Martin’s Pink Pickle
Starring Quincy Newton and Kerry Knuppe
Directed by René Brar
Martin (Quincy Newton) has built a decent life for himself in Hope, BC. He’s got a pleasant girlfriend, an okay job, and several more decades of both to look forward to. He’s not happy, but he’s not depressed. He’s given up expecting anything more.
But there’s a flicker of yearning deep inside, which might explain why, during a moment of beer-goggled lust, he ends up sticking his “pink pickle” into someone other than his girlfriend: Suzanne (Kerry Knappe), his best friend’s wife.
In true cinematic fashion, Suzanne gets pregnant. She too has a decent/pleasant/okay life in Hope, and she wants to keep it that way. So the pair head to Vancouver for a secret abortion.
That’s when they get stranded for 24 hours, and when the journey truly begins.
Vancouver plays matchmaker as Martin and Suzanne explore the city and, slowly, give voice to their yearnings.
Together they discover something they’ve never had with their previous partners: the joy of unforced, undeniable, life-affirming chemistry.
Knappe and Newton turn in nuanced performances as the accidental lovers. And don’t get fooled by the cheeky, Farrelly Brothers-esque title. Director René Brar (director of 2009’s Taylor’s Way) and screenwriter Curtis Woloschuk (who – disclosure alert – writes movie reviews for these very pages) have served up a romantic dramedy that is affable and sweet.
Martin’s Pink Pickle will screen as part of VIFF. For tickets and schedule information, visit VIFF.org.
