FREE: STRANGE BREW DVD Movie & ELSINORE BEER Bottle Bob & Doug McKenzie

Review - Part 4

"Strange Brew" isn't afraid to go big with its sense of humor, perhaps unsettling those expecting a more sedate recycling of "SCTV" highlights. The charm of the feature is its fearlessness, never wandering from its desire to entertain in a big, bad way, working through gags that involve the brothers' demanding, beer-swilling father (voiced by Mel Blanc), a Chuck Norris-looking lawyer (Len Doncheff) who welcomes unwanted attention from the press with a martial arts display, and the family dog, Hosehead, who also loves to drink and maybe, just maybe, is a secret superhero. There are meta movie jokes as well, with the picture introduced by a drunk Leo the Lion before commencing a film-within-a-film segment that finds the McKenzies sharing their backyard production, "Mutants of 2051 A.D.", with a decidedly contentious audience. Moranis and Thomas never miss a chance to inject some wackiness into the effort, keeping "Strange Brew" humming along as it tackles density of plot with delicious oddity and plenty of classic McKenzie-isms.

Review - Part 3

While the "SCTV" segments were primarily simplistic, improvised moments intended to play up the natural chemistry shared by Moranis and Thomas, "Strange Brew" does a commendable job giving the characters something to do. Although crafted with a limited budget, the screenplay is filled with incident and action, following the brothers as they inadvertently disrupt Smith's diabolical plans during their quest to a score a free "two-four." Bob and Doug take to the ice during Elsinore's maniacal hockey matches, feeling the brute force of men controlled by toxic beer, puppeted by sounds from a synthesizer. They're targeted for death when the brake line on their van is slashed during an unusual keg delivery. And they end up in the mental institution, showing more interest in fooling around with shock treatment than saving their own lives. While "Strange Brew" is careful with its plot (which grows wilder by the minute), it's attentive to the core appeal of the McKenzies, keeping the lovable drunks on the go as they greet supporting characters and eventually become wrapped up in Pam's sinister melodrama, partnering with Rosie (Angus MacInnes), an ex-hockey star who's zombified by Smith's formula. Moranis and Thomas are at the top of their game here, delivering facial-contorting silliness with desired emphasis, keeping the brothers appealing as they slip in and out of the plot. They're also capable behind the camera, pulling amazingly robust comedic performances out of the cast, including von Sydow, who digs into his villainous role, managing false teeth and head-squishing intimidation with sublime enthusiasm. Dooley is also fantastic as the doofy co-conspirator, always threatening to sabotage the beer scheme through perpetually misguided confidence.

Review - Part 2

Bob (Rick Moranis) and Doug McKenzie (Dave Thomas) are nitwit brothers looking to get by on a diet of beer and irresponsibility. Trying to score a free case of beer with a mouse-in-a-bottle scam, the brothers take their claims to the Elsinore Brewery, which is attached to the Royal Canadian Institute for the Mentally Insane. Inside, they meet Pam (Lynne Griffin), a young woman left in control of the brewery after the sudden death of her father, John. Hoping to entice Pam to hand over the company is Claude (Paul Dooley), her uncle and now father-in-law, who quickly married John's widow. Claude is conspiring with Brewmeister Smith (Max von Sydow) to create a tainted beer intended to control the minds of consumers, testing the formula on Institute residents, who engage in violent hockey matches while under the influence. Stepping into the middle of the conflict, Bob and Doug navigate professional opportunities and legal woes, wandering through danger as they accidentally uncover a conspiracy.

While ideas from the "SCTV" years help to inspire the comedy of "Strange Brew," the screenplay (credited to Moranis, Thomas, and Steve De Jarnatt) is actually an extended take on "Hamlet," with Claude a duplicitous man rising in position after his brother's death and his own marriage to Pam's mother, John is a literal ghost in the machine, and most of the action takes place inside the Elsinore Brewery, which hosts a series of double-crosses and power plays. This dramatic regality supports "Strange Brew" through its habitual weirdness, finding the production having a ball staging Shakespearean references, perverting them with nods to Canadian culture, and broader humor that finds the McKenzies stumbling through the action without ever truly understanding what's going on.