Well worth watching! An excellent story to add to the many 'on the road' movies that seem to be popular with writers and directors.This is the usual story of self discovery between two unlikely people that have different reasons to cross the vast stretch of land from coast to coast of Canada. I believe the intention of the director, Jason Priestley, was to show two very real people but everything in the story is not necessarily real. The viewer is won over by the charming portrayal of Cas & Dylan by Dreyfus and Maslany. This isn't a profound story to discuss nor think too much about, instead it offers us a fine story that works well, beautiful photography, and a chemistry between Dreyfus and Maslany that makes you care about their purposes to cross the country.This is a simple joyful and sorrowful film that delivers 90 minutes of good entertainment.

I admit, even as a Canadian, I am always a little wary of Canadian film. It hasn't always had the best reputation. Canadian Films tends to be low budget and go out of their way to be so called "uniquely Canadian" while sacrificing entertainment and sometimes plot to do that. I watch films to be moved and entertained so I don't care how "Canadian" it feels. I also admit I watched Cas & Dylan for one reason and that is Tatiana Maslany. I adore her. I have a huge crush on her and I think she is a brilliant actress. I base all of that on the fact that I became an enormous Orphan Black fan this year and I think she is awe inspiring in her multi-roles. I was excited to watch her in a film doing something a little different. Cas & Dylan starts out a little slow and then gradually works its way into your heart...not unlike both of our lead characters in the film. It is a sweet, fun, sad and maybe just a tad predictable story about two unlikely friends travelling across Canada. What started as an okay 6/10 movie ended with me having tears in my eyes and giving this a solid 8. It is well acted, carefully plotted and features two very, very good actors doing what they do best. Its a buddy film, a road trip film, a dark comedy and a deeply touching movie that will have you thinking about it long after its over.Of course I already pronounced my adoration for star Tatiana Maslany. She is charismatic, strong, and a complex character that you really have to watch to appreciate. She has a lot going on in this film and not all of it is explored but she does an excellent job. As in Orphan Black she commands your attention and carries the film flawlessly. She does this with the help of a legendary character actor in the form of Richard Dreyfuss. I've always enjoyed his work but its been a long time since I've seen him in anything. He is exceptional in this!! The chemistry between him and Maslany is near perfect and grows throughout the film as you watch their turbulent friendship unfold. Dreyfuss gives a subtle performance that you think about after and simply think...wow. The two of them are absolutely the backbone and focus of the film. Costs are obviously kept low by this being nearly a two person film with a few quirky characters along the way including a small role by Canadian legend Jayne Eastwood.Anyone who says "Jason Priestly" immediately makes everyone think 90210 but he has been a film maker behind the scenes for awhile now. He has done a lot of directing various types of Television series and honing his skills and I happen to think he did a very good job with this. It wasn't perfect, he certainly doesn't use the Canadian backdrop the way some directors would but to me...I couldn't care less. This is a character study through and through and he makes those characters come to life. Unlike many independent films the director did not write the film and this is a positive move as well. I don't think a writer very often knows how to properly direct their own work. Cas & Dylan is definitely not a mainstream sort of film but anyone who wants a nice story, a solid drama, with good performances and see something uniquely Canadian that is very entertaining and moving then you shouldn't be disappointed by this. Absolutely worth seeing especially if you too are a fan of Maslany or Dreyfuss! 8/10

"A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us." John Steinbeck The concept of a road movie featuring a mis-matched duo who don't get along, directed by Brandon from Beverly Hills 90210, sounds like a horrendous straight-to-TV movie. The reality is that this might just be this year's Little Miss Sunshine. It is a surprisingly sweet movie, tinged with darkness and light in equal measure. The plot centres around Dr Cas Pepper (Dr Pepper!!!), who at the start of the film is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and decides, rather than spend his few remaining days in a hospital bed hooked up to machines, he is going to go out on his own terms. At the same time Dylan, played by Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany, literally barges her way into the Doctor's life and the unlikely duo begin their journey "out west" where, along the way, Dylan plans to help Cas with his suicide note.The storyline is nothing new, however, what sets this apart is the two magnificent leads. Richard Dreyfuss delivers his best performance in decades, sidestepping what could have been a clichéd grumpy old man performance into a fully developed character that demands both sympathy and respect. Tatiana Maslany is practically incandescent, bringing Dylan to life with charisma and sadness that contradicts her front of being a fee spirit. Her obvious lies and exaggerations do not convey an irritating Zooey Deschanel level of kooky, but instead make the viewer pity the girl who is obviously inventing a life better than the one she currently occupies.Jason Priestley seems a bizarre choice for someone who is known primarily as a teen heart throb and has only previously directed television episodes. However, he displays a wonderful eye for both characters and visuals. The scenery, as the duo take their cross country trip through the various landscapes of Canada, is as beautiful as anything a Planet Earth documentary could show. For a film that is primarily just two people in a car talking, he avoids any gimmicky shots and shows a confidence in his two leads to hold the audience's attention. Priestley has shown hidden depth as an actor before in both Tombstone and the criminally underrated Love and Death on Long Island, which was sadly eclipsed by the similar Gods and Monsters. He is just as surprising as a director and one gets the feeling that his accomplishments behind the camera will soon outstrip his achievements in front of it.The film is laced with wonderful moments of humour and heartbreaking moments of tenderness that never leaves the viewer feeling emotionally manipulated. It is rare that comedy-dramas deliver on both fronts but this one does wonderfully. The unlikely trio of Dreyfuss, Maslany and Priestley has delivered a beautiful film that will hopefully find a deserved audience and, if nothing else, should see a rise in the sale of orange VW Beatles. You may leave the cinema with a tear in your eye but you will have a smile on your face. - See more at:www.followingthenerd.com

