Set in in a small convenience store in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Yoga Hosers tells the story of two teenage clerks called Colleen! Colleen C (Lily-Rose Melody Depp) and Colleen M (Harley Quinn Smith) are best friends, when given a chance, they abandon their post in Colleen C’s fathers store and get up to hijinks; y’know, have a jam session in the stock room covering Anthrax songs etc. Their little minds are blown when they are invited to a senior house party by two classmates!
After managing to piss off Colleen C’s step-mother they find themselves behind the counter of the Eh-to-Zed on a Friday night missing their house party. They have a sudden brainstorm and decide, if they can’t come to the party, the party can come to the Eh-to-Zed! Eh!
That’s the basic premise of the plot from the girls perspective, what’s going on in the real world is that there is a string of mystery murders around Winnipeg, bodies found torn to shreds. These murders have caught of the attention of French-Canadian oddity Guy Lapointe. After publishing the story behind him and the ‘Manitoba Man-i-tee’ he questions the Colleens about the latest mystery murder victim who shopped Eh-To-Zed prior to his murder.
I don’t want to give away all the hooks, but the trailer does reveal the Colleens wielding hockey sticks battering little sausage people dressed as Nazis. My opinion on the film is largely positive, but I’ve followed Smiths career since Clerks II and I’m fanboy – so my opinion must be biased, right? It would be interesting I was able to watch this and have no association to Smiths world, I would easily write it off as something completely foreign and bizarre.
The acting in the film can be described in the girls on words; Basic. No-one should be going into this expecting Oscar award worthy performances, it’s aimed for kids, so comparing this with the shows parents are subjected to on Disney Channel or Nickelodeon – we’re not worried about sweeping performances, although Ralph Garman steals it, you’ll know him when you see him. I did love the insta’ character profile and the multicoloured transitions between scenes it gave me flash backs to the video game themes used in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.
The tagline on the poster is A Movie for Kids from the Director of ‘Clerks’ and ‘Tusk.’ Kevin Smith explains that it’s aimed at Tweens. I think it’s the kind of film that their parents probably won’t want their to watch; poop jokes, swearing, flipping the bird (so much birds being flipped!) and the little sausage Nazi people! This could earn the film an edge in pop culture, kids passing around the bootleg VHS during their science class or nowadays dropboxing in it their hangouts (what am I typing!).
I highly recommend this film to Smiths podcast listeners (obviously 99% will be screaming at Smith to take their money), but the film is lacquered in references to Smiths podcasts, several notable cameo appearances and Hollywood Babble-On in particular listeners will be richly rewarded third act of the film.
Overall the film does have some warts on it, but this film is a riot for fans of Kevin Smith and his weird weed filtered world.
4/5
[Reviewed originally as part of 70th Edinburgh International Film Festival]
