Tony Hale plays a schlub obsessed with Elizabeth Banks in the sweet and quirky ‘Eat Wheaties!’ [CIFF]

Scott Abramovitch either works with the best casting directors in the business (Catherine Stroud and Lisa London in this case) or he had an incredibly persuasive pitch for Eat Wheaties!, his feature directing debut that’s stacked top-to-bottom with an incredible roster of comedic greats.

Tony Hale (Veep, Arrested Development) stars as Sid Straw, a meek office worker whose life changes when he is named co-chair of the upcoming University of Pennsylvania’s reunion. After creating his first Facebook account, he sees that actor Elizabeth Banks is an alumnus, and remembers that they were acquaintances decades earlier (“Eat Wheaties!” was her catchphrase). That sets poor Sid off on a mission to contact Banks and persuade her to attend the reunion while proving to his unimpressed co-workers and family that he indeed knows a real-life celebrity. Unfortunately, like many adults who discover Facebook later in life, Sid doesn’t realize that his wall postings are public, which causes his heartfelt messages to Banks to go viral, throwing his sheltered life into disarray.

An awkward cringe-comedy with plenty of heart, Eat Wheaties! is one of the most enjoyable films of the year. Tony Hale imbues Sid Straw with the perfect mix of loneliness and ineptitude; he’s not cruel or swarmy, but someone who can easily fall through the cracks in life through no real fault of their own.

With an absolutely ridiculous supporting cast including Alan Tudyk (Firefly) as a former University bro, Elisha Cuthbert (Happy Endings) as Sid’s snarky pregnant sister-in-law, Rizwan Manji (Schitt’s Creek) as Sid’s boss, and Paul Walter Hauser (Richard Jewell) as Sid’s goofy lawyer, not a minute in this film goes by without another deep casting cut that’s sure to have you enthusiastically pointing at the screen.

At just 86-minutes, Eat Wheaties! is a refreshing watch that feels like a comedy from a bygone era. Abramovitch (who also wrote the film, based on the novel The Locklear Letters by Michael Kun) keeps things moving along quickly enough that even the more over-the-top moments in the film never have a chance to overstay their welcome. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s filled with plenty of endearing performances and enough laugh-out-loud moments to make this an easy recommendation. It’s almost a shame that this great ensemble cast has to be split up but Eat Wheaties! is a great calling card for whatever Scott Abramovitch decides to work on next.

Eat Wheaties! is screening online as part of the Calgary International Film Festival through October 4. Tickets are available here.