Mile End Kicks: Movie Review

A sweet and genuine rom-com that becomes tiring instead of funny.

Grace (Barbie Ferreira) is a young, idealistic music critic who is moving from Toronto to Montreal to make it big and because Montreal is cool and Toronto is not cool. That’s me paraphrasing the main character who is as immature and self-absorbed as coming-of-age rom-com heroines are. There’s a reason this type of low-confidence but high-selfishness protagonist is popular – because they’re funny.		2025 Directed by: Chandler Levack Screenplay by: Chandler Levack Starring: Barbie Ferreira, Stanley Simons
There are a number of laughs to be found early in the film as Grace lands in an apartment with an awkward relationship and then falls for an indie band’s lead singer who is obviously a collection of red flags from every single word that comes out of his mouth. But Grace is oblivious, mostly because she’s very self-absorbed and partly because he’s hot. And so begins this coming-of-age romantic comedy about a young woman finding her way in life and meeting a whole host of emotionally unavailable boyfriends. The director, Chandler Levack, has said that this film is autobiographical, and then she also added “this isn’t just a coming-of-age rom-com but is actually a love letter to Montreal.” For those who don’t know, Mile End is the name of a Montreal neighbourhood famous for artists, bands, poets, musicians getting their first start there. The problem is she said that last quote without a hint of irony as if that concept of a love letter to a city is new and cutting-edge. But that genre, like this film, gets tiring fast. Mile End Kicks has an authenticity to it, and it’s also sweet and genuine, since it is based on the director’s own life. However, the selfishness of the lead character is exhausting. After a few too many awkward situations that she causes, the problem is Grace and she’s not so funny anymore. The film loses its humour as it starts introducing way too many storylines in its second half and then rushes towards its romantic comedy ending. Which is the next big problem. This movie should not have a romantic ending, because that’s not this movie. We should be laughing at the emotionally immature, completely problematic artists that she calls boyfriends, not rooting for an ill-fated romance. I know audiences are tired of inauthentic rom-coms that aren’t about anything real. At least Grace is real, the people that come in and out of her life are real, but this is a tiring genre with an exhausting lead character that it does not remain funny, and it never is romantic in the first place.