Well here is a first. I've never heard of a Canadian western. The idea may sound promising or risky. What it turns out to be is delightful, a bit amateurish, but fun.

The movie is played mostly for laughs. Paul Gross is terrific. To be honest, the guy feels like a cross between Bruce Campbell and Matt Dillon to be honest. Gunless is definitely not a traditional western, but like all the best ones it has a fiery showdown, throwing in some satire for good measure.

Western and Comedy don't often come together. I think Blazzing Saddles is the only one that ever tried, either that or the only one which succeeded, (well there is also Shanghai Noon). Gunless, though far from the humour of Mel Brooks, offers something fresh amongst all the mediocre/gimmicky pre summer features currently running. If it has managed to get theatrical release in your country (to all my non-Canadian readers),go see it, if not rent it when in comes out in a few months.

This was my first look at the two principals, and I thought Paul Gross and Sienna Guillory acquitted themselves well given what they had to work with. This was billed as a comedy, but finds itself in between all out funny and serious revenge Western, and the effect leaves one a little off balance. What's interesting is the set up, in which gunslinger Montana Kid (Gross) arrives in Barclay's Brush somewhere in Canada quite under duress. We come to learn that he's on the run from American bounty hunters, but in the mean time, decides to avail himself of the good will that the few citizens in town have to offer. That is, except for blacksmith Jack (Tyler Mane),who gets on Montana's wrong side by 'stealing' his horse. That whole scenario was the basis for Montana forcing a showdown with the giant horseshoer, but with no one in town owning a gun, expectations for an eventual gun battle get watered down by film's end.

The character I got the biggest kick out of had only a mere presence in the story, and that would have been Graham Greene as the Indian sidekick N'Kwala to Canadian Mountie J.T. Kent (Dustin Milligan). Greene had such a natural presence in the story, he made even the slightest mannerism noteworthy without uttering a sound. There were others in the picture that seemed destined to play a more significant role but just went nowhere, like school teacher Miss Alice (Laura Bertram) and the coy Miss Adell (Melody B. Choi). Even the leader of the bounty hunters, Ben Cutter (Callum Keith Rennie),seemed to have been wasted as a major villain. He was disadvantaged quite easily at the finale in a showdown that had no tension at all.

So where I was hoping for a likely contender to "Blazing Saddles", this one missed the mark, even though the film turned in a relatively sanitized story line with no foul language or sexually explicit scenes. But then again, we didn't really need a lot of passing gas jokes around the old campfire to make it likeable, and I'd recommend the picture as fine, family friendly movie fare.

The Montana Kid (Paul Gross) is a stinky gun toting American outlaw who objects to being called common. He arrives in the Dominion of Canada to find the townfolks annoyingly helpful. Jane Taylor (Sienna Guillory) is a self-assured pioneer and a widow after killing her no good husband. The blacksmith is a giant who keeps helping him despite being called out to a duel. Hopeless corporal JT Kent (Dustin Milligan) and his native guide N'Kwala (Graham Greene) come sniffing around. Then bounty hunters come into town looking for the Montana Kid.

The central premise isn't funny by itself but that's all the movie is relying on. Paul Gross doesn't come off as a hardened killer. He doesn't have the swagger. There is a need for more and better jokes. This is still a watchable story with some interesting characters. It's just not that funny.