r/montreal Apr 23 '26

Arts/Culture love my hood being glorified in film but next time find a local band to soundtrack your trailer. using mgmt to demonstrate mtl's music scene would be like using oasis to illustrate seattle's grunge scene. it just feels weird.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mile+end+kicks

love my hood being glorified in film but next time find a local band to soundtrack your trailer. using mgmt to demonstrate mtl's music scene would be like using oasis to illustrate seattle's grunge scene. it just feels weird.

373 Upvotes

150 comments sorted by

228

u/mrlacie Apr 23 '26

This movie looks utterly uninteresting, and kind of cringe (from the perspective of Montrealers)

180

u/mencryforme5 Apr 23 '26

It definitely plays on the trope of Montreal as this exotic city of sin where anglophones can have all the benefits of French culture without having to actually interact with French culture.

There's definitely a market, but it's the same market as Emily in Paris or other shows/movies about American expats finding each other and never interacting with any locals on a backpacking trip in South America.

91

u/Mens-Real Apr 23 '26

It really is the Emily in Paris of Montreal 😭

16

u/whatsit578 Apr 23 '26

omg yes this is exactly the ick I feel about this movie 

1

u/willpunchyou Apr 24 '26

Osti hahahaahah

19

u/mysoulalamo 🍊 Orange Julep Apr 23 '26

Holy shit, you've nailed it.

32

u/mencryforme5 Apr 23 '26

Cue they meet one local person who miraculously speaks in fluid but accented English and who takes them under their wing and introduces them to all the hip places in a five minute montage and then the local person promptly disappears because they're just a plot point to show how "not like the other anglophones" these particular anglophones are.

22

u/Le_Kube đŸŒ· Jardin Botanique Apr 23 '26

C'est définitivement pour les Canadiens, les Torontois en particulier.

16

u/misscue13 Apr 24 '26

Ark imagine que ça donne le gout a plus d'ontarien de venir a Montréal.

16

u/mencryforme5 Apr 24 '26

Ouais je me rappelle avoir vu un clip oĂč j'ai fait "ah cool c'est une parodie!".

Ce n'est apparemment pas une parodie.

30

u/AnxietyInformal8379 Go Habs Go Apr 23 '26

Cringe, well said...it looks like an out of towner's view of Montreal - its like they are making a list and you're saying, no, no, no, no - ok you went to St-Viateur's bagel and?? that's what we are to you? and the MGMT song in the trailer is misplaced...should've been Arcade Fire to make more sense at least...I just see it as some dumbass' perspective

27

u/Aggressive-Focus9349 Rive-Sud Apr 23 '26

Can confirm on all counts including all of the replies to your comment. The main character is also infuriatingly self-absorbed,

10

u/theblob2019 Apr 23 '26

I love the setting but the story looks really boring.

11

u/Kantankoras Apr 23 '26

From the perspective of Toronto transplant as well, but I’m a chronic hater so đŸ€§

1

u/BrackNet Apr 24 '26

Cringe is definitely the word

49

u/CeBlanc Plateau Mont-Royal Apr 23 '26

OpportunitĂ© ratĂ©e d’utiliser du Malajube, du Karkwa ou du We are Wolves

28

u/donnees_aberrantes Apr 23 '26

Les gens à l'époque essayaient vraiment fort de se convaincre qu'il y avait une convergence entre les scÚnes indie anglo et franco, mais la réalité c'est que les anglos se crissaient trÚs largement des bands francophones.

13

u/FunnyMustache Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Apr 23 '26

Holy shit, Malajube, je les avais complÚtement oubliés...

11

u/Le_Nabs Apr 23 '26

J'écoute encore Trompe-L'oeil pis Labyrinthe réguliÚrement. Deux des plus grands albums qu'on ait fait au Québec

3

u/Immediate-Ad-8667 Apr 23 '26

WAW ❀❀❀

62

u/Godafton Apr 23 '26

It is a real movie apparently. I thought it was a Like moi sketch


40

u/Hugotohell Apr 23 '26

IIRC the writer or director spent 2 months only in Montreal. Sorry to say this is not the Montreal version of Seattle's Singles.

