Control Alt Delete

As befits its place as a low-budget Canadian comedy, Control Alt Delete has been suffused with a host of increasingly off-the-wall elements that slowly but surely negate the film’s few positive attributes (eg star Tyler Labine’s surprisingly layered performance). The storyline follows young computer programmer Lewis Henderson (Labine) as he attempts to solve the Y2K problem for his company, though this proves to be far less problematic than his newfound penchant for having sex with computers. Writer/director Cameron Labine does a nice job of establishing the off-kilter day-to-day shenanigans of the central character, with his blossoming relationship with a pretty coworker (Sonja Bennett’s Jane) certainly the movie’s most promising aspect. There quickly reaches a point, however, at which Control Alt Delete is irredeemably consumed with off-kilter attributes, as the film’s unreasonably over-the-top premise (a guy becomes obsessed with screwing computers? Really?) has been augmented with several eye-rollingly silly subplots and interludes (eg one of Lewis’ coworkers is slowly losing feeling in his whole body). The tedious atmosphere forces one to search desperately for something of interest to latch onto, with star Labine’s oddly-configured facial hair inevitably becoming a focal point for one’s progressively wayward attention. The end result is a misguided effort that essentially represents everything that’s wrong with Canada’s movie scene, as filmmaker Labine’s quirky-for-quirky’s-sake modus operandi ultimately lends the proceedings a distinct vibe of needlessness.

*1/2 out of ****