The Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie: Strange Brew

Strange Brew rules. Those who have not seen the film must see it immediately or remain ignorant like the rest of the human filth. Strange Brew is yet again one of those movies that I have been watching since I was a kid and it has not lost any of it's charm. Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis have come up with two great characters in the McKenzie Brothers. Not too bright and surviving on donuts and beer, the film follows the McKenzies as they get a job at a brewery to get free beer and in the process stop a world takeover by power mad Brewmeister Smith. This flick doesn't really have much in the way of plot or acting or effects or anything that usually makes a movie great. It doesn't need all that though because just having Bob and Doug onscreen is worth the price of admission or in this case the DVD. Just watching Bob and Doug attempt to function is funny enough. I heard that Moranis and Thomas were working on a sequel and were just getting ready to film when the financing fell through. That really sucks and I hope that they can bring Bob and Doug back to the screen before they get too old to play them. Bottom Line: This movie is a must have. It's great, deal with it, buy it and then look at Canada (The Great White North) in a different light.

I saw this on TV first, when I was 12.. Loved it to dead.. These guys were the only reason i watched SCTV.. Got the Dvd of it as well.. Now about the Stereotypes, yeah we drink beer, but it isn't stereotypical.. Doesn't the States (tho weaker and tasteless), and we do not all say eh, or aboot.. Adjust... Anyhoo, I regress.. This movie was one of the best comedies out in the earlier 80's. Pure Canadiana...

I have to take exception to imdb user "dwpoller" who touts this movie as being "one of the most un-funny 1 1/2 hour stretches" of a movie. Having never seen the SCTV skit until after the movie's release, I found myself rolling on the floor at the Canadian stereotypes from hell, known simply as the MacKenzie Brothers. Being 1/2 Canadian myself, I never once felt offended by the somewhat negative stereotypes. (i.e. ice hockey watching, doughnut slamming, beer swilling half wits.) But rather, I was able to laugh at myself and my other Canadian bretheren through this VERY FUNNY movie.

OK, ok. So it didn't win any major awards, nor should it have. "Strange Brew" is not that kind of movie. You have to know going in that this is not Academy award winning materiel. Oh, and guys, don't bring the wives in to watch this either, they won't get it. (For the same reason they don't get the Three Stooges) You just can't explain why it's so funny, it just is.

3 1/2 stars out of 5.

Being a former Canadian national, people ask me, "Have you seen this movie?" The answer is, "You bet!" Fact is, I've got this movie almost memorized.

There have been so many "dumb-guy" movies out there, from "Night At The Roxbury" to "Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back", but none live up to the true campiness of "Strange Brew". It features stupid people, but the movie doesn't become stupid. It set the mold for those movies. Plus, it satirizes filmmaking itself. Very few movies are able to do that without going into the "anything for a laugh" style of the Mel Brooks films or "National Lampoon's 'Loaded Weapon 1'". With satirical films, it's either feast or famine. "Strange Brew" finds a nice balance. Can you imagine? Shakespearian drama in a dumb-guy movie? A bold maneuver that obviously paid off.

Max von Sydow must have either needed employment, or wanted to do a comedy. Paul Dooley gets to break out of his typecasting of playing intelligent, father-figure roles by playing a complete dunderhead for once. Once again, bold ploys that paid off. I wish I could have seen Lynne Griffin headline other movies. She's good. I know she guested in other venues, but I can't seem to find them on video.

Interestingly enough, I happened to see "Strange Brew" action figures in a semi-recent trip to the toy store(August 2001). The twenty-year anniversary won't occur for two more years, and yet, here they are. They're NOT action figures. Bob and Doug are frozen in the seated position, and the only things you can bend on them are their elbows. Instead of the Kung Fu grip, it's more like the Elsinore grip. I'm surprised you can separate them from their couch.

All in all, this is one of those movies where you can sit back and be entertained without having to turn your brain off.

If you love stupid comedy this movie is DEFINITELY for you! Animal House, Super Troopers, & The Blues Brothers. If you liked these movies you'll love Strange Brew. It's classic! A MUST SEE!!! Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas make an awesome team of crazy Canadian brothers, or should I say "hosers", eh? The plotline is kinda sketchy, but then again, the movie isn't exactly made for a great plotline. It's made for the comedy. Made in 1983 and it still kicks some royal butt! So sit back and enjoy as the two "hosers" bumble their way to some crazy times!