Strange Brew Review

There are a couple of movies that are regularly brought up among friends of mine when talking about 1980's comedy movies. One is Strange Brew (1983). When I confess that I have not seen it, I'm told to "Take off, you hoser." Well, I finally got around to seeing it. It is wacky, silly, and at times surreal. Though early on, it prompted me to reflect on the subjective nature of comedy.

In their quest for free beer, bumbling Canadian brothers Bob (Rick Moranis) and Doug McKenzie (Dave Thomas) wind up working at the Elsinore Brewery. The hapless hosers uncover a sinister mind-control plot spearheaded by Brewmeister Smith (Max von Sydow) and must stop the scheme, which also involves Uncle Claude (Paul Dooley), a member of the Elsinore family. As Bob and Doug try to help the brewery founder's daughter Pam (Lynne Griffin) regain the brewery founded by her recently-deceased father, they also manage to drink plenty of their favorite sudsy beverage.

Bob and Doug McKenzie were popular characters on the SCTV (Second City Television), a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from the Toronto's Second City troupe that ran between 1976 and 1984. The two dim-witted beer-swilling brothers, wearing heavy winter clothing and tuques, would comment on various elements of Canadian life and culture, frequently employing the interjection "Eh?" The sketch was conceived when SCTV moved to the CBC television network which had shorter commercial time which required the SCTV show to need a two-minute filler. The characters became remarkably popular and Strange Brew was formulated during the height of their popularity.

The challenge for Strange Brew was expanding an improvised two-minute comedy sketch about two guys talking about how hard it was to find parking spaces in donut shops into a full-length story. Strange Brew purports to be to be loosely based on Hamlet, though I saw more similarities between Hamlet and The Lion King than I did between Hamlet and Strange Brew. The movie starts out being remarkably loose and unstructured. It looks a lot like I imagine the SCTV's sketches looking like, the two McKenzie brother sitting around talking about beer and how they are in a movie. This went on longer than it should have and I was worried that I was in for 90 minutes of this sort of thing. When the story actually got underway, it was easier to watch. The story is decent for what it is; a silly adventure that serves as a vehicle to deliver some bizarre humor. That's about all the plot does and it does that well.

The humor here I felt was hit-or-miss. Sometimes it was funny, other times it took me a moment to realize the punch line had already been delivered. The two brothers still make commentary on things around them; one of my favorite moments of this is while they are driving, Bob begins to speculate and says, "Did you ever notice that, like, in movies when they're driving they don't look at the road for a long time?" Doug, who is driving turns to Bob and says, "Geez, no, I never noticed that, eh?" Doug continues to make eye contact while Bob explains, "Yeah, it's because they're being towed by a rig." The conversation is interrupted when Doug nearly front ends a truck. The humor makes constant jabs at Canadians and stereotypes about them. Reoccurring themes include hockey, beer, and donuts. The villain's henchmen all wear hockey gear and carry hockey sticks. The whole story centers around trying to get free beer from a brewing company. In one rather amusing scene, the McKenzie's get classified company information from a receptionist by offering her donuts; she cracks when presented with a jelly-filled donut.

Yes, there are plenty of funny moments, but there were a lot of gags I didn't find so funny. I found the aforementioned opening scenes pretty bland and even annoying, which is what prompted my reflection on the subjective nature of humor. Analyzing humor won't get anyone anywhere, though. Humor is very subjective and if I laugh at something and you don't, no amount of my logic is going to convince you that it was funny. Overall, I didn't think Strange Brew was nearly as funny as many of my friends had made it out to be, but it was alright for a few chuckles. Also, having lived in Canada myself, I can honestly say actual Canadians don't act the way the McKenzie brothers do.

Strange Brew is fairly lowbrow in its intent and outcome, though it effectively draws out a few laughs from its unique premise and weird characters. I thought other comedy titles from its time were funnier, such as Better Off Dead, UHF, or Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Strange Brew isn't a bad way to spend an afternoon watching a movie, it's just not something I think I'd go out of my way to see again. It seems to have made a lasting impression culturally as Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas basically reprised their roles as the McKenzie brothers as the two moose in Disney's Brother Bear many years later. Strange Brew may be worth seeing once if you enjoy bizarre comedies or jokes about Canadians. Otherwise, you may be better off watching something else.

