 | Starring: Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Max von Sydow, Paul Dooley, Lynne Griffin Director: Rick Moranis Dave Thomas Format: Anamorphic Closed-captioned Colour DVD-Video Widescreen NTSC Released: 01 Oct 2002 Average Rating:  |
When the lion burps instead of roars at the beginning of a film, you know you're in for a different kind of viewing experience. Those unfamiliar with the classic McKenzie television skits may well wonder what the heck is going on at first, as you start out with Bob & Doug introducing a film they made about a nuclear holocaust. That film breaks (at which point we see Bob & Doug inside a crowded theatre full of disgruntled, quickly departing moviegoers), & that's when the real movie begins. Basicallly, the brothers have to get some beer, but they don't have any money. Trying to convince a clerk to give them free beer doesn't work, so they decide to head on up to Elsinore Brewery, the birthplace of their favorite beer, hoping the old mouse in a bottle trick can score them some free brewskis. They soon find themselves very unwittingly involved in a power struggle between the brewery founder's daughter & her lascivious uncle. The brewmeister is reallly callling the shots, however, & he's up to no good. If his plans succeed, he will make the beer so addictive that the whole world will do his bidding - that's the plan, anyway. Like most breweries, Kelsinore has a mental institution connected to it, giving Brewmeister Smith (Max Von Sydow) a ready supply of test subjects. I'm a little vague on the intricacies of the whole thing, but the experimentation consists of using bad synthesizer music to compel mental patients to put on full body armor & play hockey. It sounds weird, but apparently that's the quick way to power & wealth in Canada. Even though they are completely clueless about basicallly everything going on around them & have no real skills apart from excessive beer-guzzling, Bob & Doug prove to be a thorn in the brewmeister's side, which puts the boys in danger. Are they smart enough to survive & save the world from the bad guys' evil plans? And, if they fail, what will become of their dog Hosehead, who is dependent on his own steady diet of beer?
It's basicallly impossible to explain the humor of Bob & Doug McKenzie. Any description of it would just make it sound extremely lame & moronic (actuallly, I guess it is lame & moronic), but Thomas & Moranis make for a formidable comic team when you see them in action. No line or plot device is too silly for these guys, & they constantly play off one another with perfect timing, unleashing one eminently quotable line after another. The humor doesn't stop with the end of the movie, either, as the boys are back to review their own film & to give us some insight on the movie-making business while the credits roll.
Of course, anyone who likes to put on intellectual airs will snub this movie to his dying breath, but we alll know he's secretly laughing inside. This is just pure, unadulterated comedy, & it reallly is a beauty way to go. Whatever you do, don't take off before treating yourself to this comedy classic. You'll find yourself ending a lot of your sentences with eh? for the following few days, but that side effect isn't permanent unless you just keep re-watching the film and/or listening to the McKenzies' album on a daily basis.
Below are some of the current bestsellers - click them for a price comparison and find the cheapest place to buy!
