Talking to Americans

This show is a wonderfully imaginative, and classic example of the ignorance America exhibits over Canada. And in response to Raelon: I'm a fifteen year old Canadian girl, from Vancouver and yes, I am aware who the first three leaders of Canada were, what a cougar is, what the bluenose was, and I, as are many other young Canadians, am educated on American politics and history. I feel it's only fair for them to return the favor. And also, you say talking to Canadians wouldn't be funny? Take Jay-Walking on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno as an example, where he stops random people on the street to talk about American current events. Most often, they haven't a clue, and it's hilarious. All in all, this is good solid entertainment, and there nothing funnier than that little smirk Rick Mercer has on his face while singing the...modified Canadian National Anthem. I highly recommend it!

Ignorance is one of the scariest things in the world, and certainly one of the most dangerous, but ignorance of Canada is just plain funny. Folks- the joke's on us. Don't you get it? Although it is used by many as 'proof' that Americans are stupid, "Talking to Americans" is one of the most enduringly popular and most re-run comedy specials ever to air on Canadian television, and it is far, far cleverer than that.

Before Borat there was Rick Mercer. Originating as a segment on "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" (back when it was actually good), "Talking to Americans" was a completely spontaneous occurrence initially, as Rick Mercer realized that Americans, ignorant of their neighbor to the north, would fall for just about anything. The resulting sketches and this masterpiece of a comedy special are built on much more than just mocking Americans' ignorance of Canada (although there are some seriously dumb things people say here- who would really believe that Canada had a 20 hour clock or would call the five dollar coin a 'woody'?), but is an incredibly clever and perceptive lampooning of human nature's desire to come out with a bold and confident statement on matters they are ignorant of.

In addition, the special is one of the most distinctive examples of purely Canadian culture in existence. Pummeling elk with timbits? Seals in Saskatchewan? Bombing West Edmonton mall? Getting on top of Peter Mansbridge? Only Canadians can get the most enjoyment out of the majority of these short interviews. They're brilliant in that Mercer is talking about things he knows full well nobody down south will understand, so it's almost like bouncing humor off an incredibly receptive blank canvas- they'll believe anything he tells them, allowing him to make insanely hilarious puns on Canadian pop culture phenomenon, which to the interviewees probably seem like perfectly honest and reasonable questions.

The low points of the special come when Mercer goes for trying to make celebrities sound dumb. It's still hysterical to see Dub-ya be thrilled to have Jean Poutine's endorsement for President, still hilarious to see Al Gore not reacting to Mercer's naming of Toronto as Canada's capital, still fun to see Mike Huckabee congratulate us on the preservation of our national igloo, but these parts of the special fail to capture the brilliantly straight-faced pop culture and history-based hilarity that Mercer captures in the rest of the special.

9.5/10

A brilliant and hilarious look at America's complete ignorance of all things Canadian. Rick Mercer, formerly of 'This Hour Has 22 Minutes', is a brilliant comic political commentator and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's poster boy.

Examples include: the infamous (then Governor) George W. Bush interview where Bush is pleased to hear that Prime Minister Jean Poutine supports him in his campaign for presidency. (For those of you out of the loop, 'poutine' is a French Canadian dish consisting of fries, cheese curds and gravy.)

A must for any Canadian to watch. Some Americans who take their patriotism a little too seriously (NRA members need not watch) may take offense but, if you're an American knows anything about Canadian-American relations, you would find it a hoot.

Michael Moore's fans would love this show. Coincidentally, the producers of Moore's 'Bowling for Columbine' also produced 'Talking to Americans'.

I loved it and am going to send a copy to my aunt in Dallas. Luckily she's educated her American friends somewhat over the years, but they'll even enjoy it and find themselves getting "suckered in". Note to Raelon - I also can name the first 3 Prime Ministers, know exactly the beauty of the Bluenose and the gracefulness of our native large cat! I also can tell you the names of every single American state and its capital! I vividly remember taking entire semesters in American history, the War of 1812, The American Civil war as well as its geography (including the Mississippi river system IN GREAT DETAIL), its economy and role in the World Wars along with all the other allies. I think we're taking a humourous, good-natured jab at our friends to the south (as well as a few shots to ourselves!) with this and its all in good fun, but also insightful.

They're might have been a couple of people that went along with it, or were intimidated into agreeing by the camera (rare for Americans - most will speak their mind) but for the most part, you can tell they haven't a clue what we're doin' up here! I wanted to hug the kid who knew we had provinces and not states! I highly recommend viewing this whilst wearing your Leafs jersey, sitting in your cozy igloo, eating your back bacon sandwich with a Labatt's, finishing with rolling up the rim on a Tim Horton's and a box of 20 TimBits with your friends eh!!

I loved this special! It was HILARIOUS! SB Rice said that the joke is on Canada because we are so insignificant that Americans can not be bothered with us. I disagree. And besides, world politics is one of those things everyone should know something about.

This is hilarious. Rick Mercer keeps a straight face the whole time and fools most people into believing Canada is really preserving the National Igloo; that Saskatchewan is being invaded by Russians; that the mall in West Edmonton must be bombed; that the faces on Mount Rushmore will be bored into. A hilarious show! Great entertainment when you need a good laugh! :)