Goin' Down the Road

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Goin' Down the Road

PG

1970

1h 30m

Drama

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4 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

In rural Nova Scotia, childhood friends -- Joey (Paul Bradley) and Peter (Doug McGrath) -- set off in search of a better life in the big city. After arriving in Toronto, the pals find meager but steady work at a soda bottling plant. Joey then learns that his girlfriend, Betty (Jayne Eastwood), is pregnant with their child. But the happy occasion is dimmed by a setback when both Joey and Peter are let go from their jobs, and must now figure out some way to survive in the city.

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Goin' Down the Road is about hard times here and now, and it's the best movie to hit town in a long time.

Rated: 4/4

Oct 23, 2004

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

I enjoyed it but probably would have been into it more if I saw it back in the 1970s.

Rated: B

Apr 4, 2020

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Fernando F. Croce

CinePassion

All is chronicled by Donald Shebib with a documentarian's eye for granular verity

Nov 20, 2013

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...Goin' Down the Road is still surprisingly relevant today.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 6, 2003

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Audience Member

Captures the realism of a documentary in narrative form.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

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Audience Member

I'm pretty glad I never saw this growing up. So depressing. Thank goodness this never represented the Canada that I knew.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

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Audience Member

This "Canadian Classic" in bleak dramas has its merits in very effectively portraying the lives of two bumpkins from Nova Scotia in the 1970's who migrate, like many eastern Canadians, to the big city in Toronto, in search of a better life. Not a good advertisement for the sophistication of Nova Scotians. I don't rate it all that highly, for the reason that i am not a fan of bleak dramas - particularly the more depressing ones that are difficult to watch, which intersperse extreme tedium with banality and tragedy.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

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Audience Member

Some real Canadiana from some time ago.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

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Audience Member

In a era of High Def, and visual stimulation to the max 'Goin' Down the Road' Takes you on a road trip like no other. The raw documentary style brings you face to face with the realisim of what life is really like in the "big city" Doug Mcgrath nails it with his edgy "who cares" attitude, while Jayne Eastwood captures everything in just one look.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

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Audience Member

Canadian classic about two guys from Nova Scotia heading to Toronto with high hopes of improving their lives but end up as the architects of their own failures. Depressing at times but feels real. Rare film that gets better with repeated viewings.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

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Donald Shebib

Director

Doug McGrath

Peter

Paul Bradley

Joey

Jayne Eastwood

Betty

Cayle Chernin

Selina

Nicole Morin

Nicole

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Synopsis

In rural Nova Scotia, childhood friends -- Joey (Paul Bradley) and Peter (Doug McGrath) -- set off in search of a better life in the big city. After arriving in Toronto, the pals find meager but steady work at a soda bottling plant. Joey then learns that his girlfriend, Betty (Jayne Eastwood), is pregnant with their child. But the happy occasion is dimmed by a setback when both Joey and Peter are let go from their jobs, and must now figure out some way to survive in the city.

Director: Donald Shebib
Producer: Donald Shebib
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Nov 19, 2002
Runtime: 1h 30m