Goin' Down the Road

A gritty and realistic portrayal of the Toronto in 1970, and the tale of two young men with "not a pot to p*** in", who come west from Nova Scotia in search of a better life, but who both end up just trying to survive.

Easily one of the top 10 movies within the past 20 years that I have had the pleasure of viewing.

A great story of two simple-minded hosers from Cape Breton who move to Toronto to try and make a better life for themselves.

They get into amusing situations while trying to make it in the big city, but the real strength of this film is the acting and directing. It is difficult to tell if it's a film or a documentary - the actors and director Don Shebib do such a great job.

I watched the film a few times before it grew on me. After purchasing the VHS, I've now watched it many times, finding something new with each viewing.

Torontonians will marvel at how busy the nightlife was on the Yonge Street strip between Dundas and Gerrard back in '69. Now, of course, it is all but forgotten by nocturnal revellers.

After reading so many good reviews on this film and seeing an in-depth and up-to-date documentary with some of the cast members and Trailer Park Boys' writer/producer/director Mike Clattenburg I finally caught an airing of this film on the IFCC. It's more a drama than a comedy though you can't help but laugh at these poor guys. Pete and Joey are a pair of East Coast bumpkins who come to Toronto for a better life, but they now face a new series of hurdles as they try to fit in to the metropolis but only land a string of short term manufacturing jobs. Life gets tougher and eventually becomes worse as they drift through a period of structural unemployment.

Cool to see the backdrop filming locations along the downtown Yonge/Dundas street corner and an old Loblaws sign. And when did grocery packers last wear bowties? Then there's a cameo with Stompin' Tom Connors who looks almost exactly today as he did back then. Few copies of a DVD release but one must see the televised documentary (seen on Star! and the Drive-In Classics channel) to complete the whole story.

Fans of The Trailer Park Boys TV series may enjoy this film for the story, though fans of the original cult horror hit Black Christmas, another Toronto filmed project that included Doug McGrath among the cast, may find Going' Down The Road interesting just to catch a glimpse of the city of Toronto, the way it was in the seventies.

They just don't make them this way anymore. I'm an American viewed, but appreciated the importance of this film in Canada. The film has a highly realistic, "70s feel" grittiness with a pace that always keeps you interested. This is not meant to be a crowd pleasing film. Worth a view.

It took me 30+ years to find this film (on video) after being on a TOP TEN list in 1970 by a cool critic. I got a clean copy on Ebay that plays out (like FIVE EASY PIECES) as a mood piece of the times, fascinating character study, and overall good film of the BEST year of films overall (1970) with unknown actors.

Find this one. You won't regret it and you don't have to be Canadian or from the Golden 70's. Heartbreakingly realistic but humorous...at the most bleak and surreal moments and MacGrath and the others will smoke and live in real time before your eyes..it's not dated. Donald Shebib (whatever happened to this cool guy?) directed like a young M. Scorsese (with unknowns) that you'll never forget. Find it or you'll never be able to listen to THE DOORS again with a clean conscience.