The story of two metal-heads. From Canada. I thought this movie was going to be much like "The Stoned Age" without the Schnappster and Blue Oyster Cult. I was wrong. What I got was a movie that was either way too short or way too long. The joke is that metal-heads are stupid and drink beer. If you get the joke, do you need to see it for 76 minutes? Because that's the only joke in this film. It could have been 15 minutes. Or had it been 2 hours, maybe we could have explored the characters a bit more and the depth would have cleared things up.

The film isn't all bad, though. It's mildly entertaining - especially Deaner. Tron and Terry are only background to Deaner's madness and tight underwear. I also enjoyed how the film took an unexpected turn towards the end, though they didn't really do anything with that. For an independent film with no real actors or director, it's not bad. Honestly, I couldn't have written or acted or directed this story any better. And I'm not Canadian. This film may not be an underground masterpiece, but it's also no disgrace to Pilsner. I guess watch it if you're really drunk or on ludes. Don't watch it because your friends tell you to - they're liars.

"Fubar" is a 100% Canadian mockumentary from writer / director Michael Dowse ("It's All Gone, Pete Tong", "Goon") that delivers some modest chuckles, but works because it ultimately cares about its characters. Paul Spence and David Lawrence play Dean and Terry, two 20 something goof balls who are decidedly unambitious in life. A documentary filmmaker named Farrel (Gordon Skilling) sets out to record their day to day activities, as they live the life of those party animals known as "head bangers".

Not really to be mistaken for a rock 'n' roll movie (although the soundtrack *is* ace); music doesn't play that big a part in the story that unfolds. At first, Dowses' film is mildly amusing as it shows us the tomfoolery to which Dean and Terry are prone. It's got a funny enough script, with liberal use of profanity - especially F-bombs. Things do take a sober turn when it is discovered that Dean has testicular cancer, and he's forced to take the matter seriously. He and Terry then confront ideas of life and death, even as they entertain themselves with such things as a camping trip.

The no-name cast is quite engaging, especially Spence. Skilling is a hoot as the uptight, seemingly humourless director. Incidentally, the guy in the role of Deans' doctor was Dowses' physician in real life, and he's basically playing himself. A number of the supporting players did actually mistake "Fubar" for a serious doc on the life of the "common man" in Canada.

Overall, a likable, offbeat effort. It does bear the mark of a low budget, but it does have some charm that more than makes up for that.

Seven out of 10.

FUBAR (an obscene acronym from the military) is an amazing accomplishment. It tore onto the scene at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001, after being turned down by the Toronto fest. The classic success story of guys who maxed out their credit cards (including their Canadian Tire cards) and took a giant leap into the uncertain future - and it paid off. Telefilm Canada decided to fund the movie (after it was already shot on digital video),and "beefed" the budget up to $350,000 (Cdn.) They did a good job promoting the movie through a soundtrack featuring Sum 41, Gob, Sloan, etc. doing classic Canadian headbangin' tunes. This movie has it all: hilarity and drunken hijinx, intense drama, and incredible acting (although I wonder how much the beer had to do with this). Go see this movie, it is much more than the trailers would suggest: much more than guys acting loud and stupid. It's actually a touching film, with a look at the two main character's fear of mortality.