Bomb Girls: Facing The Enemy

ON SCREEN:

BOMB GIRLS: FACING THE ENEMY
Global - March 27


The Final Chapter

Those Feisty "Bomb Girls" Wrap Up 
Their Saga With A TV Movie

By Eric Kohanik

The setting is a mostly empty, 114-year-old building that once housed a fabric mill known as the Imperial Cotton Company in the industrial north end of Hamilton, Ont. On one of the upper floors, part of the vast space has been transformed into a grimy old gymnasium, where a boxing ring is ensconced in plumes of smoke. Inside the ring, two women are duking things out as throngs of beer-swilling, fedora-wearing men cheer them on.

If it all looks like a moment plucked from some bygone era, that's because it is.

Welcome to Bomb Girls – The Movie, a two-hour production that continues – and wraps up – the storyline of the once-popular Canadian TV series.

Originally designed as a six-episode drama in 2012, Bomb Girls ended up growing to 18 episodes that continued into a second season. The series revolved around a core group of four women – played by Meg Tilly, Jodi Balfour, Ali Liebert and Charlotte Hegele – who worked in a Canadian munitions factory during the Second World War.

The series attracted a dedicated following of fans who cried foul when Global cancelled the show last year. Protests eventually led the network to greenlight a TV-movie to wrap up the saga.

This particular day of filming finds the tomboyish Betty McRae (Liebert) as one of the two females in the boxing ring. When the stylish Gladys Witham (Balfour) makes an appearance in the crowd and spots Betty, it causes a bit of a distraction, in more ways than one.

For Balfour, the chance to revive the role of Gladys was one she eagerly awaited.

“It feels great,” she says during a break. “We're obviously dealing with a bunch of new subject matter, but it still feels like coming back to familiar territory. There's an element of comfort in coming 'home' and there's a sense of community to the show, which is part of what I love so much about it.”

Born and raised in South Africa, Balfour graduated from the University of Cape Town in 2009 before she and her family moved to B.C. Her list of credits includes various TV projects, including a role this season in CBC's political comedy-drama, The Best Laid Plans. Nevertheless, Balfour is still best known for her work as Gladys.

“She's kind of the role of a lifetime, particularly in the way they keep writing her and developing her,” Balfour says. “Every year, I get to tackle a real sense of growth in her. She has so many colours I get to play with – like vulnerability and fear and sensitivity and insecurity. And then I also get to play with a sense of courage. It's a really cool range of things that I get to play, so I count myself lucky.”

Written by Donald Martin and directed by Jerry Ciccoritti, Bomb Girls: Facing The Enemy picks up the storyline six months after the events at the conclusion of the series. There have been changes in all of the women's lives. In some cases, the changes are significant.

“It's bit of a tricky time for Gladys,” Balfour explains. “She is longing to see her best friend. And, you know, the central theme of Gladys' life is this inescapable loneliness that she deals with a lot of the time.”

While the primary purpose of Bomb Girls: Facing The Enemy is to tie up loose ends from the series, it also takes the show's plot a bit further. And that thrilled Balfour and her castmates.

“We were obviously all really sad when the show was cancelled but very aware of how lucky we are to get to do this,” Balfour points out. “I think many shows see themselves being cancelled and don't get this opportunity.

“It not only serves us an opportunity to tell the story some more, but also serves us an opportunity to get a little bit of closure, for us as well as for the audience. It's a nice opportunity to get to see everyone one more time.”

Bomb Girls: Facing The Enemy – Global – March 27

(A portion of this story was published in Channel Guide Magazine - April 2014.)

The Best Laid Plans

ON SCREEN:

THE BEST LAID PLANS
CBC -- Series premiere Jan. 5;
Mondays beginning Jan. 6



Party Animals

Ottawa's Backroom Shenanigans Get 
A Playful Political Jab In "The Best Laid Plans"

By Eric Kohanik

Jonas Chernick admits he hasn't really paid much attention to the scandals, backroom dealings and other political-party shenanigans that take place on Parliament Hill.

“I can honestly say that, while I knew that went on, it wasn't something that I've ever had an interest in personally,” the 40-year-old Winnipeg-born actor confesses. “I'm not the most political person. I keep myself aware of what's going on. And, of course, I vote. But I'm not a political junkie.”

Nevertheless, when the chance came along to play the political junkie at the core of The Best Laid Plans, Chernick didn't waste any time. He began his campaign to land the role with full force.

“I kind of lobbied for it at first when I heard that the show was going into production,” explains Chernick, who is perhaps best known for doing triple duty as writer, producer and star of a 2012 Canadian movie called My Awkward Sexual Adventure.

“I said, 'I know the story. I know the character and I think I'm right for this.' It was kind of a match made in heaven right away. I really feel like this is one of the best projects I've ever been involved in.”

The Best Laid Plans is a six-episode series that premieres Jan. 5 on CBC, with the remaining instalments airing on Mondays, beginning Jan. 6. Based on the novel of the same name by Terry Fallis, the series takes a lighthearted look at the behind-the-scenes lunacy that often infiltrates the political arena in Ottawa.

The production casts Chernick as Daniel Addison, a down-to-earth guy with a Ph.D. in English who has a passion for teaching but has been working as a speechwriter for George Quimby (Mark McKinney), the Leader of the Opposition.

An ethical guy at heart, Daniel gets overwhelmed by the backroom hijinks of the Hill, not to mention certain backroom "manoeuvring" involving his girlfriend, Rachel (Sarah Allen). And so, he decides to head back into the academic world, where he would be safe from the backstabbing he has endured. Or, at least, so he thinks.

Blackmailed into completing one final assignment by his boss – Quimby's chief of staff, Bradley Stanton (Raoul Bhaneja) – Daniel agrees to recruit and work for a candidate who will challenge the stronghold of a longtime political incumbent (Peter Keleghan). He soon discovers that finding a suitable candidate – or even a less-than-suitable one – isn't so easy.

Many current comedy series rely on documentary-style formats that have characters being “interviewed” to offer comments on their storylines. The Best Laid Plans takes a slightly different approach, using a more traditional theatrical device of breaking down the “fourth wall” by having Daniel (who also narrates the story) turn directly to the camera in various scenes.

“That was really fun and unusual,” Chernick recalls. “I had never done that before. I'm a real fan of that style. One of my favourite movies ever was Ferris Bueller's Day Off. That was the first time I became aware of that storytelling strategy. I spent a lot of time in my prep thinking about and exploring my character's relationship with the audience. That was a unique and exciting discovery for me – and really fun to play.”

The Best Laid Plans is brimming with familiar faces. Among them: Eric Peterson (Corner Gas), Jodi Balfour (Bomb Girls), Leah Pinsent (Made in Canada), Sonja Smits (Traders) and, of particular note, screen veteran Kenneth Welsh – who, without giving too much away, puts in a show-stealing performance as Daniel's gruff and grizzled landlord, Angus McLintock.

Chernick is effusive in his praise for Welsh. “Ken is literally a living legend,” he says. “He is one of the greats in the industry. Acting with him, across from him, is like a master class in film acting because he is truly a natural. When the cameras are rolling on him, anything can happen.

“It's just miraculous to be there with him when that magic is happening.”

The Best Laid Plans – CBC – Series premiere Jan. 5; 

Mondays beginning Jan. 6 

(First published in Channel Guide Magazine - January 2014.)