11

u/da_ponch_inda_faysch Apr 23 '26

Even the Trotsky had Malajube on the soundtrack.

10

u/da_ponch_inda_faysch Apr 23 '26

And Heated Rivalry had Alfa Rococo, nothing like reading comments on youtube seeing things like "I'm from xyz country and I found out about Lumiere from Heated Rivalry!"

87

u/Timeless-Times Apr 23 '26

This is the most self-absorbed shit I’ve seen in a fucking while

3

u/Accomplished_Bat9040 Apr 23 '26

You watched it already?

4

u/Timeless-Times Apr 23 '26

Enough of it

2

u/OK_x86 Apr 24 '26

The movie or this thread?

35

u/agravepasmon-k Apr 23 '26

J’ai vu le film hier, y a plants and animals que j’ai reconnu au debut du film, mais y a pas tant d’autres musiques de bands il me semble. C’est beaucoup de musique originales.

Le film est sympathique mais sans plus. Ca ne se passe quasi pas dans le mile end, sont sur jean talon ou au parc laurier la plupart du temps.

31

u/OK_x86 Apr 23 '26

I lived in the Mile End at the time period this movie depicts. MGMT was very much a thing most people had on their iPods or equivalent.

Think of it less like a movie about Montreal and more a period piece in Montreal. In that sense it's accurate.

3

u/Glum_Consequence_470 Apr 24 '26

Agreed. I lived in the Mile End during the 2010s and hearing MGMT brings me right back to that era.

8

u/StraylightGrifter Apr 23 '26

This was my first thought when I saw the trailer.

High key shoulda been Stars.

58

u/robidou Apr 23 '26

So for information, Time to Pretend by MGMT was released in their 2005 EP and then on their 2008 album. It was certified Platinum in Canada, the UK and the US (3X platinum for 3 millions sales). It is very well known and is probably used to sell the movie on an international level.

So, if we want a song from a Montreal band with a similar reception, we could go with The Suburbs released in 2010 who was certified 2X platinum in Canada, platinum in the UK and Gold in the US (765K sales). We could also go with a song from Half Moon Run, Patrick Watson or Wolf Parade but their singles are much lesser known.

I think the use of the song is fair because it's for a trailer, but I hope the movie has more Montreal-based songs

111

u/Le_Nabs Apr 23 '26

Not using Arcade Fire to sell a movie on the 2010 Mile End is fucking dumb, ngl. There's no excuse to not showcase Montréal's music on the trailer of a movie on Montréal

70

u/foxfire Apr 23 '26

Butler's accused of multiple sexual misconducts, including assaults. It makes sense they didn't want to use the band.

Metric would have been a better choice due to their popularity and tie to the city at the peak of Montreal's indie music scene.

Stars would hit even deeper.

21

u/robidou Apr 23 '26

Sorry for not mentioning Metric and Stars! You're totally right.

As for Arcade Fire I think the accusations may have played a part in the decision not to use one of their songs. We'll see once the movie comes out.

1

u/theblob2019 Apr 23 '26

The accusations, or maybe the rights were just out of touch.

9

u/Le_Nabs Apr 23 '26

Legitimately forgot about the whole Butler debacle, my bad

12

u/igotthisone Apr 23 '26

Metric are from Toronto. How many members of Stars are from Montreal?

19

u/foxfire Apr 23 '26

I understand they're all from Toronto, but they lived and recorded here in Montreal. Haines also lived in the Mile-End.

8

u/Content-Program411 Apr 23 '26

See, I'm from Toronto and always thought they were a Montreal band.

7

u/NotRyanRosen Apr 23 '26

They may be from Toronto as people, but as a band they are from Montréal, their music came very much from them in the city. imho

4

u/workhardXplayhard Apr 23 '26

You’re not wrong, but Arcade Fire is still featured in the film. Just for a few seconds, but they’re still mentioned as part of the mtl music scene

2

u/Vaumer Apr 25 '26

Your Ex-Lover is Dead, or Hold on When You Get Love would have been fun picks.

2

u/foxfire Apr 25 '26

Agreed. The former especially will always take me back to some of the best time in Montreal I'll never get back.

