Michael Caine and Aubrey Plaza match wits – and red pens – as a cranky author and peppy publisher in this rollicking literary comedy.

When Lucy (Plaza) takes over her father’s publishing house, everyone in the smarmy book world can’t wait to see her run it into the ground. Determined to prove them wrong, she learns that Harris (Caine), a once-bestselling but now jaded and reclusive author, still owes the company one more book – and one more book tour. Harris would rather stay home with cigars, Scotch and his cat, but when his young publisher hustles him back on the road, he discovers there’s life – and literature – in the old scrivener yet.

The warm-hearted feature directorial debut of Canadian actor Lina Roessler (Lost Girl), based on Anthony Grieco’s award-winning original screenplay, delighted audiences at its Berlinale Special Gala premiere. Here, the ever-riveting Plaza channels some of her finest characters – from the ruthless smarts of Parks & Recreation’s April to the artistic intensity of Black Bear’s (MIFF 2020) Allison – while Caine is endearingly at his most curmudgeonly, re-treading the literary territory he mined so delightfully in 1983’s Educating Rita. Best Sellers is a filmic page-turner that will keep you guessing which of this oddball pair will come out on top.