An aspiring method actor inherits his estranged father's porno theatre in The Last Porno Show. Wayne (Nathanael Chadwick) is a struggling actor, who discovers with much apathy that his estranged father Al (Christian Aldo) has passed away and has left Wayne his rundown porno theatre. Initially set on quickly selling off the theatre, Wayne becomes acquainted with Al's business partner Ralf (Brian Scott Carleton) and ex-lover Julia (Mickey Skin), which causes repressed memories from Wayne's childhood to surface. When a prospective film role requires unsimulated sex scenes with his co-star Ashley (Victoria Dunsmore), Wayne decides to reopen the theatre in order to try to live in his father's shoes and get into the right headspace for his character.
The Last Porno Show is a dark comedy from writer/director Kire Paputts (The Rainbow Kid), which follows a struggling method actor trying to get into the headspace of his late father. Thanks to his acting classes, taught by a cameoing Frank D'Angelo, Wayne decides to revisit the traumatic memories of his childhood to develop a character for a sleazy new film role. However, it isn't long until Wayne's journey into the adult cinema business turns into a full-on obsession.
From the opening moments of The Last Porno Show, it becomes very apparent that Kire Paputts has made a dark comedy that isn't afraid to explore the seedy pornography world in explicit detail. While the film is quite uncomfortable to watch at times, particularly in the latter half, I would say that The Last Porno Show is ultimately about a man trying to reconcile his issues about his father. While the explicit sexual content doesn't make this a film for everyone, The Last Porno Show still overall makes for an interesting character study.
TIFF19 screenings of The Last Porno Show
- Tuesday, September 10, 9:00 PM – Scotiabank Theatre
- Thursday, September 12, 9:00 PM – Jackman Hall (AGO)
- Friday, September 13, 3:30 PM – Scotiabank Theatre
