MOVIE REVIEW

A young man searches for something beyond money in a film written by Douglas Coupland.

By Kevin Crust, Times Staff Writer

Not the Al Gore-fueled eco-fantasia implied by the title, the Canadian comedy "Everything's Gone Green" is instead a genial tale of a young man's disillusionment when he realizes that everybody's working the system for their own gain. Penned by Gen-X progenitor and author Douglas Coupland, the film not surprisingly explores some of the same themes — the difficulties of moving into adulthood, individual freedom versus corporate culture and the emptiness of material wealth — that brought the writer to prominence in the early '90s.

Paolo Costanzo stars as Ryan Arlen, an artsy 29-year-old Vancouver technical writer whose girlfriend tosses him out and his company fires him on the same day. A stroke of luck lands him a job at the provincial lottery board writing profiles and photographing winners for its magazine. Similar fortune at the site of a beached whale introduces him to a pretty Chinese Canadian set dresser named Ming (Steph Song). Unfortunately for Ryan, Ming is romantically involved with Brice (JR Bourne), a jerky golf course designer/Yakuza money launderer.

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The film's tone is on the sitcom side, but its likable cast and zany subplots make it palatable. Bourne and Aidan Devine, as Ryan's boss, have nicely off-kilter takes on familiar characters that increase the laugh factor, and Costanzo's bemused disappointment adds a layer of irony that complements Coupland's sentiments. Director Paul Fox and cinematographer David Frazee capture a Vancouver seldom seen in movies — one of the film's running jokes is that the city is always standing in for other places in Canadian-shot productions — showcasing its surrounding natural beauty to great effect. A breezy indie pop soundtrack featuring Black Mountain, Jason Collett and Sloan emphasizes the film's strong air of Canadiana.

In his frustrating search for the authentic, Ryan discovers the many meanings of green and exactly how easy it is to get corrupted. It's a meandering path, and what feel like languorous throwaway lines and scenes turn out to have significance. Coupland and Fox do a nimble job of incorporating seemingly tangential points that are deceptively relevant to the larger issues.

kevin.crust@latimes.com

"Everything's Gone Green." MPAA rating: R for some language, sexual material and drug content. Running time: 1 hour, 33 minutes. At Laemmle's Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 848-3500; Laemmle's Playhouse 7, 673 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 844-6500; and Regal/Edwards University Town Center 6, 4245 Campus Drive, Irvine, (949) 854-8818.