As lost-in-the-burbs Trevor MacIntosh, a 23-year-old Vancouver virgin trying to leave home, Tom Scholte makes a strong impression with his low-key Canuck Woody Allen impression: "It's all been downhill since breast-feeding" is how he sums up his romantic history. Dry wisecracks are just about all he can muster, though, because Trevor feels steamrollered by just about everyone, including his macho older brother (David Lovgren), overprotective mom (Babz Chula), and tomcatting dad (Kevin McNulty).

His attempts to connect with a neurotic actor (Laara Sadiq) are a bit forced. "I feel we've reached the point of eclectic pluralism," he coos to her, "where the symbol itself has become impotent." By the end of the date, so has Trevor. His next affair, with a grungy groupie (Michelle Beaudoin), also fizzles. That's when he hooks up with Charlotte Peacock (Micki Maunsell), a successful artist in her 60s who accepts the lad without expectation.

This Harold and Maude relationship, even if it takes some getting used to, is handled in the lightest possible way. The same can't be said of a subplot involving Trevor's new roommate, Reg (Kelly Aisenstat), a nebbishy would-be boxer who seems to be around solely for sitcom purposes. It's the only misstep in local writer-director Bruce Sweeney's award-winning tale, which otherwise skates smoothly between dark laughs and deep feeling.

David Pelletier's cool black-and-white photography ranges from washed-out lakeside scenes to spooky suburbs at night. An acoustic jazz score, credited to the pseudonymous Sweet Dick Willie, initially adds irony but soon becomes sluggish and repetitive. The rough edges, though, are smoothed by consistently witty dialogue, with references ranging from Jean-Paul Sartre to Snoop Doggy Dogg–sometimes in the same conversation. Best of all, Sweeney handles all the characters, whether sweethearts or skunks, with equal affection.