ManiakJiggy This is How Movies Should Be Made

2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

FrogGlace In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Scott LeBrun Comedy legends Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis bring their lovable, beer-guzzling, very Canadian dolts to the big screen in this very funny vehicle for Bob & Doug. They were riding high after the success of the characters on the 'SCTV' show and the Great White North album, and devised this very amusing script, which they devised with future director Steve De Jarnatt ("Cherry 2000", "Miracle Mile"), a fairly subtle goof on "Hamlet", of all things. Ultimately, they decided on directing the movie themselves.Bob & Doug manage to get jobs at Elsinore brewery, and don't let their lack of wits stop them from trying to save the day when diabolical brewmeister Smith (the great Max von Sydow, in the mightiest role of his career) intends to manipulate scores of beer drinkers by putting a drug in the brew. They encounter former hockey player Jean LaRose (Canadian character actor Angus MacInnes, who played Gold Leader in "Star Wars"), who falls in love with Pam Elsinore (lovely Lynne Griffin of "Black Christmas" fame), the young lady who's legally inherited the brewery.Yes, "Strange Brew" does lag at times, but the good news is that there is always another inspired bit of lunacy around the corner, as Thomas and Moranis gleefully leave reality FAR behind and turn the adventures of Bob & Doug into a sort of live action cartoon. In addition to von Sydow, they also enlisted the services of another legend, voice-over artist Mel Blanc, who provides the voice of Bob & Doug's dad. The excellent Paul Dooley ("Breaking Away") rounds out the main players as Pam's nefarious but bumbling uncle Claude.This picture really is a beauty, eh. You can't get more Canadian than having hockey, toques, beer, back bacon, and a dog named Hosehead in your story. It gets off to a wonderful start by putting a fresh spin on MGM's famous logo sequence, and having Bob & Doug premiere their micro budget end of the world saga in a theatre to a flurry of negative responses. The effects are often quite cheesy, but in a largely harmless lark like this, that hardly matters.Are you still reading this, hosehead? Take off! Go see the movie, eh.Eight out of 10.

SnoopyStyle Brothers Doug (Dave Thomas) and Bob McKenzie (Rick Moranis) are the idiot Canadian presenters on the television show SCTV. They show a movie that they've made. It doesn't go well. They try the mouse-in-the-bottle scam to get free Elsinore beer. They rescue Pam Elsinore (Lynne Griffin) from a jam gate. The owner died and Pam is set to inherit the brewery upon turning 21. Claude Elsinore (Paul Dooley) married his brother's wife and took over the company. Claude tries to buy out Pam but she refuses. Pam hires the brothers to inspect for mice. Brewmeister Smith (Max von Sydow) is experimenting the new brew on lunatics from the neighboring asylum with disturbing results.The idiot brothers are hilarious and one of the best part of SCTV. The self-aware opening is fun. The rest of it is ridiculous idiocy. It needs some breaking down the 4th wall. This is for McKenzie brothers' fans and people who like their brand of silly. Von Sydow provides important acting power. It's likable fun.

hcrsteeves I recently received this film as a gift on DVD. It brought back a lot of memories. My brother and I used to watch the Bob and Doug characters on SCTV when we were younger. I still believe, after all these years, that they are two of the funniest comic characters of all time. I remember seeing this movie for the first time on Pay Cable..I was 12 or 13.....my brother and I watched it together. So what if they were never as popular as Wayne and Garth? (or for that matter Cheech and Chong). I think that is actually part of what made them, and this movie, so great. It never really gained that type of popularity and yet it is so much funnier than other comic duos or movies.

TOMASBBloodhound While Cheech and Chong were smoking their way through southern California, Bob and Doug McKenzie were drinking it up in the Great White North. It's the same basic concept. Two apparent losers in a quest to get high/drunk at all costs and often oblivious to the serious goings on around them. But thankfully Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis left it at just one film and didn't wear these characters out like Cheech and Chong did.The plot deals with Bob and Doug McKenzie having to get jobs at a brewery after their movie they made bombs at a theater. No sooner are these two are checking beer bottles for mice, then they find themselves involved in the kidnapping of a beer heiress orchestrated by a mad scientist looking to take over the world by selling drugged beer. The plot is beyond ludicrous, yet somehow everything holds together and the viewer is never lost by any of the developments. Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis are more than hilarious as the McKenzie brothers, and the supporting cast is exceptional. Anyone can play dumb, but there is an art to making it funny. This film, even in its more ridiculous scenes, never seems to be taking things too far. Somehow we believe the world these characters live in could really exist. The special effects are cheesy, yet somehow better than this film probably deserves. And how in the world did they ever get Mel Blanc to do the voice of their father??? Much of the script is quotable in virtually any lively setting. Highly recommended. 9 of 10 stars.The Hound.