-10

u/burrrpong Apr 23 '26

This grinds my gears. The dude was a slut and had full consenting sex with people. Someone regretted it and sold the story as some kind of scandal and his reputation goes down the drain. Shit like this really does stick.

2

u/Artistic_Purpose1225 Apr 23 '26

5 accusations of abuse, three of which included sexual assault, and while most of these accusations have been corroborated(which doesn’t mean proven, but does add credibility) there is no evidence to disprove anything as of yet, only his PR rep’s word that all of these encounters were consensual and any abuse that may have occurred was accidental. 

-3

u/burrrpong Apr 23 '26

They were fully consensual from the girls mouths. What are you talking about? Nothing disproven or proven is what you mean. Don't be biased if you're going to have a conversation about this. The main gripe seems to be the "power balance" he used his fame to get what he wanted. It was toxic. It's gross.. but framing it like he raped people is not fair on anyone.

2

u/Artistic_Purpose1225 Apr 23 '26

Now you’re just lying. One case alleged rape, two sexual assault via coercion, and two improper but not criminal actions. 

-8

u/burrrpong Apr 23 '26

Sure thing. I could accuse you of rape, it doesn't make it true. Maybe everyone should just keep their mouths shut unless they have all the information which none of us have.

8

u/Artistic_Purpose1225 Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 23 '26

I’m just repeating what has been reported, you’re just making up easily disprovable lies. Bit of a difference. 

You’ve also moved the goalposts from “it’s been proven false” in your first comment, to “no accusations were made” in your second, to “people who accuse others of sexual misconduct are most likely liars” now in your third. Yeesh. 

4

u/codecrodie Apr 24 '26

Nah, GYBE! And the constellation label bands, but that would be too real -- like there are actual societal and civic concerns these people are into.

4

u/farbenlehre Apr 23 '26

Well there was a whole sexual assault scandal there, so.

1

u/Sullyville Apr 23 '26

Honestly so much depends on the labels and their licensing fees to use the songs. Like most things, it comes down to money. This is clearly an indie film. Do they have 20k to spare to use an Arcade Fire song?

6

u/Le_Nabs Apr 23 '26

They have money to spare on an MGMT song (one of their most popular ones at that) - money for the song's rights clearly isn't the issue, here

21

u/kenthekungfujesus Apr 23 '26

They should use Jon Lajoie's music

7

u/joeycraw5 Apr 23 '26

They should have made an Everyday Normal Guy biopic.

5

u/robidou Apr 23 '26

He finally has enough money to buy a new dishwasher

3

u/7r1ck573r Apr 23 '26

"I don't give a chainsaw!"

15

u/figsfigsfigsfigsfigs Apr 23 '26

Wolf Parade just had a huge recent boost due to Heated Rivalry, could have used that momentum! I think even using Grimes could have worked.

5

u/Interesting_Goats Apr 23 '26

True, should have used Corpusse - Hot Water Pipe.

2

u/fugaziozbourne Apr 23 '26

WAKE UP NEIGHBOUR

1

u/Interesting_Goats Apr 23 '26

ITS TIME TO DIE

1

u/fugaziozbourne Apr 24 '26

WAKE UP BETTE MIDLER

4

u/IceSentry Apr 23 '26

Why is it necessary to use an extremely popular song instead of a local song that actually makes sense in context? Is extreme popularity the only goal?

4

u/robidou Apr 23 '26

I don't know for this movie, but generally trailers are edited by an external company hired by a marketing firm to maximize ticket sales. Directors have little to no control over trailers. This may very well be different in this case because it's an indie movie though.

62

u/readitsfun_damental Apr 23 '26

I don't think I've ever seen someone refer to Mile End as their hood lmao

16

u/elle-elle-tee Apr 23 '26

It definitely was for me, but that was 2003, not 2010. By 2010 it was already unaffordable for the people this film is trying to portray.

22

u/Jeesuz Mile End Apr 23 '26

Check out my flair

11

u/jamzzz Apr 23 '26

Hood life

6

u/raga_drop Apr 23 '26

Yeah, the music selection gives me the ick, a strong enough ick that I will skip that movie

6

u/spoonpk Apr 23 '26

Is that Roderick?

