In late 1999, computer programmer Lewis Henderson (Tyler Labine) is dumped by his girlfriend Sarah (Laura Bertram) after she realizes that his love of Internet porn outweighs his feelings for her. Now, with no flesh girlfriend to interfere, what started as an addiction to online smut turns into something much more tactile and hilariously creepy as Lewis becomes intimate with his computer. As this new romance with his silicon sweetheart blossoms, Lewis – screen name “Magneto” – finds himself under the gun at work, where he has just been put in charge of the Y2K conversion department. If his team of dedicated porn consumers and office backstabbers does not solve the programming riddle soon, the entire East Coast could sink into chaos. As the deadline approaches, Lewis's digital dalliances start to leak into the office, where he starts affairs with some of the newer models. To cover his tracks, he asks out Jane (Sonja Bennett), the new receptionist, who has her own suspicions about Lewis's motives.
Produced by Lynne Stopkewich and Stephanie Symns, writer-director Cameron Labine's debut feature is a biting and devious romantic comedy for the dot-com age. Lewis is a nerdy Everyman fulfilling the computer geek's ultimate fantasy. The depictions of his hard-drive lovemaking are among the most outrageous physical gags in recent comedy. Tyler Labine's natural performance is bolstered by a strong supporting cast, including Alisen Down as the high-strung boss and Geoff Gustafson as Lewis's cocky corporate rival. The quick, smart script offers both jocular critiques of amateur pornography and rather touching moments of emotional revelation.
Control Alt Delete is a film about secrets in the digital age and the potential for multiple identities offered by the Internet. Every character has an alternate life that exists online, outside the office. What drives the story is how these varying personalities resolve themselves away from the virtual world. Kinky, clever and funny, Control Alt Delete is a romantic comedy for anyone who lives at least part of their life in cyberspace.
Jesse Wente
Cameron Labine was born in Toronto and completed his B.A. in film studies at the University of British Columbia. He has made two award-winning, nationally broadcast short films, Room (01) and Chemistry (04). Control Alt Delete (08) is his feature film debut.