La strana voglia

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.

"How's it goin', eh". Those of us blessed to live within the TV reception area of the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) had been privy to Bob & Doug on SCTV long before this movie was released. The running gag on SCTV was that Bob & Doug wandered into the studio one day, the star of a live talkshow was absent and the station manager threw the brothers on stage to fill the dead air. They were a hit and soon were given their own show-within-a-show called "The Great White North". In short order they demanded star treatment as they understood it and soon the stage was surrounded by cases of beer, boxes of donuts and the guys had a campstove to cook Canadian bacon on. Classic. Each show they would have their 'topic of the day' and discuss important issues like 'snow routes', bottled beer verus canned and other things Canadian. You just can't help but love these innocent buffoons. This was the basis of Strangebrew. As silly comedies go, this one is a benchmark. No swearing, hilariously cheesy effects and bathroom humor that is actually funny and not disgusting (see American Pie if you want disgusting). What amazes me is that EVERY single scene with Bob & Doug is funny. Some scenes are truly classic. The dialogue and nuance of this film is so easy to imitate you'll find yourself doing it with friends who have also shared this gem of a film and laughing yourself silly. ("Did you see the way she was looking at me...") See this film, you'll thank me, eh.

The last time I saw "Strange Brew" was when it appeared on one of the Canadian Pay TV channels...and I hated it. It was chaotic, confusing, silly, and dumb. I mean, using music and drugged beer to force mental patients to fight while playing hockey? Some skinny woman's father coming back as a ghost and using a videogame to speak to people? A flying dog? I dismissed it.

But now, with the fullness of time and maturity, I've watched it again and I can say with confidence that it's STILL chaotic, confusing, silly, and dumb...but it's also hilarious!

This movie captures the sort of ad hoc, "yeah, whatever" style of SCTV, which could get dull over time, but the hosers have managed to draw it out for 90 minutes by putting in a lot of rich detail (what confused me as a child were the references to Hamlet, mainly), endlessly quotable dialogue, and scenes that are just plain funny (I particularly like the nurses arguing about whose responsibility it is to remove dead patients from their beds). I usually find "dumb" humour annoying, but Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis are so GOOD -- almost subtle -- at being dumb, and so lovable at the same time, that even the fart/booze/puke jokes became funny.

And what's more, the movie is WEIRD. If anybody can explain why Hosehead the dog ROLLS up the edge of the roof, please let me know, because it's giving me nightmares. And am I the only one who's noticed pointed musical references to Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" (when they first see Elsinore Brewery, and when Rosie and Pam are reunited again, the score sounds almost EXACTLY like similar moments in "Young Frankenstein"...but not QUITE exactly...)

I recommend this movie to anybody who can handle some dumb with their wit, in just the right amounts. The DVD features a preview for their upcoming cartoon which looks spectacularly unfunny, so please don't judge them on that.

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 love this movie so much, I even have a poster of it hanging on my door, eh! I first viewed it in my eighth grade geometry class (where we never did anything but watch movies--this class also introduced me to classics such as "Back to the Future" and "Little Shop of Horrors").

This is from the peak of the so-stupid-it's-funny era of comedy (which is starting to become popular again, only this time around it's just not funny), and it may very well be the best of them all, even better than "Airplane!". It's one of those beautiful comedies where all the jokes are incredibly stupid and incredibly smart at the same time. The courtroom scene and the "death" scene rate as two of the funniest moments in comedy history, in my opinion.

Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas have perfect chemistry together, too. The stupid bickering between Bob and Doug is hilarious (I love it when they have to go in separate directions for the first time in their life). If you haven't seen this, I cannot recommend it enough.

9/10 stars. Now take off, eh!