Alligator Shoes (1981) User Reviews

A quirky family, hard to like at first.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 20 March 2024]

I didn't end up loving this family by the end either, although I understood them a lot better. I certainly understood the one brother's desire to no longer live in his parent's home, especially after the very young aunt (an excellent Ronalda Jones) moves in, just having been released from an institution. At times, she seems completely normal, but her condition isn't always easy for the family to deal with, especially for the brothers played by Clay and Garry Borris.

Indeed, the two real life brothers do seem related, and while they have their differences, they seem inseparable. Younger brother Garry obviously needs his space, while the older brother spends a ton of time with his aunt who's more like an older sister. Unfortunately Jones is very troubled in the mind and that leads to a disturbing attraction from her towards him. He lets her down gently but even that isn't a consolation in her troubled lonely mind.

I enjoyed the Toronto setting and surrounding atmosphere, and the quirky story has its ups and downs. The acting isn't exactly what I'd call polished, nor is it bad, but probably something you'd uncomfortably witness in a neurotic family setting. That being said, I felt like I was looking in on something that I shouldn't be. Clay not only stars but writes and directs, and it's a noble achievement. Definitely something for the artsy crowd, not for general consumption.

I worked on this film. Clay Borris was way ahead of his time when he made Alligator Shoes.

[golem_number1 · 10 October 2004]

I did the sound recording for Alligator Shoes.

While a teenager, Clay Borris began writing and making films about his own, his family's, and his friends experiences while he was growing up in a poor east-end Toronto neighbourhood known as 'Cabbagetown'.

Clay Borris's family is very interesting. Clay's French speaking Acadian parents came from a very impoverished and poorly educated background in east coast Canada and moved to east-end Toronto in search of a better life for themselves and their children. Clay, his family, and their friends did what was necessary to try and succeed on the mean streets of Toronto. His mother, Rose, ran their home as a boarding house. His father, Albert, who was illiterate, taught himself to be an excellent auto mechanic and earned a Class A Journeyman Mechanic's license without any formal training. His friends earned money through scalping hockey tickets at Maple Leaf Gardens, and other similar activities (some very illegal).

In telling the stories about himself, his family, and friends, and using them in his films (Rose's House, Paper Boy, Alligator Shoes), I think he was well ahead of his time. In 1981, Alligator Shoes was recognized for its importance by film critics at Cannes and elsewhere but the public didn't "get it" until recently as evidenced by the popularity of 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' and 'Reality TV. Recent films such as 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' and 'Reality' TV are very similar to the Mise-en-scene of Alligator Shoes. Unfortunately Clay Borris hasn't been given the credit for his insight and vision. View his films 'Rose's House', 'Paper Boy', and Alligator Shoes and think of its 'reality' context and you will understand.

Clay, if you read this, get back to your roots. B.R.