Whizbang Films has kicked off production on Cottage Country, which co-stars the lovely Malin Akerman, who drove fan boys wild as the second Silk Specter in Watchmen, and Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil‘s hefty and hilarious hillbilly Tyler Labine. As you can probably predict from the pairing of hot chick and schlubby dude, Cottage Country is a romance-centered comedy in which Labine and Akerman are a couple. More specifically, Labine plays Todd, a besotted young man whose looking to craft the perfect marriage proposal by taking his stunning girlfriend Cammie (Akerman) to his family’s quaint cottage. However, his plans are all for naught once his shiftless brother Salinger (Daniel Petronijevic) crashes their romantic weekend along with his dippy gal-pal Masha (the underrated Lucy Punch). Then, things turn dark when Todd’s mounting rage boils over into accidental fratricide, but Cammie sees no reason this needs to get in the way of their holiday and ultimate happiness. Or, as producer Frank Siracusa puts it, “Cottage Country is a comedy about brotherly love, deceit and murder – something we can all relate to.”
This year, Labine has been tearing it up in comedies for better or worse, but has solidly been painting himself as an engaging funnyman. And Akerman, after being relegated to a number of dismally written girlfriend roles, has finally been getting opportunities worthy of her talents. So, I’m eager to see the pair take on this gruesome caper. But what has me the most intrigued by Cottage Country is the involvement of director Peter Wellington.
Wellington has built a reputation in Canadian television, most notably as the director of every episode of Slings and Arrows, a superb comedy series that centered on a mentally unstable actor-turned-director (Paul Gross, who serves as executive producer on Cottage Country) who is haunted by the ghost of his estranged mentor. The acclaimed sitcom was whip-smart and wacky, yet often poignant, in each season mirrored a Shakespearean play in a clever and freshly captivating manner, never veering into being campy or precious. basically, with this credit alone I am intrigued to see what Wellington will do with Cottage Country.
How about you? Are you enticed by Cottage Country’s premise, first look, cast and crew?