Critic Reviews

Like a Canadian "Six Feet Under," the indie dramedy Whole New Thing mixes characters (teen and adult, gay and straight, married and single) who seem both completely plausible and capable of anything.

Develops its story slowly and carefully, nearly always opting for the plausible over the sensational.

Interestingly, the real heart of the film is in the finely drawn adult characters.

The film features subtle, honest performances by Daniel MacIvor (who also cowrote the screenplay) as the perplexed prof and engaging newcomer Aaron Webber as the sensitive student.

This movie is a more conventional, but also more believable, exploration of the potential cost of thumbing your nose at society.

More satisfying than not, and it plays out credibly.

"Thing" suffers the familiar curse of Canadian seriocomedy -- just nice enough in content and stylistically like a telepic.

Slight Canadian coming-of-age drama.

Whole New Thing comes unglued toward the end, spiraling into melodrama without ever escaping its whiny, indie-rock soundtrack.

Half-new at most, this "Running With Scissors"–type tale of a precocious, effeminate teen who gets hot for teacher while prepping for a life in the arts isn't evidently autobiographical. Neither is it funny--or poignant or insightful or remotely worth one's time.