Pure Canadiana

If there is one thing that Canada is known for, it surely has to be hockey. There are a few other things, though, that have put Canada on the map: snow, cold, the addition of "eh?" to questions, and comedians. That last one is quite notable since there have been a number of excellent Canadian comedians that have crossed the border and found great success on the south side of the Canada-US line. Among the comedic greats that we have exported from this country, two characters by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas seem to be the epitome of Canadian stereotypes, and one of the best ways at summing up all things Canadiana.

Bob and Doug McKenzie are the brain-children of Moranis and Thomas, and they regularly appeared on Canada's version of Saturday Night Live. SCTV, which stood for Second City Television, was a successful comedy skit show where a variety of highly-successful actors got their starts. For Moranis and Thomas, it was the starting point of a very "beauty" way to begin their movie careers.

Strange Brew was released in 1983, but the story itself was sold to MGM in 1981. Max Von Sydow is the biggest star in the film, and he plays the antagonist to Bob and Doug McKenzie. Where this movie ties into hockey, though, is through Von Sydow's characters mind-control beer.

Jean "Rosie" LeRose, a former hockey player who quit the game because of a nervous breakdown, is staying in the institution next door to Elsinore Brewery where the McKenzie boys work. Bob, played by Moranis, recognizes Rosie as one of hockey's greats, and gets him to sign a hockey card amongst many things that Rosie does in the movie.

Brewmeister Smith, played by Von Sydow, begins to add a chemical concoction to the beer that allows him to control people's minds through auditory cues. To demonstrate this, Brewmeister Smith has the patients from the institution play hockey against one another.

The result? See the following.

Of course, out of their love of all things Canadian, Bob and Doug got to do some pretty awesome commercials too, eh?

That's beauty, eh?

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice, eh?