STRANGE BREW. Directed by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis; written by Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas and Steven De Jarnatt; produced by Louis M. Silverstein for MGM/UA. Starring Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis and Max Von Sydow. Rated PG.
More reviews by —
TITLE:
RATING:
The title of this movie is very apt. It is a strange mixture of different kinds of comedy. There is some crudity (flatulence jokes, for example), but also a fairly well-sustained Hamlet parody. Mixed in with the slapstick of brothers hitting each other and car chases is an amusing movie-within-a-movie scheme. A "strange brew," indeed, but one which goes down well.
Fans of Bob (Moranis) and Doug (Thomas) McKenzie's routines on SCTV or their comedy album will need no introduction to the pair's zany, off-beat humor. Not all comedy acts, however, transfer successfully to the feature-length medium. The pleasant surprise of Strange Brew is that the McKenzies have few difficulties on this score.
The movie's plot sounds ridiculous, and it is. But is has its own internal logic and consistency, which is all it really needs.
The McKenzie brothers lose the money they were supposed to use to buy beer. So they try to con some free suds from the Elsinore brewery. This ploy lands them in the middle of some high-powered intrigue.
The former owner of the brewery has just been murdered by his brother, Smith (Von Sydow)—sound familiar, English majors? The sinister Smith is planning to—what else?—take over the world, by putting drugs in the beer supply.
He experiments with inmates of the nearby insane asylum who dress up like Star Wars stormtroopers and play hockey. (The emphasis on hockey in the movie may mystify a southern audience, but Bob and Doug make no secret of being Canadian, and hockey is the national pastime of the Great White North.)
The McKenzies join forces with the murdered brewer's daughter Pam (Lynne Griffin) to thwart the dastardly plot, and help true love conquer all.
An extra added attraction to Strange Brew is a host of "take-offs" (Bob and Doug fans will understand the pun) on other movies from Gone with the Wind to Superman to Tron.
Moviegoers unfamiliar with the McKenzie brothers' style of comedy and twists and turns of mind need to be cautioned. Much of their humor is quite bizarre. But it is rarely obscene or offensive in any but the most sophomoric ways. They are an updated Abbott and Costello, with a few "strange" twists. Cheech and Chong with beer instead of marijuana fixations.
Strange Brew is a lite entertainment (sorry about that) to be sure. But there is enough method in Bob and Doug's madness to make me await their further adventures with anticipation.
September 14, 1983