Canadian Bacon
Content
Canadian Bacon
(1995)
It amazes me, or at the very least takes me aback at times, that with all the information in the world at our fingertips 24/7 (almost literally) that there are still so many things that slip below our radar that really, we ought to know about. Not that they would make any great difference in our lives, although they might, but simply that our lives might have been a little more enriched for having seen this movie or heard this song or read this book or what have you (the reed-thin rationale I give to those who ask me why I¶m trying to download every song and album I can get my hand on ± you never know what undiscovered gems are out there, and I have stumbled across many). This movie is just that ± an undiscovered (at least by me) gem. It¶s a comedy by Michael Moore (yes, that Michael Moore), which is pretty much why I decided to check it out (I¶ve recently seen Sicko, which I¶m having trouble reviewing, though that film once again elevated Moore¶s status in my eyes). I wanted to see what Moore could do when he was trying to be funny. It also happened to be the last filmed work of John Candy, which doesn¶t affect me much as I was never that big a fan. Anyway, the story ± the president (Alan Alda), with declining popularity ratings, needs to whip up a disturbance to solidify his standing, and after perusing the likely suspects (in a hilarious scene with his advisors ± Kevin Pollack and Rip Torn ± where photos of Chang Kai Shek and Mao, among others, pop up, and everyone says ³Dead´), they settle on Canada, and Stuart Smiley (Pollack) starts to build a spin campaign against the land to our north. Meanwhile, Candy plays a sheriff in Niagara Falls (on our side of the water), a recent layoff from a defense contractor who rambles around town with his friends (Rhea Perlman and Kevin J O¶Connor, among them). Candy & Co. are just dim enough to provide an incident upon which the spin doctor can launch his defamation campaign ± Candy insults Canadian beer at a hockey game, which starts a riot. In retaliation, Candy rounds up his posse and they cross the water to do battle with Canada in a secret mission (they strew litter all over a public park, knowing it will offend the Canadians¶ sense of cleanliness). When Honey (Perlman) is arrested, it becomes an international incident, and the stakes rise accordingly. The movie is a little broad in its humor at times, but it is really funny. Candy and the others play the Americans so dimly and so broadly you can¶t help but laugh, and the Canadians are unfailingly polite even in the face of our most boorish behavior (Steven Wright cameos as a Mountie who, when faced by Candy and friends at gunpoint, looks up and says, ³Welcome to Canada.´). It¶s rare that a satire is at once so broad and yet so subtle, but this one manages just that feat. Some of the material with the president and his advisors borders on the insipid, but Alda, Pollack, and Torn are old pros and pull it off, even while (intentionally) invoking Dr. Strangelove.
Though I wouldn¶t want to dissuade Moore from making documentaries as I greatly enjoy his work, it¶s sad to think there¶s a comic genius in there as well who is underexpressed. This is a brilliant film, and reading some of the comments on this film it seems like no one understands that the Canadians aren¶t the butt of the jokes, we are. Of course I like Moore¶s politics even in this film, that most of the trouble is cause by military-industrial greed and government compliance/incompetence, but the film focuses on the humor, not the issues, with inspired results. This is an unfairly maligned and forgotten gem (I suspect the Moore naysayers hate it merely because it is him); dig it up if you can (it¶s on Netflix streaming) and give it a spin, it¶s a monstrously clever and funny film. March 13, 2011
(1995)
It amazes me, or at the very least takes me aback at times, that with all the information in the world at our fingertips 24/7 (almost literally) that there are still so many things that slip below our radar that really, we ought to know about. Not that they would make any great difference in our lives, although they might, but simply that our lives might have been a little more enriched for having seen this movie or heard this song or read this book or what have you (the reed-thin rationale I give to those who ask me why I¶m trying to download every song and album I can get my hand on ± you never know what undiscovered gems are out there, and I have stumbled across many). This movie is just that ± an undiscovered (at least by me) gem. It¶s a comedy by Michael Moore (yes, that Michael Moore), which is pretty much why I decided to check it out (I¶ve recently seen Sicko, which I¶m having trouble reviewing, though that film once again elevated Moore¶s status in my eyes). I wanted to see what Moore could do when he was trying to be funny. It also happened to be the last filmed work of John Candy, which doesn¶t affect me much as I was never that big a fan. Anyway, the story ± the president (Alan Alda), with declining popularity ratings, needs to whip up a disturbance to solidify his standing, and after perusing the likely suspects (in a hilarious scene with his advisors ± Kevin Pollack and Rip Torn ± where photos of Chang Kai Shek and Mao, among others, pop up, and everyone says ³Dead´), they settle on Canada, and Stuart Smiley (Pollack) starts to build a spin campaign against the land to our north. Meanwhile, Candy plays a sheriff in Niagara Falls (on our side of the water), a recent layoff from a defense contractor who rambles around town with his friends (Rhea Perlman and Kevin J O¶Connor, among them). Candy & Co. are just dim enough to provide an incident upon which the spin doctor can launch his defamation campaign ± Candy insults Canadian beer at a hockey game, which starts a riot. In retaliation, Candy rounds up his posse and they cross the water to do battle with Canada in a secret mission (they strew litter all over a public park, knowing it will offend the Canadians¶ sense of cleanliness). When Honey (Perlman) is arrested, it becomes an international incident, and the stakes rise accordingly. The movie is a little broad in its humor at times, but it is really funny. Candy and the others play the Americans so dimly and so broadly you can¶t help but laugh, and the Canadians are unfailingly polite even in the face of our most boorish behavior (Steven Wright cameos as a Mountie who, when faced by Candy and friends at gunpoint, looks up and says, ³Welcome to Canada.´). It¶s rare that a satire is at once so broad and yet so subtle, but this one manages just that feat. Some of the material with the president and his advisors borders on the insipid, but Alda, Pollack, and Torn are old pros and pull it off, even while (intentionally) invoking Dr. Strangelove.
Though I wouldn¶t want to dissuade Moore from making documentaries as I greatly enjoy his work, it¶s sad to think there¶s a comic genius in there as well who is underexpressed. This is a brilliant film, and reading some of the comments on this film it seems like no one understands that the Canadians aren¶t the butt of the jokes, we are. Of course I like Moore¶s politics even in this film, that most of the trouble is cause by military-industrial greed and government compliance/incompetence, but the film focuses on the humor, not the issues, with inspired results. This is an unfairly maligned and forgotten gem (I suspect the Moore naysayers hate it merely because it is him); dig it up if you can (it¶s on Netflix streaming) and give it a spin, it¶s a monstrously clever and funny film. March 13, 2011
