The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 mockumentary

Mockumentary

A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...

 film, released in 2005. Written and directed by Michael Mabbott, the film stars Matt Murphy

Matt Murphy (Canadian musician)

Matt Murphy is a Canadian musician and actor. He is perhaps best known as the vocalist and guitarist of 1990s band The Super Friendz.-Music career:...

, a musician previously associated with the bands The Super Friendz

The Super Friendz

The Super Friendz are a band from Halifax, Nova Scotia, active between 1994 and 1997, reforming in 2003. Contemporaries of Sloan, their early work was on Sloan's Murderecords label.-Origins:...

 and The Flashing Lights

The Flashing Lights

The Flashing Lights were a Canadian alternative rock band, active in the late 1990s and early 2000s.Originally a side project that primarily played as a cover band when Matt Murphy wasn't occupied with his primary band The Super Friendz, the band consisted of Murphy on guitar and lead vocals, Gavin...

, as Guy Terrifico, a country

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 singer releasing his first album since disappearing — and being long rumoured to have died — three decades earlier.

The film's cast also includes Natalie Radford

Natalie Radford

Natalie Radford is a Canadian actress. She has acted in various television shows and movies, including Darcy's Wild Life and Jewel.- Television :* Murdoch Mysteries - Daisy Hanson...

 and Jane Sowerby, as well as appearances by Kris Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson

Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...

, Merle Haggard

Merle Haggard

Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...

, Colin Linden

Colin Linden

Colin Linden is a Canadian musician, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with a wide variety of artists including Bruce Cockburn, Lucinda Williams, T-Bone Burnett, Colin James, Leon Redbone, Rita Chiarelli, Chris Thomas King and The Band.Linden is primarily a electric blues guitarist,...

, Ronnie Hawkins

Ronnie Hawkins

Ronald "Ronnie" Hawkins is a Juno Award-winning rockabilly musician whose career has spanned more than half a century. Though his career began in Arkansas, USA, where he'd been born and raised, it was in Ontario, Canada where he found success and settled for most of his life...

, Donnie Fritts

Donnie Fritts

Donnie Fritts is an American session musician and songwriter. A recording artist in his own right, he has been Kris Kristofferson's keyboard player for over twenty years...

, Levon Helm

Levon Helm

Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm , is an American rock multi-instrumentalist and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and frequent lead and backing vocalist for The Band....

, Jim Cuddy

Jim Cuddy

Jim Cuddy is a Canadian singer-songwriter primarily associated with the band Blue Rodeo. He has also recorded three solo albums with the Jim Cuddy Band, which features musicians Bazil Donovan, Colin Cripps, Joel Anderson, Anne Lindsay and Gavin Brown...

, Greg Keelor

Greg Keelor

Greg Keelor is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as a member of the band Blue Rodeo, where he shares song writing and vocal duties with Jim Cuddy. Keelor has also released three solo albums and appeared as a guest musician on albums by Crash Vegas and Melissa McClelland...

, Rob Bowman

Rob Bowman (music writer)

Rob Bowman is a contemporaneous Canadian professor of ethnomusicology and a music writer. He currently lives in Toronto with both his children....

 and George Stroumboulopoulos

George Stroumboulopoulos

George Mark Paul Stroumboulopoulos is a Canadian television and radio personality, best known as the host of CBC Television's George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight and being a VJ for Canadian music television channel MuchMusic...

 as themselves.

Murphy and Mabbott wrote the film's music. The songs "Just a Show" and "Make Believe" were nominated for Best Original Song at the 26th Genie Awards

26th Genie Awards

The 26th Genie Awards were held on March 13, 2006 to honour films released in 2005. The ceremony was held at the Carlu theatre in Toronto. The ceremony was hosted by Lisa Ray and Terry David Mulligan.-Best Picture:...

.