Sweet Trailer for Coming of Age Film I LIKE MOVIES - A Love Letter to Those Who Grew Up in Video Stores
A fun trailer has been released for the coming of age film I Like Movies. It takes place in Canada in the golden age of growing up in the ‘90s and early 2000s, when we spent our nights and weekends at the video store and the movie theaters.
The synopsis reads: "Lawrence Kweller (Isaiah Lehtinen) is an irascible, self- and movie-obsessed teenager living in the wilds of early-2000s Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
“He's the kind of guy who, when he buys a movie ticket, mentions the director's name just to show that he's there for the right reasons. He dreams of NYU, where he'll be mentored by a grateful Todd Solondz.
“But for Lawrence, who delivers every statement with utter certainty, this isn't a mere dream: it's locked in — as long as he can make thousands of dollars working part-time at his local video store, Sequels, to afford tuition.
“Lawrence has more serious problems — ones that the 10 free video rentals he gets weekly at Sequels won't solve. His egocentrism threatens his only real friendship, with longtime buddy and fellow lonely guy Matt Macarchuk (Percy Hynes White), the put-upon co-star and co-creator of his student short.
“It becomes increasingly clear that Lawrence’s movie obsession (and his inability to tolerate anyone) is a way of burying a world of hurt and avoiding any real connection."
The film stars Isaiah Lehtinen as Lawrence, along with Romina D'Ugo, Krista Bridges, Percy Hynes White, Alex Ateah, and Andy McQueen.
It opened at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival to great reviews, as well as the 2023 Santa Barbara Film Festival. I Like Movies was written and directed by Canadian indie filmmaker Chandler Levack in her feature directorial debut.
This looks like such a sweet callback to my own teen years. I spent countless hours checking out movies at Super Duper Video and Blockbuster. I love a good coming of age story, and this one looks like it will be solid.
Check out the trailer below, and watch I Like Movies when it’s released direct-to-VOD on November 1st.