What are some other good television sketch comedies made into movies that you've enjoyed? Comment below and let me know!

UHF Movie Review

Several decades ago, MTV actually played music videos instead of asinine “reality” shows. This was great because it kept musicians too busy to make terrible movies. Had MTV come along sooner, we’d have fewer awful Elvis Presley films. There are still some “music video” movies made to glorify allegedly talented musicians, such as Spice World (1997) featuring The Spice Girls. "Weird Al" Yankovic, known for his humorous song parodies that make light of popular culture, starred in a movie called UHF (1989). Unlike Spice World or Presley’s G.I. Blues (1960), UHF wasn’t simply publicity for Weird Al, and was actually pretty funny.

Imaginative George Newman ("Weird Al" Yankovic) and his friend Bob (David Bowe) have just been fired from their jobs at Burger World. George’s Uncle Harvey (Stanley Brock) recently won a nearly bankrupt UHF television station in a poker game and consents to let George and Bob manage it. George turns the station into a success by letting the janitor, Stanley Spadowski (Michael Richards), host a kid’s show. George fills the broadcast day with wacky programs which bring the ratings up, saving the station. This threatens R.J. Fletcher (Kevin McCarthy), CEO of rival station Channel 8. Fletcher tries to buy the station off of Uncle Harvey who is in thousands of dollars in debt from gambling losses. George must come up with a way to save the TV station.

UHF didn’t receive much critical acclaim, but it has become a cult classic. It’s full of slapstick physical comedy that would fit well into a Saturday morning cartoon. It starts off with an Indiana Jones parody where George (dressed as Indy) is trying to retrieve an Oscar Award from some Aztec ruins. He is chased by a giant boulder out of the ruins, through various non-sequitur scenic backgrounds, and all the way to New York City where he is flattened like a pancake. The comedy is often surreal and weird; you’ll probably need to have a weird sense of humor to really enjoy the film, or maybe have just enjoyed Bugs Bunny cartoons as a kid.

The story is fairly weak, and really only serves to string together the wacky physical gags and jokes. There is a lot of satire in UHF, poking fun mostly at TV and movies. When a host for an animal show receives a delivery he says, “Badgers? We don't need no stinking badgers!” a reference to Blazing Saddles (1974). There is a scene where George imagines a rescue attempt being something like a Rambo movie; a gunshot kills more enemies than is physically possible and he catches bullets fired at him with his teeth. There are commercials for other wacky shows like “Conan the Librarian” and businesses like “Spatula City.” The references are a bit dated, but are still relatable to contemporary television. There is a talk show scene which parodies Geraldo (which itself was a precursor to Jerry Springer). Television hasn’t changed all that much since the 80’s, it seems.

Most movies that feature “music artists” take every chance it can to cram their latest hit down your throat. While Weird Al dose some songs in UHF, they are primarily in the background. George has a dream sequence which is essentially a music video of Weird Al’s Beverly Hillbillies song. This isn’t a shameless self promotion on Weird Al’s part; it really is an actual movie. It’s not a great movie, but we can’t expect something deep or profound from a movie that features a game show called “Wheel of Fish.”

UHF is a completely silly movie that has a lot of similar qualities to a Saturday morning cartoon show. You really have to have a weird sense of humor and appreciate slapstick to enjoy this movie. It’s really stupid, but lots of fun. It’s on par with movies such as Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), The Naked Gun (1988), Hot Shots! (1991), and Blazing Saddles. It’s a pretty clean movie, too. It’s probably suitable for ages eight and up; kids would probably enjoy this movie a lot. UHF is a good time and worth some laughs. This cult classic is worth owning if you are into this kind of humor.

Here is a clip of the Rambo scene to help illustrate how ridiculous and hilarious UHF is:

Can you think of some good “music video” movies? Not musicals, but movies made to showcase a popular musician or a music group? Were there any good ones? Comment below and tell about them!