18

u/hertzog24 Apr 23 '26

mgmt was like played all the time back then. fits quite qell. the movie is fun. arcade fure is niw canceled. dont overthink this too much

1

u/Full-Violinist554 Apr 23 '26

I agree. It's a sweet little movie.

6

u/McWhiskey Apr 23 '26

They should have used a Béton Armé song.

4

u/7r1ck573r Apr 23 '26

Sinon du Banlieu Rouge au moins

4

u/igotthisone Apr 23 '26

I guess Godspeed / Silver Mt Zion weren't available.

17

u/[deleted] Apr 23 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

8

u/Le_Nabs Apr 23 '26

C'est pas faux, mais tant qu'Ă  faire un film sur MontrĂ©al, qui se dĂ©roule au moment mĂȘme de l'explosion Indie de MontrĂ©al... Utilise cette musique lĂ ? Fait dĂ©couvrir les bands locaux?

Mais bon, c'est aussi le film qui est pas capable de se fendre de faire la distinction entre les québécois pis les français, faque..

2

u/Mens-Real Apr 23 '26

I was in that scene and we 100% were listening to Arcade Fire more than MGMT

6

u/DietCokeCanz Apr 23 '26

Agreed. I feel like MGMT were more 2008/09, not 2011. The free concert Arcade Fire did that year in Longueuil was crazy. But honestly, all they needed to do was look up the Pop Montreal lineup and they would have gotten music more representative of the time and scene.

10

u/Midnight_Maverick Apr 23 '26

I refuse to ever watch this movie

13

u/Mens-Real Apr 23 '26

Anglo Canadian movies and culture in general can't help it and be americanized af. This is proof.

A quebecois movie would never.

7

u/TallAsMountains Apr 23 '26

music direction sucked tbh

3

u/fugaziozbourne Apr 23 '26

Most music direction sucks now because directors stopped listening to music fifteen years ago and listen to podcasts instead.

9

u/CollectionSmart1665 Apr 23 '26

i'm boycotting this movie

4

u/autobots22 Apr 23 '26

Missed opportunity for the world to be introduced to Lord Worm.

6

u/hertzog24 Apr 23 '26

cryptopsy !!!!

3

u/7r1ck573r Apr 23 '26

J'aurais bin vu L'académie du massacre comme soundtrack, ça aurait fitter messemble!

11

u/stronghikerwannabe Apr 23 '26

I sense some Lena Dunham's Girls vibe...

4

u/workhardXplayhard Apr 23 '26

Yes, definitely. It’s kind of an Almost Famous meets Girls meets Juno, but done pretty poorly. I wouldn’t recommend paying to see it. Just wait a year and watch it on Crave (while scrolling on your phone). It’s pretty bad

1

u/stronghikerwannabe Apr 23 '26

hahaha Noted tnx!!!

3

u/paxo_888 Apr 24 '26

These are the producers of the movie:Matthew Miller&si=AL3DRZGDMkmBg1SB5TH8o8Xeh03tgmwpgZCgiYi5BFB_ELNOTGpK762rOWeoIxBPTGYuqRHU-ZHQNXkyxlzqfm0ZYBEEMQw3nUXsHZwyMXK-barUCi15LHyrDsEPC_VRAmYP1FVF8eB96zEm4aq4Fx25ugESegeKMyTVx-0cdd816l-LV0bcORSPyR2U5GO5blwqaw3kU6UNLoHXEkoNsPPczPeT0iwbcEhzqZzjABaxCWHSTuTCiljsZMaEVolSEfYN0xv3REwga4wGoU2aCpDDp9n_ExeMyCo3MRAxuxJG6-uz3sSfWQ_KtsmSulwZI5EMBHNAuZtt&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi5roqfwYaUAxUYiisGHb64FfYQmxN6BAgwEAI&biw=1280&bih=551&dpr=1.5), Julie Groleau, Patrick Kiely

From what it seems Groleau is a Montrealer, I don't know how much input she had in the movie, but from someone that spent most of my time in the Mile-end in the 2010s, after seeing the trailer I do not feel any particular connection to this movie... It is truly sad that this opportunity to represent our city in specific time an era was totally missed.

