Ham and Cheese, 2004

Richard Wolanski is a sweet yet awkward loser, with the body of a man and the mind of a child.
He has decided to quit his job as King Waldorf, the mascot at Marineland theme park, to become
a big time actor in Toronto. There he meets the love of his life, Katie, a fellow actor who happens to
be his roommate's girlfriend. After getting terrible lessons from the world's worst acting teacher, he joins an alternative Fringe Theatre Troupe and soon finds himself in the organic, method-mad
world of no-budget theatre. When the troupe's leader doesn't show up for the opening night performance behind an abandoned sponge factory, it's up to Richard to pick up the reigns and
rally his cast mates…

Barry Goodson is an eager, confident but washed-out actor who is working at an auspicious
theatre company… as a subscriptions tele-marketer. He has struggled for years to make ends
meet in the acting business, still using an actor's headshot he had taken when he was 17. His
agent specializes in teen talent, his auditions routinely accentuate his utter lack of talent, and when he's not busy making a fool of himself, he's busy trying not to be jealous of his wife's success as
a bank manager. Finally, Barry gets the break he's been waiting for: a national commercial and
a plum part in a primetime movie-of-the-week! Of course, he can't even be seen in the commercial
and the movie-of-the-week's director kicks Barry off set after going through forty takes. Now broke, separated from his wife and living in a dingy hooker hotel by the waterfront, Barry has one last
chance for stardom: a headlining gig on the mainstage at Yuk Yuks Comedy Club. The only thing standing in Barry's way is his hubris and his own material...

Director: Warren P. Sonoda
Writing Credit: Mike Beaver, Jason Jones

Genre: Comedy
Colour, 88 minutes, Canada

Starring:

Jason Jones
Mike Beaver
Dave Foley
Scott Thompson
Samantha Bee
Jennifer Baxter

Reviews:

"A mockumentary that rarely lets up in the laugh department, "Ham & Cheese" is a must-see for anyone with the smallest thesping aspirations. High degree of face recognition, with veterans of "Kids in the Hall" and other northland tube shows on board, probably means that vid-shot effort would be worth a film transfer for distribs looking to take a chance on a potential cult classic." -Ken Eisner [Variety]

"...a superb cast who keep the fun flowing...laugh out loud..."
-Jens Hussey [Cinequest]

"...riotously funny...a remarkably promising feature debut for director Warren P. Sonoda."
-Michael D. Reid [Victoria Times Colonist"]

"...a humourous comedy...funny and likable..."
-Jason Whyte [efilmcritic.com]

"...a superbly directed, written, and acted film. A movie so funny and charming you'll be thinking about it for days after"
-Jakob Brzovic [jakeopolis.com]