Tara Spencer-Nairn Movies

One of the most popular comedy series in Canadian TV history, Corner Gas largely took place in a gas-station-convenience store located in the tiny Saskatchewan town of Dog River, halfway between Saskatoon and Regina--or, as the locals put it "40 Km. from Nowhere and Way Beyond Normal." In charge of the station was Brent LeRoy (Brent Butt), a comic-book freak who'd taken over the operation from his slightly cracked father Oscar (Eric Peterson). Brent's assistant was the incongruously well-educated Wanda Dollard (Nancy Robertson), a single mom whose never-seen baby son Tanner was one of the series' multitude of running gags. Managing the station's coffee shop was Lacey Burrows (Gabrielle Miller) a displaced intellectual, while hanging around the place for the express purpose of getting in everyone's way was Brent's best friend, caffeine-addled Hank Yarbo (Fred Ewanuick). The rest of Dog River seemed to be populated exclusively by the sort of wacky, self-absorbed eccentrics that one might find on Northern Exposure and similar cult-favorite series: Brent's (implicitly) heavy-drinking mom Emma (Janet Wright), trouble-prone local constables Davis (Lorne Cardinal) and Karen (Tara Spencer-Nairn), and so on down the line. The deceptively simple-minded dialogue, which always seemed to be improvised right on the spot, was actually quite barbed and sophisticated, yielding all manner of quirky nonsequiturs and oddball pearls of wisdom. A measure of the show's success in its native country was its steady stream of unexpected guest stars, including Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin), whose appearance marked the first time that a man holding this office ever showed up on a scripted TV series (it also proved to be a "last" for Martin, due to a major political scandal which toppled his administration not longer afterward). Equally popular was the series' whimsically inaccurate theme song, "Not a Lot Goin' On", by Craig Northey and Jesse Valenzuela. Although the multi-award-winning Corner Gas was widely distributed throughout the world after its CTV debut on January 22, 2004, it was not seen in the United States until picked up by Chicago's WGN Cable Superstation in the fall of 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

While imagining the childhood of Andy Warhol, Lou Reed once wrote, "There's only one good thing about a small town: you hate it, and you know you have to leave." A similar notion seems to have occurred to Mooney Pottie (Liane Balaban), a 15-year-old Canadian girl growing up in a village deep in the rugged coal mining area of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Mooney wants to be an artist and feels out of place among the rough-hewn villagers and her unsophisticated family. When her art teacher, Cecil Sweeney (Andrew McCarthy), tells her that he could arrange for her to attend an art institute in Manhattan, her parents refuse to allow her to go. Stranded in a place she hates, Mooney finally discovers a kindred spirit when new girl Lou (Tara Spencer Nairn) moves into the neighborhood. Lou's father was a boxer from Brooklyn, and she's inherited his talent for fisticuffs; Lou has a way with a sucker punch that soon has all the girls in town begging her to knock out their boyfriends when they get out of line. Mooney and Lou soon team up on a plan that will allow them to move on to bigger and better things. Canadian filmmaker Allan Moyle returned home for this comedy set in the mid-1970s, which features a soundtrack of classic Canadian rock, including vintage tracks by April Wine and The Stampeders. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Convinced that his employees are secretly engaging in sexual acts with the customers, untrusting full body massage parlor owner Lawrence (Richard Zeppieri) attempts to cement his suspicions by hiring new manager Conrad (Don McKeller) to investigate his employees. A seemingly placid and incompetent nice guy whose obvious tactics only serve to bond the girls together in keeping the hapless new manager in the dark, masseuses Lea (Lindy Booth), Betty (Tara Spencer-Nairn) and Cindy (Kira Clavell) execute a variety of clever tricks in foiling their boss' plan. It soon becomes obvious however, that both sides may have underestimated the tactics of their opponents. As a battle of wits between the protective Betty and the determined Conrad comes to a head, the characters all appear to have their own motivations in maintaining their position. Spending a year behind-the-scenes in the world of massage parlors in preparation for her lively and insightful debut, screenwriter and director Soo Lyu offers a unique comedy from a seldom seen perspective. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

One of several fictional films produced for the Animal Planet cable network, Big Spender was inspired by a real-life rehabilitation program sponsored by the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. Having spent most of his adult life behind bars, embittered petty criminal Eddie Burton (Casper Van Dien) is afforded the opportunity to turn his life around by participating in a work-release project caring for retired thoroughbred horses on a minimum-security farm. Although there's little love lost between the cynical Eddie and crusty, crippled farm hand Jake (Graham Greene), Eddie manages to connect with Big Spender, a worn-out race horse who has obviously endured a life of abuse. Through his efforts to save Big Spender from being destroyed, Eddie comes face to face with his own humanity for the first time. But will this new lease on life be enough for Eddie to earn the friendship of Jake and the love of pert female jockey Melinda (Tara Spencer-Nairn)? And what about Eddie's long-estranged seven-year-old son (Matthew Knight)? Filmed in and around Cambridge, Ontario, Big Spender debuted March 25, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi