival of discovery in 2010, we can finally unveil the line up for this year’s event,” says Film Conference and Festival Producer Janet Pierson. “SXSW prides itself on taking chances, sifting for...

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year's Festival, March 11 - 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, highlighting emerging talent and breakthrough performances and supporting first-time filmmakers. The Midnighters and SXFantastic feature sections, along with the short film program, will be announced next week.

"This is the most exciting moment for us. After a fantastic festival of discovery in 2010, we can finally unveil the line up for this year's event," says Film Conference and Festival Producer Janet Pierson. "SXSW prides itself on taking chances, sifting for films that are the seedlings of the next generation of must-see artists. This year's line up is full of emerging voices and filmmakers who transcended the resources they had on hand, often with an alchemist's touch."

Over the course of nine days, 130 features will...

In 2002 a small, very low budget mockumentary was produced in western Canada that gained a fair measure of critical acclaim and became a cult favourite rather quickly. Fubar was the tale of two life-long friends and head-bangers who were forever given'er, drinking beer like men and wearing fantastically quoiffed hockey-hair. It made Ranylt Richildis' list of Ten Secret Canadian Films, which should be enough to convince you that it's definitely worth watching. It's unceasingly funny, sometimes poignant and an interesting exploration of both friendship and documentary filmmaking. It's may have also suffered a severe head injury.

Apparently, it was successful enough to warrant a sequel as, on October 1, 2010, Fubar 2 will be released in Canada. The synopsis Via Tribute.ca:

The story starts in Calgary where the boys are tired of trying to give'r while barely scraping by, when their old buddy and party leader, Tron (Andrew Sparacino) hooks them...

In 2002, well before the current wave of verite style comedy had hit around the world, director Michael Dowse and writer-stars David Lawrence and Paul Spence created a cult sensation with Fubar. The foul mouthed, moc doc style comedy about a pair of Canadian headbangers - one of whom is afflicted with 'nut cancer' - premiered at Sundance before becoming a true cult hit at home and around the globe. And now they're back.

Fubar II will open the Midnight Madness program at the Toronto International Film Festival and here's an excerpt of  programmer Colin Geddes' description:

It is time to once again "Turn up the good, turn down the suck," as headbanger relics and lifelong friends Dean (Paul Spence) and Terry (Dave Lawrence) are re-united for more mullet mayhem in Fubar II. Director Michael Dowse has returned to the world of his 2002 instant cult hit to check in on...

Get ready to shotgun more brew and grow back your mullet because your favourite headbangers are back in action for Fubar II and we have an Exclusive look at the new poster!

Terry (Dave Lawrence) and Dean (Paul J. Spence) are ready to give'r again in the Christmas-themed sequel to the 2002 cult classic directed by Michael Dowse (Fubar, It's all Gone Pete Tong) that finds the hapless duo back in their '86 Cutlass Supreme, en route to Fort McMurray for a sweet payday thanks to some pipeline work hooked up by their old pal Tron (Andrew Sparacino).

Check out the full poster now!

Toronto -- Director Michael Dowse and lead actors Paul Spence and Dave Lawrence have re-teamed to shoot "Fubar 2," the sequel to their 2002 Sundance hit about two beer-addled headbangers.

The second outing for Spence and Lawrence sees their clueless characters Terry and Dean head to northern Canada to drink and play as they work on the oil pipelines.

Edmonton stands in for both Calgary and Fort McMurray in the five-week shoot led by Alberta-based producers Shirley Vercruysse and George Baptist and Quebec-based Jennifer Wilson.

Andrew Sparacino and Terra Hazelton fill out the cast for the sequel, which Alliance Films will release locally in fall 2010.

"Fubar 2" is financed by Telefilm Canada, the federal government's film financier, industry subsidies and broadcast licenses and provincial and federal tax credits.