#TIFF26: “TRASH MOUNTAIN” REVIEW

By David Baldwin

Gavin (Caleb Hearon) is a queer drag show emcee living in Chicago. During a show, his sister Abbi (Zooey Deschanel) calls to let him know their estranged hoarder father has died and that Gavin needs to return to his childhood town in Missouri as soon as possible to help with the funeral planning and more importantly, assist in clearing out the junk from their father’s home.

TRASH MOUNTAIN may sound bleak from the outset, but it manages to pack a lot of heart and emotion into its 90-minute runtime, not to mention many laugh out loud moments. The script – co-written by Hearon and Ruby Caster – is quick witted and has a lived in quality, likely due to the film being at least inspired by Hearon dealing with his own father’s death. TRASH MOUNTAIN does feel a bit slight in some instances, especially when it attempts to dig under surface level observations. It feels content to just hint at the deeper pains facing Gavin and Abbi, giving precious little time for any form of examination or thought that goes beyond snarky commentary between the pair at the dinner table about their upbringing. None of this takes away from how lovely a little gem the film is; rather, it just feels like a missed opportunity to have become even greater.

Hearon (who you might recognize from The Devil Wears Prada 2) is terrific as Gavin, bringing a real warmth and hysterical matter-of-factness to the character. He has winning chemistry with Jaboukie Young-White (who plays a Grindr hookup) and really soars when he plays off Deschanel, who is in tune with everything he throws at her. I wish we got a bit more depth from her and a bit more emphasis on her relationship with her husband played by Splitsville’s Kyle Marvin, but still thought she was quite effective from start to finish. Even better is Jacki Weaver, who plays Gavin and Abbi’s grandmother. Her character is overbearing and totally out of her element, and Weaver plays her with a chaotic precision that practically steals the show every time she opens her mouth.

TRASH MOUNTAIN screens at TIFF ‘26:

Fri. Sept 11 at 5:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre

Sat. Sept 12 at 9:00 PM at Scotiabank Theatre

Sat. Sept 19 at 5:30 PM at Scotiabank Theatre

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