Chester Brown (Dan Beirne) an introverted cartoonist lives with Max Network VJ Sonny Lee (Emily Lê) and cutie pie canine Moe in a ramshackle house in Toronto’s Kensington Market a former hangout of mine before vintage clothing and budget hipster eateries edged out the produce people and the skinheads with their nasty dog.
It is 1999 and in bed Chester is told by Sonny she thinks she is falling in love with someone else and asks Chester if she can continue their ambiguous relationship. Chester, initially portrayed as a nerd, agrees stating he loves Sonny more than ever. Under the covers it has been a sexless relationship for so long Sonny’s birth control pills have expired! Sonny embarks on a series of disastrous relationships.
Chester becomes intrigued by the idea of paying for sex and he scours the back pages of NOW for escorts and studies a guide how to interact with prostitutes. Appropriately educated he hops to and fro from sex worker to sex worker and being a nerd, so we think, has in bean counter fashion budgeted for 17 yearly sexual liaisons which will cost less than what he has spent on Sonny without any sex to show for it.
Is Chester a spineless worm as he moves downstairs to a dank basement sleeping on a soiled mattress while Sonny cavorts upstairs with Miles whom she met at Sneaky Dees a raunchy Toronto bar and music venue? Miles strolls into Sneaky Dees with a girl in his arms and Sonny storms out upset. Sonny can’t take from Miles what she dished out to Chester.
Chester tells Sonny he is seeing prostitutes and Sonny retorts this is fine with her but Chester must never bring them into the house. Meanwhile the two faced and selfish Sonny brings her latest flings into the house having forced Chester down to the basement. How much abuse can Chester take! Chester brings escort Denise into his basement lair and as she is leaving Sonny and her newest live in enter the house Sonny unhappy with Chester breaking his promise about not bringing prostitutes in the house. What is good for the goose is not so good for the gander.
Chester’s philosophy is that romantic love is slavery as relationships are too much work. As for revenge, Chester never sees or hears about, Sonny’s new soul mate lying next to her on a Costa Rican beach says to her, “I think I am falling in love with someone else!”
At the end of the day there is no Romcom conclusion between Chester and Sonny thank goodness. Instead the film is a friendcom, Chester has graduated to a romantic relationship he once criticized.
Beirne and Lê excel in their roles. The sex workers are played with respect and Andrea Werhun lights up the screen in her role as Denise.
As a great fan of the Mystic Muffin proximate to the Salvation Army hostel at 113 Jarvis I love Sonny’s Mystic Muffin T-shirt as after all Mystic Muffin’s sign states they have served two billion!
A bit of a comedy dusted up on the edges by the pros and cons of romantic and paying for it sex.
This Canadian movie is directed by Sook-Yin Lee.
RKS 2025 Film Rating 88/100.
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