One of the most memorable and successful Canadian television commercials of all time is one for the general hardware store Canadian Tire dating back to the 1970's, whereby a boy from a poor farming family dreams of acquiring a shiny new bike, and after praying and hoping that he will one day get it, receives it as a gift from his father - his greatest gift ever. Dodd and Greenspan export that Canadian sentiment to "Razorback", their AFI thesis film. A great story, it's marked by a standout performance by Austin Stout as Avery, but more importantly, a feeling of Spielberg and Capra.
The film misses a couple of beats in its setup (one wishes that there would be more of a buildup of the lore surrounding Kevin McCarthy's curmudgeon barber character, through script and visuals), but overall is a sound script. Greenspan knows that the picture will live or die with Stout's character, and nicely uses the camera to bring him and his conflicts to life. And the film moves a bit towards a melodramatic tone at the end at the end, but you know, who cares? It's just what the audience wants at that point, and will finish the film feeling as though they've gotten something that they've wanted as well.
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