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| Canadian Bacon |
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  (5/10)
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Runtime: 110 |
| Public Rating: 6.22 (41 votes) |
Director: Michael Moore |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Comedy |
Year: 1994 |
| Writer(s): Michael Moore |
| Distributor: 1 |
| Reviewed by: Goatdog |
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This spotty comedy is directed by documentarian Michael Moore, the firebrand behind such films as "Roger & Me." It's an interesting choice of directorial debuts. I expected a biting political satire along the lines of "Wag the Dog"; this is basically the remedial version of that film. Its main problem is that it is overlong: this was an 80-90 minute comedy beefed up to almost two hours, mostly because Moore seems unable to make serious decisions about what should stay and what should go. However, it is funny often enough to make it worth watching.
Alan Alda is a US President faced with sagging approval ratings. At the urging of his crooked advisors, especially Kevin Pollack, he decides to concoct a war against Canada, since wars seem to boost morale and approval. Meanwhile, on the border at Niagra, dipshit sheriff Bubba takes the rhetoric a little too seriously, and decides to invade. His exploits get his wife, Honey, captured and sent to the capital of Canada (Ottawa, not Toronto) for treatment in the free health care system. She is not amused, and breaks out, rampaging across the country with her automatic weapons. Bubba and friends set out to rescue her, and the film is mostly interested in making fun of Canadian stereotypes on their journey. Steven Wright plays a too-calm Mountie, Dan Aykroyd plays a friendly highway patrolman who orders them to write their anti-Canadian epithets in French and English... you get the picture. Turns out Alda is the stooge for a plot to start a nuclear war so an evil arms manufacturer (and aren't they all?) can increase his profits, which have been falling steadily since his stooge Reagan left the White House.
All of this is extraneous to the real enjoyment, which is watching a bunch of Canadian actors (Candy, Perlman, Aykroyd, etc) make fun of Americans making fun of Canadians. There are constant references to the supposed politeness of Canadians (being from the Midwest, I think it is more of a Midwestern/Canadian thing than strictly north of the border). In the funniest scene, mentioned above, Aykroyd informs the invaders about Canada's bilingual laws. There are barbs about the differences in pronunciation (Candy says, "I'll teach you how to pronouce the letter O!"), differences in food, and differences in ideas of public safety. Overall, though, this is a goodnatured comedy that misses the mark quite a bit but manages to stay mostly enjoyable, despite its overlong running time.
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