What is it about us Scots that we can see humour in the blackest situations? If something bad happens we cry and we mourn, but we see the funny side at some point. That's the way we live, how we deal with the things that life throws at us.
Orphans is about a typical dysfunctional Scottish family struggling to keep their heads above water. Straightaway I saw my own life in that. It's set on the day before the funeral of the mother of four orphans - three grown-up sons and their sister - as they prepare to say goodbye.
I don't come from a Catholic family like the one in the film, but I recognise some of the humour in the scenarios and I certainly relate to the character of the eldest brother, played by Gary Lewis, who feels it's his responsibility to hold everything together.
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When I moved from Ardrossan to Glasgow in the 1990s, Orphans was the movie that I felt best represented my new home. It got to the beating heart of the city, it celebrated the good and the bad, the funny and the poignant. Like the scene where the sister - who's in a wheelchair - gets stuck on some cobblestones and is rescued by a gang of wee neds who then try to sell her a Daily Record.
My favourite scene is on the day of the funeral. Only the eldest brother makes it - the rest have been delayed for a variety of reasons - and has to carry the coffin by himself. There he is struggling with his dead mother on his back when someone offers to help him carry it to share the weight. He turns round and says, "she's not heavy, she's my mother", which sounds like a gag but is actually a bittersweet moment in the movie. You can see his heart is breaking.
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None of us want to face up to losing our parents, but it's one of those things that life throws at you at some point.
It sums up the film for me and what life is really like - bleak, sad, but with something funny always looming on the horizon.
Little Johnny's Big Gay Musical,is at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Sept 9-12, then touring Scotland, www.randomaccomplice.com