Canadian Bacon
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Movie Reviews of Canadian Bacon
Movie Review: It's OKAY...
Summary: 3 Stars
...but there's a reason why "political comedy" is a genre best utilized by stand-up comedians and political satirists rather than movie production teams.
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The cast of this movie is fantastic at every level...well-known comedic talents such as Steven Wright and Dan Aykroyd (sp?) settle happily into minor parts and do well to support John Candy (who, as a native Canadian, had to enjoy his role as the over-the-top, trigger-happy U.S. border town's Sheriff's Deputy), and the United States politicians are just as exceedingly incompetent as Michael Moore and the rest of the so-called "liberal media" tried to convince us that George H. W. Bush was. You will certainly be entertained by the efforts of the actors.
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But this movie does tend to fall under its own weight; the characterizations of both Americans and Canadians is simply too broad to be anything less than material that Mad Magazine might have once rejected...you simply don't FEEL that an effort was made to make any of this believable (although the propaganda piece "CANADIANS: THEY WALK AMONG US" was very entertaining and Kevin Pollack stole every scene he was in). Overall I enjoyed the movie enough, but most of the reviews I write are based on the notion of whether a DVD is worth owning rather than simply viewing. This one I'm not sure about owning, although at the offered price it's almost disposable. If you prefer politcial satire removed from the stage, you'll enjoy renting this movie. But...actually buying it may be a stretch. A better satire of Canadian life can be found in "Strange Brew", eh?!
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Movie Review: Goofy Movie
Summary: 3 Stars
This movie was funny. I watched it from the perspective of living in the US all my life except for 3 years when I lived in a suburb of Toronto. I really thought that the part about the riots over an American saying that Canadian beer sucks was expecially funny. I turned 19 in Ontario (their legal drinking age) so I had my share of Canadian beer and I have to say that I still like American beer better. Oh, and by the way, my Mom and I were extras in this movie (in the scene where Alan Alda goes to Hacker for a speach). The casting person asked if we could play American rednecks. We looked at each other and laughed. She didn't know that we were American until after she asked that question. I think she was a little embarrassed once she figured it out since she asked the question in a rather demeaning way.
I suggest this movie if you want some humor. If you are looking for a serious movie pass it by. Well if you were looking for a serious movie you wouldn't be reading reviews about a John Candy movie. There are a lot of big names actors involved and it is funny to see them all act together.
Movie Review: Michael Moore Is Slime
Summary: 3 Stars
There, I said it. Now let me give my unjaundiced opinion of "Canadian Bacon". It half works ergo the three stars. As political satire it's a mixed bag. The manufacturing of a bogus war with our Northern neighbors to drum up support for a faltering president is on the surface funny but it played out much better two years later in "Wag the Dog". Director-writer-whatever Michael Moore undermines his premise by introducing a Strangelovian aspect which is totally superfluous. Moore succeeds in lampooning Canadian culture but even there he was done one better a few years later by the "South Park" boys. Terrance and Philip, anyone? I did love an unbilled cameo by Dan Aykroyd as a Canadian policeman who makes the Anti-Canadian rebels correct the slogans spray painted on their panel truck with the French equivalent. I guess the best reason to see "Canadian Bacon" is for the performance of John Candy who seems to be more engaged and less tired than we was in his final filmed role, "Wagons East". For all else this is just a mild curio.Movie Review: Great one-liners, but no movie.
Summary: 3 Stars
In the movie, the Cold War is over and the country needs a new enemy. Thus the White House wants to create a state of tension between the US and Canada. They don't want an actual war, but only an enemy that they can use for political and econmic benefit. The premise was used in "Wag the Dog" and so it isn't new, but you don't need a new premise to make a movie. What you do need is a plot. I have never seen a movie with so many memorable one-liners that wasn't a great movie. The equivalent would be if "Some Like It Hot" had its jokes, but Curtis and Lemmon had no reason to pretend to be women. The one-liners make the movie worthwhile, but the plot which has John Candy and friends invading Canada on their own after the White House creates a Canadian menace is weak.Movie Review: Beautifully skewered.
Summary: 3 Stars
I borrowed my office mate's copy of "Canadian Bacon," prepared not to like it. I've previously succumbed to the rather arrogant opinions of critics who've knocked it before they've tried it (echoing the opinions of MMoore from below). But the late John Candy is an idol of mine, and I've learned over the years that he's- particularly at his most insane- an acquired taste. That's okay. Public gun-and-ammo auctions, pickets *against* the President, Niagra Falls suicide wagers, Canadian graffiti required in both languages- it's not for everyone. I have yet to return this DVD, but I really should just grab my own, so I can once again hear Kevin Pollak tell the overly zealous defense commander, " General, try and pretend you're not here!!"