We've been reviewing a pretty good mix of media types as of late, but I feel like it's time to take a little bit to return to form somewhat and get back to my roots as it were. There are plenty of films out there that need a critical eye taken to them and we're going to put them under that microscope for a bit. It's been a while since I reviewed a straight comedy and so I want to start there, and what better place to rekindle our relationship with comedies than one of my personal guilty pleasures, Strange Brew?
Strange Brew is a film that almost requires a brief history lesson to fully understand. See, Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas began doing skits on a show called SCTV in Canada in 1980. SCTV was kind of like SNL for Canadians back in the day. The skits that Moranis and Thomas were doing were done under the guise of two dim-witted brothers named Bob and Doug McKenzie. The hallmark traits of the duo were really slow mentally, and would do anything for beer. This kind of set up had been, and would continue to be the main driving force behind network improv shows for quite a while after these two hit it big. The characters, much like those of other improv actors in other shows, became extremely popular, and as tends to happen in the film industry, the Moranis and Thomas were given the opportunity to take their creations to the big screen.
The movie is, for lack of a better way to say it, just bizarre. That's not to say that it isn't entertaining though. It's unabashedly self-aware, self-deprecating, and cheesy, but all in ways that make for a fun watch. But let's start at the beginning. The film came out in 1983. It starts with typical fare for a Bob and Doug skit. The two are talking about this film that they've made. They start showing the film only to have the actual celluloid break. As they're attempting to fix it, they get sidetracked and start talking about how to get free beer. The beer part is a skit that they've already done in the past. You hear jeers, and then the camera pulls out a bit and you realize that they're premiering the film that they've made. It's all been in a vain attempt to procure more beer money. A riot ensues, and they use moths to blot out the projector light so that they can make a hasty escape. However, they're caught by a man and his son. They use the beer money that their dad gave them to pay the kid back for the ticket that he bought, and then get out of there.
The two get in trouble for not getting more beer, and promise to get more then next day. They try one of their old gags to get free beer from the dispensary, putting a tiny mouse in a bottle and sealing the bottle back up. The attendant at the dispensary tells them that they'll have to take the issue up with the distributor and so they make a trip out to the Elsinore brewery where their favorite brand of beer is made. They talk to a receptionist who tells them that they'll have to wait to talk to someone, and they end up having to wait for quite sometime, but they get to talk to management, and as a result of the conversation, they're given jobs working as QA techs on the bottling line. This means all the free beer that they could possibly drink. Their dad is ecstatic when he hears.
In the meantime, John Elsinore, the owner of the company, has passed away quite unexpectedly. This leaves ownership and operation to his daughter, Pam. She's not keen to run the operation to start with, but John's brother and Pam's uncle, Claude, has been pushing her gently to sell her stakes to him so that he can 'carry on the legacy'. In actuality, Claude is working with an evil scientist, Brewmeister Smith, who has concocted a formula that he can mix in the beer that makes people easily persuaded by suggestion... so alcohol. The formula allows Brewmeister to use music to issue commands that make the drinkers do his bidding without question. The two men are planning to use the beer to take over the world.
The mystery that eventually unfolds is that Brewmeister had been using patients from the Royal Canadian Institute for the Mentally Insane as his test subjects. One of those patients was NHL player, Jean 'Rosie' LeRose, who Bob recognizes on the brothers' first visit to the brewery. Uncle Claude and Brewmeister killed John Elsinore because John was blocking their efforts to develop the mind control beer. Bob and Doug inadvertently get tangled up in things when they save Pam, who Claude and Brewmeister were also trying to murder in order to spare themselves having to buy Pam out of the company. Bob and Doug also unwittingly stumble across the only evidence that links Claude and Brewmeister the murder of John Elsinore. As a result, Brewmeister send the two brothers and Pam on a 'delivery run' after cutting the brake lines of the van that the brothers drive. Rosie follows the trio, and it's a good thing too because they end up running their van into a frigid body of water. Rosie saves them, and after a brief intermission, it seems as though he's perished in the effort. However, he manages to survive by breathing air from empty beer bottles.
The police finally put all of the pieces together, and realize that Claude and Brewmeister are going to unleash their nefarious concoction on an Oktoberfest celebration. With the help of the police, Pam, Rosie, and their dog, Hosehead, the McKenzie brothers save the day and foil the evil plans of Brewmeister and Claude. And everyone lives happily ever after. Yay!
So what's to say about this movie? First, it makes almost no sense whatsoever. It's plot fits together loosely, and that's being pretty generous. The flip side of that is that the plot really isn't the focus of the film. For better or worse, it's the hi jinx that take center stage in this movie. As with most films based on improv personas, the actors who created the characters are trying to give the audience the experience that said audience gets when watching whatever show the actors work on, only more. As a result, the plot tends to be connected somewhat tenuously in films like this, but generally, it tends to work. And it's definitely worked well in other films as well. Wayne's World is a prime example. This film offers some of everything that film has to offer. There's romance, intrigue, surrealism, comedy, and so much more. Some of the sight gags are totally over-the-top, but again, they work because of the film in which they're being presented.
Bottom line, this is not necessarily a film that's going to find a place on your classics, or favorites list. But, it is a film that will be good for some laughs during one watch through, especially if you've enjoyed films like Wayne's World, Caddyshack, or older Adam Sandler movies. That's not to say that you won't enjoy it if you didn't enjoy those other films, but trust me, it really pegs this movie if you liked those. It's wacky, it's strange, and it's delightful in the most subtly enjoyable ways. If you can track it down, give it a watch, and stick around to see what we review next week!
No comments:
Post a Comment