Beauty Day
Jay Cheel, 2011, Canada, 90 min
Saskatoon Theatrical Premiere, One Screening Only
Saturday, October 1 2011, 1:15 pm, The Broadway Theatre
$10 (Admittance restricted to persons over 18)
Film contains foul language and stunt violence
Official Site: http://filmswelike.com/films/beautyday/
Synopsis
His cable access television show, The Cap'n Video Show, ran from 1990 to 1995, spawning a small but loyal cult following. Each week Ralph performed a series of idiotic and occasionally dangerous stunts, challenging the sensibilities of his small Southern Ontario audience. With the advent of the internet and reality television still years away, his unique brand of gross-out stunt comedy was truly ahead of its time. All it took was a broken neck for him to get noticed.
Buzz
"It’s a temptation to go for the obvious and mention it’s a beauty film, but that doesn’t do it justice. It’s truly a wonderful, detailed and completely engaging character-based story. I can’t wait until more people see it." - Row Three
"Roof skiing, egg snorting and rocket skateboard, but Canadian? This isn't Jackass, but Cap'n Video, the alter ego of one Ralph Zavadil, a St. Catharines man with a camera, a cable access show and tons of terrible ideas. The once small-town curiousity became (in)famous after a misguided self-recorded stunt landed him in the hospital and was distributed to news media outlets who portrayed him in the wrong light. As his antics post-accident became more desperate, his show was cancelled. But almost two decades later, the temptation arises again, and his long-time fans want to help. Can they do it? With all the flashy/cringe-worthy stunts, Beauty Day surprises as a really well-plotted character story and as the film progresses, Cap'n Video eventually taking a backseat to the more interesting story of Ralph Zavadil himself." - BlogTO
"Cheel weaves together factory work, alcoholism and personal tragedy with rooftop skiing, TV smashing and egg-snorting to create a complex and hilarious look at a sweet but troubled man who just happens to throw himself off ladders for fun." - Chart Attack
John's Opinion
Dark Bridges has been very lucky to screen a couple of Jay Cheel's short films over the past couple of years and it is our great pleasure to now show BEAUTY DAY. If you listen to Jay talk on the Film Junk podcast and read his writing at The Documentary Blog you will know that he believes in holding documentaries to a high standard and that they must tell a story as well as being informative. In BEAUTY DAY, Jay lets us into the life of Ralph Zavadil an interesting character who could end up being the one trick pony of a low budget Jackass. Fortunately for the audience what we get is a beautiful story about a man with regrets but also a man who has also discovered what true friendship is and the true meaning of life. Both Jay Cheel and Ralph Zavadil have a passion. Jay's is for film making and gaining insight into what makes us tick while Zavadil's passion is for living and living each day to the fullest. The combination of the two truly make BEAUTY DAY a wonderful film.
Films to watch prior
Do you want to get yourself in the mood for BEAUTY DAY then we recommend checking out
Screens With the Short Films
Trailer
We Would Like to Thank