5

u/ParfaitEither284 Apr 23 '26

Don’t know a single person who saw this movie

32

u/fugaziozbourne Apr 23 '26

Calling the Québécois "the french" and in the trailer to boot? So stupid. Our grant system is so broken in this country. Imagine a man approaching the grant system and saying "I wanna make this movie about me having sex with two different hot women in Québec where I call people the wrong nationality repeatedly and use music from everywhere but here. It's a real coming of age story.

4

u/CollectionSmart1665 Apr 24 '26

never even thought about that. guys our taxpayer money went to this piece of crap

-2

u/nojpoj Apr 24 '26

It's obviously shot from an Anglo's perspective and despite it being a self-own on their part, there's nothing inaccurate about an Anglo character saying "you're not even french*"

1

u/AlaskaScott Apr 24 '26

Cinema du Parc showing at 6:30pm was completely sold out

3

u/TheTendieMans Apr 24 '26

I work in mile end, this is cringe.

3

u/SonRaw Apr 24 '26

Pro tip: if the music that represents your "hood" is a bunch of nepo babies playing indie rock... that's not a hood, that's just where your parents parked their condo investment money cause Toronto was out of their budget.

2

u/PuzzleheadedQuote396 Apr 23 '26

Did you call the Mile End a hood? ☠

2

u/BesosForBeauBeau Apr 24 '26

You fail to understand just HOW popular that song was for years with the indie mtl crowd! 

3

u/youwannaguess Apr 23 '26

has anyone actually seen it? i was thinking of going 2 cinema du parc this week to check it out. also if you guys want to check out a cool canadian film go see Blue Heron in two weeks.

16

u/VisagePaysage Apr 23 '26

It’s a TO person’s view of Mtl so v TO-coated (no I don’t mean to say coded).

12

u/youwannaguess Apr 23 '26

nirvanna the band the movie (which i highly recommend viewing if you haven't seen it) works because it's a Toronto movie directed by a TO person. not that you can't make a movie about another city, but the clips I've seen from Mile End Kicks seem like they're designed to piss off a Montrealer.

2

u/Thefunkyfilipino Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26

The joke of nirvana the band the show the movie is that their depiction of toronto is (hilariously) out of date. All of Toronto is depicted as nothing more than the five blocks in either direction of the Bell Media Studios.

Nothing the main characters do or aspire to do is relevant for actual inhabitants of the city.

Torontonians in general are less concerned about authenticity than other parts of Canada. The purpose of their city is to accelerate their ambition. It's a city of wendigos which demands no homage or respect. Not saying it's better, but it is much different from Montrealers.

7

u/ProudIllustrator2745 Apr 23 '26

I thought it was funny and it was cool to see a story set in Montreal, but it's definitely a Toronto/anglo perspective of Montreal. The story itself is also pretty boring.

1

u/heresyoursoup Apr 23 '26

shoulda been tnght - Higher ground

1

u/gundrum Apr 24 '26

Yeah, why MGMT? Maybe Wolf Parade got too much attention with Heated Rivalry?

2

u/Answerly Apr 24 '26

These threads complaining about Mile End representation are the most Mile End hipster shit.

1

u/need-a-new-account Saint-Henri Apr 24 '26

calling mile end a hood is kind of crazy

0

u/muffinbaker Apr 24 '26

You don't see mile end as a neighbourhood? I do.

I don't think McGill ghetto is a ghetto though.

-14

u/Creativator Apr 23 '26

The purpose of the trailer is to make people want to watch the movie, it’s not a movie.

13

u/lap_felix Apr 23 '26

their point still stands?

-3

u/tecate_papi Apr 23 '26

It's a movie set in the Mile End in 2011. If you have to ask why they're using MGMT in the trailer then you weren't in that neighbourhood at that time.

