This romantic comedy set in Winnipeg portrays a developing relationship between a young Filipino woman and a young Mennonite blue-collar worker who grew up in Morden, Manitoba before moving to Winnipeg.
Iris DelaCruz and Simon Friesen meet when they both help push a car out of a snowbank. Iris thinks he's someone else initially, so there's an awkward sorting out before she suggests they go for a drink together. Iris is the emotive, out-there personality, and she suggests they agree to tell secrets to each other because they don't know each other's last name, and they'll "never see each other again after tonight." So they do some fairly deep sharing--she's only slept with one, he's afraid of horses, etc.
Simon works with Gord as a painter, and Gord wants Simon to work in a porno film with him. Simon refuses, but in later interactions, we learn that Gord is sexually attracted to Simon. We learn that Simon and Iris have been thinking about each other when they accidentally meet in a deli, exchange phone numbers, and start texting. They're soon in a full-blown romance that Iris's family has serious questions about. Just before Iris and Simon first have sex, she tells him that she was married once but that it only lasted nine months. He confesses he's had sex with about 30 women. They muse on this but then proceed.
Simon realizes he's fallen in love with Iris and wants to sort his feelings out by taking a two-week trip by himself. He only tells Iris this at the airport, and she fears the worst--that he won't come back. He uses the phrase "sowing his wild oats," which she interprets as one might expect. At her sister's strong encouragement, she has a one-night stand but regrets it. When Simon returns, he says he loves her and asks her to move in with him, which she agrees to do. Her family, who has not met Simon, is concerned.
A major crisis emerges when she confesses to Simon about her one-night stand, and he reacts by walking out of the house in his stocking feet and disappearing. Iris is panicked by his disappearance and ends up going to Morden to look for him. While there, she learns he comes from a very challenging background. They go through another emotional crisis, and the movie finishes with a hokey (in my mind) ending.
I actually found this to be a very moving film. Now I am a sucker for romance movies, but I thought this was an interesting cross-cultural movie. Simon's "Mennoniteness" is thin, as there was nothing discernably Mennonite about him ethnically except for his name, and he certainly wasn't a practicing Mennonite. Iris's family spoke a lot of Tagalog, but Simon muttered nothing akin to Low German.
