In 1989, the late Hollywood actor, John Candy, set the benchmark for the classic celluloid underachiever in Uncle Buck. While the film was nothing to write home about, Candy carried the movie and was brilliant as the black sheep of the family.
It's taken 16 years, but Candy, a Canadian who died in Mexico in 1994, has finally met his match in the form of Generation Y slacker Jaye Tyler in the quirky Wonderfalls (premiering tomorrow at 10pm on Star World).
Played by veteran French-Canadian actor Caroline Dhavernas (she starred in Peter Greenway's 2003 film Tulseluper Suitcase), Jaye is your classic twentysomething underachiever. Armed with a philosophy degree from an Ivy League school, she 'does retail' at a Niagara Falls souvenir shop and lives in a caravan at the High and Dry trailer park. As the youngest sibling in a family of obsessed overachievers, her aim in life is to do as little as possible. Until one day, that is, when she has an 'episode' and her life - and that of the people around her - changes forever. She finds herself able to talk to inanimate objects that tell her to do some pretty weird things. In tonight's episode, a brass monkey and a wax lion keep Jaye, who is convinced she is losing her mind, on her toes.
The first episode of Wonderfalls is a sarcastic, amusing introduction to the chief characters and their lives, and it's clear from the beginning that there is something different about the series, which was created by Bryan Fuller (Dead Like Me) and Todd Holland (Malcolm in the Middle).
They've rounded up an impressive cast: William Sadler (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) plays Jaye's doctor father, Darrin, while her mother, Karen, a successful author, is played by Diana Scarwid (What Lies Beneath, Silkwood). Her brother Aaron (Lee Pace; Soldier's Girl) is a brilliant scholarship student, while her sister Sharon (Katie Finneran; You've Got Mail) is an up-and-coming lawyer with an interesting secret. Eric (Tyron Leitso; Dinotopia) is Jaye's love interest and Mahandra (Tracie Thoms; As If) is her best friend.
The strong cast, quirky storyline and cutting lines are a recipe for success, so it remains a mystery as to why the show was cancelled after just four episodes. Star World, however, assures us it is committed to all 13 episodes of the series. Unfortunately, though, that is all there is.