Mockumentary gets criminal

With a taste for comedy, a well-dressed ex-con shares a recipe for the camera in the mockumentary The Notorious Newman Brothers.

“Do you know what the key is for a good tasting sauce?”, says Thunderclap Newman. “It’s flavour.”

Donning sunglasses, he imparts his wisdom to his documenter in the latest indie film by Ryan Noel and brothers Jason and Brett Butler. The trio wrote and stared in the film, with Noel directing.

The mockumentary will be playing June 26 at 9:30 p.m. at the ReelHeART Film Festival.

Thunderclap with brother Paulie — played by Brett and Jason respectively — are fresh out of jail, and they call up desperate filmmaker Max Chaplin, played by Noel, to make a documentary about their tough gangster lives.

From there the fun begins.

“I would say 75 percent (of the film) was improv,” said Jason Butler when asked about the dialogue. “Our corky sense of humour took over.”

The Butlers are not new to the Toronto indie scene, after having three previously released films, but there is concern about the state of industry.

“It’s really tough to get the buzz out there against the big boys,” said Jason. “I don’t think you can get more hardcore than we are … We really do things on our own and are out of the loop.”

Still he said he is optimistic about the latest project.

“From the buzz we’ve been getting so far this is (our best film) yet,” Butler said. “There’s no reason to think this won’t launch us just a little further along in our master plan.”

Butler compares the lifestyle of an indie filmmaker to that of up-and-coming musicians.

“We kind of see ourselves as a rock and roll band,” he said. “We’re taking it to the people, doing the tour, putting the miles.”

With The Notorious Newman Brothers, the Butlers and Noel hope to hit platinum.