There are two ways one can conquer a road-trip across the vast landscape of Canada: you can cram everyone and everything into an old, cramped vehicle with a shaky engine and tires that are just as worn out as the seat cushions; or you can travel in relative comfort in a brand-new RV. Sadly, Jason Priestley's feature film debut Cas & Dylan is similar to that moment on any road trip when the big, luxurious RV passes the tiny little excuse for a car, gaining a jealous glare from its passengers. Cas & Dylan is that small automobile, left way behind eating the dust of other infamous Canadian road-trip films using the majestic Canadian landscape as an additional character which adds to the arduous journey of its protagonist(s). Although its roots travel back to its motherland Canada, the film is ultimately a boring road trip. Cas and Dylan chooses to always travel smoothly on asphalt, without ever getting its tires dirty by veering off road for a real adventure. Despite the miles travelled by the characters in the film, the audience stays parked in the driveway.First time feature film director Jason Priestley, famous for his role as teen heart-throb Brandon Walsh in the 90s drama Beverly Hills, 90210, seems to abandon the use of any genuine additions to the narrative thanks to a lacklustre and very familiar TV-style script from writer Jessie Gabe. Struggling to find a connection between his two main characters Cas and Dylan, played by the up-and-coming Tatiana Manslany and the seasoned Richard Dreyfuss, the film is constantly on a bumpy ride with forced meet-cutes, predictable stereotypes and cheesy one-liners.After learning of his inoperable brain tumour and the sudden death of a very close companion, Dr. Cas Pepper (Dreyfuss) decides that his career as a doctor has reached its end and wishes to continue the rest of his life living amongst the beautiful landscapes of British Columbia, Canada. While picking up the last of his belongings from home, Cas decides to make a quick stop at the hospital, picking up some essential medicine for his travels, only to be hassled by a familiar face in one of his operating rooms, a young woman by the name of Dylan Morgan (Manslany). Desperate for a ride to her boyfriends house, Dylan pesters Cas until he gives in to her request for a lift. What should have been a simple stop, turns into a hit-and-run incident that finds Dylan and Cas fleeing for their lives on the gorgeous Canadian open road.The open road narrative is, in my opinion, one of the most sacred and profound pieces of soul- searching artwork anyone can produce. From masterpieces like Jack Kerouac's On the Road, to Walter Salles' 2004 gem The Motorcycle Diaries, deeply complex revelations of identity and the open road seem to share a stark similarity: it is not others that teach you about yourself, it is life! Cas & Dylan is a film that not only makes every obvious reveals of its characters front-and- centre and without any ambiguity or thought, but its as if each new, profound character trait learned by our protagonists (mainly Dylan), indiscreetly yelled at the top of your lungs, and at the pit of one's diaphragm. At times, the film's obviousness is insulting to the genre. It quickly becomes clear that subtlety is not Priestley's forte.Lacking any confident finesse on screen, Priestley relies heavily on his actors to make the words on paper work, without much luck. Despite enlisting the help of veteran actor Dreyfuss and blooming television actress Manslany, it is still plainly obvious that this is a television movie, made by television talent. Dreyfuss hints at scarce charming, but mostly blunt and ineffectively weathered acting techniques, while Manslany outshines her co-star for the entire film, even if you have to dig through amplifications and over-acting to find her ability.Missing focus and substituting its greatest asset (which is the indescribable Canadian open road) for clichéd stereotypes of iconic Canadian-ness (long-winding highways, mountains and sunsets, ferries, etc.), the film becomes more of an idealistic portrait of a moving postcard than it does a motion picture. Often times, as its male protagonist describes as "being too easy", Cas & Dylan could simply be described as a film that took all the shortcuts possible to reach its destination, without making any emotional stops for its viewers. Sentiment is thrown out the window as easily as a candy wrapper and Priestley can be happy knowing that he has directed one of the most obvious made for television films of his career, despite it debuting on the big screen. Every journey is an adventure, and Cas & Dylan is a valiant effort by a proud Canadian talent who needs to learn from this journey so that he can venture off into original and risk-taking territory on others.