Charlie Murphy, left to right, Will Sasso and Gabriel Hogan are shown in a scene from "Moving Day." THE CANADIAN PRESSA/HO-Alliance Films

TORONTO - The everyday Joes who lug furniture all over Halifax and Dartmouth, Ont., in Mike Clattenburg's poignant comedy "Moving Day" are spinning their wheels and going nowhere fast.

And it's their earnest, albeit flawed, attempts to get out of a rut that attracted Victor Garber to the project in the first place.

The former "Alias" star says he has a lot of sympathy for his daffy character, Wilf — a neurotic furniture store boss and dog lover whose quirky temperament belies some very private woes.

"The character of Wilf is like anybody — you think he's one thing and then you find out he's much more than that," Garber said during a recent phone interview from Kelowna, B.C., where he was vacationing.

"All of these characters are, I think, multidimensional. He's kind of a tragic figure in a way but also he's a survivor. He's someone who is in business and who is trying to make his way and does things that maybe he's not proud of but from his perspective, like all people, you do things that you have to in order to stay alive and afloat."

Such is the plight of most the misfit characters here.

Nice guy Clyde, played by "MADtv" alum Will Sasso, is a dreamer who just wants a good-paying job and time with his kids but can barely make ends meet working at Redmond's Furniture & Moving.

His co-worker and best pal Cedric is a smart-mouthed ex-con trying to shake a dark past, while their cocky lead driver A.J. can't keep his hands off women and booze.

There's a delicate blend of comic, surreal and dark tones here, notes co-star Gabrielle Miller, who plays Clyde's harried sister Linda.

The former "Corner Gas" star credits that unusual touch to director/co-writer Mike Clattenburg, best known for creating the rude-and-crude "Trailer Park Boys."

"It's funny and it's heartwarming and it's kind of heartbreaking and it's different," says Miller, struggling to sum up the film's tone.

"He's so good at storytelling and he's so good at creating these incredibly well-developed characters that are so layered, that all have heart and are all super-funny. And flawed."

Most of the action is set at the shabby furniture shop and Miller delights in revealing the space is a real, working store in Dartmouth already perfectly styled with trippy wallpaper and geometric-patterned mauve carpet that harken back to another era.

Garber says the dated decor helped him get in touch with his character, but admits he was at first thrown off by Clattenburg's reliance on improvisation. He says frequent on-the-spot performances were incorporated into the shoots.

"Every scene we did, we would do an alternate scene where we would just sort of add things or take away things or make up things," says Garber, whose notes his limited improv experience pretty much starts and ends with brief appearances on the Lisa Kudrow comedy "Web Therapy."

"(Clattenburg) really looks for an authenticity and a truthfulness in the scene that can only come from the script and improvisation."

Garber's other upcoming projects include the Hamilton-shot feature "I'll Follow You Down," a family drama written and directed by Richie Mehta and starring Haley Joel Osment, Rufus Sewell and Gillian Anderson.

He'll also soon begin work on NBC's sudsy "Infamous," a midseason serial about a wealthy clan tied into the pharmaceutical industry.

But Garber says his biggest leap of faith could be a foray into a singing career.

The veteran stage and screen star is gearing up for two New York shows he describes as an eclectic mix of Broadway tunes (think "Godspell," "Sweeney Todd," "Assassins," "Damn Yankees"), personal favourites (Leonard Cohen and Billy Joel songs) and a smattering of stories from his lengthy career.

"It's an experiment for me and at this age, that's a very bold thing," he says. "If it works, then I'll consider doing it other places."

The shows are set for Aug. 13 and 20 at 54 Below, a club located in the basement of the old Studio 54.

"Moving Day" opens Friday in Toronto and Halifax.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2012