Then, King has to compete in the competition for Prime Minster candidacy, which involves contests in leg wrestling, urination, baby-seal clubbing, and ribbon cutting. Yes, I did say urination and baby-seal clubbing. After the series of matches, King ties for second place with his archnemesis Arthur Meighen (Brent Skagfor). Meighen is also based on a real-life Canadian Prime Minister. The winner of the contest ends up being Bert Harper (Mikhaïl Ahooja). In reality, Bert Harper was a journalist and friend of King’s. If you know anything about Canadian history, there is a rather impressive scene that expands on the circumstances of his actual death in a freakishly odd way that involves a narwhal.
From my best guess, as an American, The Twentieth Century might be multiple levels of hilarious for Canadians who know more about the real history of these people depicted in the movie. If you don’t, it’s still really weird and highly enjoyable. King suffers from a rather intense foot fetish, which hey, whatever, if that floats your boat. However, this fetish is pretty extreme in nature and reminds me of Dexter Fishpaw in Polyester. There’s an evil doctor named Dr. Milton Wakefield (Kee Chan) who has a sanitarium in Winnipeg, where King must’ve visited before the beginning of the film. Because before he visits the sanitarium, King has visions of the doctor and a very special cactus he gave him. Keep an eye on the cactus if you love gross-out spectacles.
“…multiple levels of hilarious…”
I don’t want to give away the puffin milk (you’ll get this reference after you see it) that is The Twentieth Century because of something about free cows… so you’re going to have to trust and believe you need to see this movie if you revel in weird sh*t, especially if you like Guy Maddin or are Canadian. I’ve seen other reviews reference John Waters, and I’ll say that it’s not necessarily so much similar to a John Waters film, but it is definitely one he would love to watch.
The Twentieth Century plays fast and loose with gender roles, which I love. Director of photography Vincent Biron lenses the movie similarly to the films of the 1920s. It has a Dr. Caligari-esque set design by Danny Boivin that is truly masterful and probably the best aspect of the movie. It’s definitely not really a William Lyon Mackenzie King biopic, even though it is; just with a lot more weird kissing, unconventional methods of self-satisfaction, and ice mazes. There’s also a very creepy bird puppet. This film really does have it all, so based on that, I think you should check it out as soon as possible.
"…plays fast and loose with gender roles..."