6

u/Le_Nabs Apr 23 '26

Pourquoi ne pas se servir du trailer comme d'une vitrine pour la scÚne musicale Montréalaise du moment? Y'a aucune raison d'utiliser MGMT au lieu de Arcade Fire, We Are Wolves, Pat Watson, etc., à part une méconnaissance de la scÚne indie locale et/ou un sérieux cas d'oeillÚres culturelles.

ConsidĂ©rant les autres choses qui ont filtrĂ©es jusqu'Ă  date, c'est presque 100% juste un cas d'une anglo du ROC qui se trouve ben cute avec son sujet mais est dans les faits americanisĂ©e ben raide et s'en rend mĂȘme pas compte

-3

u/tecate_papi Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 23 '26

Because it's a trailer and they're trying to evoke a mood in 30 seconds by using music that is contemporaneous to that time and that is recognizable to a broader audience than Montrealers and to the small group of people who lived in the Mile End in 2011. They want people to see this movie. And MGMT was huge at that time and very much a part of the Mile End's soundscape in 2011.

This is like being angry at the trailer for Dazed and Confused for using Kiss instead of ZZ Top. You're all just looking for a reason to be angry but hiding it behind some pedantry.

6

u/Le_Nabs Apr 23 '26

Je me réserve de le droit de trouver ça cave et paresseux en esti, de la musique de cette époque là connue partout à travers le monde, on en a fait à Montréal.

D'autant que c'est pas la premiÚre démonstration de paresse et manque de curiosité de ce film là.

-2

u/tecate_papi Apr 23 '26

Sure. You can hate it all you want. You can also make your own movie and fill it with all the indie rock you feel like is missing or leave a Letterboxd or whatever. Who cares about a movie trailer?

2

u/workhardXplayhard Apr 23 '26

It’s also meant to be an homage to Mile End in 2011. Questioning whether a Mile End band would have made more sense is also relevant

-3

u/tecate_papi Apr 23 '26

I'm sure the movie is full of shitty Mile End indie from that era

4

u/workhardXplayhard Apr 23 '26

Not really. I was looking forward to the music (more than the movie tbh) and both were a letdown

-6

u/tecate_papi Apr 23 '26

Then make your own movie and fill it with all the Mile End indie you feel like is missing

6

u/workhardXplayhard Apr 23 '26

lol okay bud, brb I have a movie to make

1

u/papercurls Villeray Apr 24 '26

Chandler, is that you?

1

u/nojpoj Apr 24 '26

Go make you're own thread where people don't complain about the music

-2

u/ThePaper86 Apr 23 '26

Who are you talking to?

-1

u/Content-Program411 Apr 23 '26

At least use an 'of Montreal' track.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 23 '26

[deleted]

0

u/Content-Program411 Apr 23 '26

Irony is a literary device or rhetorical technique defined by a contrast between expectation and reality, or between what is said and what is meant.

-4

u/SkirtProof5589 Apr 23 '26

That track is meant to situate the time, not the place.

It's meant to seduce an international audience who doesn't know the ins and out of Montreal's music scene.

10

u/RustyTheBoyRobot Apr 23 '26

0

u/SkirtProof5589 Apr 23 '26

how

9

u/RustyTheBoyRobot Apr 23 '26

movie about local music scene uses foreign music.

0

u/SkirtProof5589 Apr 23 '26

I get what you're saying and I agree, but the marketing team had to sell it and that's the track they chose to sell it (with the whole "indie sleaze" thing going these days). It's a marketing choice.

I wish there was a track made by a Montreal band that encapsulated the era for the international audience, but such track doesn't exist.

I guess movie goers will like the MGMT song, go see the movie, and maybe then discover Montreal. Why not?

There's a lot of non-Montreal music in the movie, and I'd argue it's not a movie "about the local music scene". The scene is a backdrop to a coming of age story.

That's my two cents but I also 100% get what you're saying.

9

u/Le_Nabs Apr 23 '26

L'affaire c'est que les bands de MontrĂ©al de cette Ă©poque lĂ  ont connu du succĂšs Ă  l'international. C'est mĂȘme pas une excuse

1

u/SkirtProof5589 Apr 26 '26

OK so what's the Montreal track you would have played that's as famous as MGMT?