Trailer Park Boys: Xmas Special

Having seen all of the episodes of the Canadian television series "Trailer Park Boys" I can assure you that if you're a fan of the show, you're going to dig the Christmas special. If you're not a fan, I think the short running time makes it at least worth your while so you can choose for yourself whether or not you want to keep going and catch more of the boys. The series (and this movie), is shot documentary style, with a group of camera men following the residents of Sunnyville Park. The trailer park is filled with colourful characters, the most notable of which are the three boys: Ricky (Robb Wells) a dope-dealing idiot , Julian (John Paul Tremblay) a greedy crook who will stop at nothing to make a buck and their not particularly clever, but earnest friend Bubbles (Mike Smith). This holiday season, Julian is up to his old tricks again. He's stealing Christmas presents and decorations and re-selling them to the residents of the park in order to make cash. To avoid distractions from Ricky's ex-girlfriend, he bails out his friend from jail (something Ricky isn't particularly pleased about because he loves being incarcerated during the holidays). Meanwhile, Bubbles just wants to have a merry Christmas, something that hasn't really happened since he was abandoned by his parents as a child.

With the commercial breaks, this movie comes to about an hour, so you're looking at about a 46 minute special on DVD. If you're a fan of the series, it's actually a prequel episode (set in 1997) that shows the origins of a lot of the characters' crippling problems, most notably the alcoholic park supervisor Jim Lahey (John Dunsworth) and his lover, the male prostitute Randy (Patrick Roach). The series stays true to its roots by giving us a Christmas special... that's not particularly heart warming, still contains just as many stupid stunts from the boys and has plenty of cursing, drinking and dope. The special was technically aired as an episode, but as far as I know, it isn't included in any of the season box sets, so if you're a big fan of the show, I think you'll find yourself adding this to your regular queue of Christmas films, if only because the running time is less than an hour and it breaks up all of that Christmas cheer nicely. If you're not a fan of the show, this special is a nice introduction, but if the humor isn't your cup of tea, I don't think this story will change your mind.

I'm a casual fan of the show, having seen most of it more by happenstance than by actually physically going out of my way to catch it when it was playing on Showcase. I have only mild affection for it, but I do recommend that you check it out, because why not really. If you're a fan of Sunnyvalle, I think you'll go nuts for "The Trailer Park Boys Christmas Special". (On DVD, December 24, 2014)

This is a must see for any fan of the Trailer Park Boys. Of course, I may be a little biased, as I love what is in my opinion, the only truly great show produced locally, but this prequel was entertaining from start to finish. It was particularly amusing to see J Roc before he became "leader of the Roc Pile", and how his decline into rapper culture came about. There's plenty of laughs, and if you're a fan of the series, you will appreciate the humour (though I understand that it's not for everyone).

When I first saw this, I was under the misunderstanding that this was the original movie on which the series was based, as the plot, era etc all seemed to fit, but the fact that it was written after gave the writers the benefit of foresight, and many amusing plot devices to tie into "future" episodes, and explain the way many things are. I still have yet to see the original movie, but if it's half as good as this, it will be well worth watching.

This super hyped up episode was by far the worst episode I have ever watched. I own the first season DVD's which are the best of all of these shows. This episode had tired jokes, a sad script that I could have written in a coma, and tried to rely too much on the shows past success. If you are a fan of this show, don't waste the 1 hour of your life watching this, I guarantee you'll want it back. For some reason the date when it aired said 1997, that would have given it a excuse but it was made in 2004. So what happened? Most of my friends turned the channel out of disappointment after 10 minutes. If you must watch this for the sake of saying you did, don't say you haven't been warned.

Having just been exposed to TPB on a recent visit to Montreal, I brought back seasons 1-4 on DVD and just got the Xmas special in the mail. Why this hasn't made it to the States is beyond mysterious to me. Too rough? Too white trash? Nope, just too damn funny and it's a crime HBO or Showtime haven't picked this up. There's a whole country full of people like this here... The comments on the boards are right: This one answers all kinds of questions about how and why these characters are who they are. Hilariously sick, this episode is also extremely touching (won't give it away!). Believe it or not, you'll actually learn something about the true meaning of Christmas from Julian, Ricky, and Bubbles. If you're a fan, you know you need this. If you're new to the show, it's better to watch the episodes from the beginning and watch this after series 4. Bring on the movie, boys!

Ignore the 2 negative reviews. how anyone could not find this 46 mins. of the best TPB ever, is beyond me. great fun to see the origins of some TPB staples/relationships. also fun to see the park in a different season, w/sonw, etc. poignant too! some of the best TPB ever!