Five Great Films Set in Toronto

. . . and then, all of a sudden, there I was once again, back home in good old Toronto.

I first realized it waiting at a tiny Tim Horton’s in a local hospital lobby. I was seized by the urge to hug every other person in line. My partner in trials may not have been there, but I was nonetheless walking on air.

Of course, life being life, there’s no total escape from all pressures and obligations, but I’d rather suffer them while surrounded by friends and my family.

Now as I look back on all the videos watched, I realize how many were touchstones, lifelines reminding of a place I longed for, never knowing how soon I’d return.

Here are just five of my favourites seen, to which another five could easily be added. With luck, this list could grow on forever, yet never leave me tired of home.

Chloe (2009)

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“[I was overwhelmed by] the overt trappings of Toronto on full display: Allan Gardens, Beck and Royal taxis, the Cafe Diplomatico, the Maple Leafs, Now Magazine boxes, the Rivoli, and Yorkville, plus a clear appreciation for the music of Raised by Swans.”

Dog Park (1998)

* * * *

“The titular dog park is Trinity Bellwoods, between Queen West and Bloor in Toronto, and the locations betray not only the place, but the time the movie is set, with prominent references to Shift magazine and Twitch City. How could I not love it all?”

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Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2010)

* * * *

“Scott Pilgrim strings along a band and a girl in an alternate-reality Toronto rife with unpopular cultural references. Through a dazzling flurry of video game-isms, he finds a truer love of his life in the distant Ramona Flowers, an iridescent alternachick. If he doesn’t destroy himself, a succession of jealous exes might.”

Touch of Pink (2004)

* * * *

“Oh, it’s the oldest story in the book. Boy meets boy, boy loses boy, then goes to Toronto.”

“In the words of Cary Grant, it’s a ‘pretty swanky joint, for Toronto.'”

I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987)

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“[Sheila McCarthy] stars as spinster Polly Vandersma, a self-described “unsuccessful career woman” and “organizationally impaired” temporary secretary. She spends her free time biking around Toronto — “a gal on the go” — taking amateur photographs. She then returns to her modest home, to her plants, pets, and classical music.”