If the trailer is any indication, audiences can expect a laugh a minute when they watch Cup of Cheer.
The latest film by director Jake Horowitz, written by him and Andy Lewis, was filmed in Orillia earlier this year. It stars Alexander Oliver and Storm Steenson in the lead roles.
The trailer was released Friday.
Horowitz, who splits his time between Toronto and the Orillia area, has described Cup of Cheer as a send-up of Hallmark movies, with a style of humour inspired by the likes of Airplane! and The Naked Gun.
The beginning of the trailer for Cup of Cheer — billed as “an X-mas-rated comedy” — could lead viewers to believe they’re in for a typical holiday movie.
“We wanted to trick the audience in the first bit to make them think it’s a standard Christmas movie and then shatter that expectation,” Horowitz said.
Mission accomplished.
It doesn’t take long for the comedy to kick in. And, there’s plenty more where that came from.
“The trailer has, maybe, six to 10 jokes in it, and the movie has 200 to 300 jokes,” he said, adding it’s not like some trailers that are crammed with only the best or funniest moments of a film.
Horowitz also directed All About Who You Know, which was shot in the Orillia area in 2018. Those who watch Cup of Cheer might see some familiar locations, just as they did while viewing All About Who You Know.
Bakes by the Lake served as the title café, Cup of Cheer. Filming also took place at Eclectic Café, Fern Resort, the Hog N’ Penny, the Leacock Museum and the Orillia Public Library.
It was shot in February, not long before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and that wasn’t lost on Horowitz when he started editing after filming had finished.
“The timing worked out because we were able to wrap a week or two before everything went into lockdown. I used the months of lockdown time to sit in front of the computer for about 16 hours a day to edit,” he said, adding there were many extras involved in scenes with large groups. “To sit there at home and watch scenes with a lot of people in them, and the kissing scene, was bizarre.”
A public, physically distanced screening of Cup of Cheer is in the works for November at the Orillia Opera House. The movie is also expected to be released on streaming, digital and video-on-demand platforms in November.
Watch for updates, including the upcoming “red band” trailer — for more mature audiences — on Cup of Cheer’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts.
