Corner Gas: The Movie (2014)

I loved Corner Gas during it's run as Canada's most popular sitcom and I've watched the show several times through on DVD. It was weird that it got a movie, the show ended prematurely so I never thought they would come back to it. But they tried to create a couple of different shows with members of the Corner Gas cast (Hiccups w/ Brent Butt and Nancy Robertson and Dan for Mayor w/ Fred Ewanuick) but both were busts. So I understand why they chose to come back to this. This show had a very dry and simple sense of humour, it wasn't for everybody but I really enjoyed it. The movie had a limited theatrical run and I got to go see it in the theatre. It delivered what I wanted in spades, I was so happy to see the crew again. Despite the time gap from the end of the series, they easily captured what made the show so great.*Minor Spoilers Ahead* Brent (Brent Butt), Wanda (Nancy Robertson) and Hank (Fred Ewanuick) are all in their usual spots at the Corner Gas Station in Dog River, Saskatchewan. Hank asks how long it's been and Brent tells him April 13, 2009 (the exact date the final episode of the show). All of a sudden, an armed robber breaks into Corner Gas, demanding the money from the register. He shoots Brent in the arm and is attacked by Hank and Wanda. The robber rips of Wanda's face and under it is a robotic exoskeleton. Brent has also revealed that he has a robot arm. The robber than transforms into a werewolf and begins to attack Wanda. Hank then wakes up at the airport muttering "lazerfur." He's there to pickup a journalist who's judging a contest Dog River has entered.Hank attempts to shoot the breeze with Tina (Karen Holness) but she's put off by his rusting truck and his country attitude. They get to Dog River expecting a peaceful atmosphere but the town is chaotic. There are fires, fights and utter chaos. Hank decides to explain the chain of events leading up to what has happened.The plot of the Corner Gas movie is pretty simple and formulaic. It's the "save the rec-centre" story re-done. But the way the movie handles it is just so perfect for a continuation of the show. The mayor of Dog River Fitzy (Cavan Cunningham) lost the town's money investing in Detroit real estate and they need to win this contest to just keep things running. So the point I'm trying to make is that yes, you've seen several aspects of this movie's story before but it's the same writers from the show and they know just how to spin it to bring the laughter. The show never re-wrote the book with it's creativity so it was almost fitting to be honest.The whole cast returned for the movie and they performed just as if the show had been going the whole time. Brent is just as sarcastic and clever, Lacey (Gabrielle Miller) is well-meaning yet neurotic behaviour. Hank has that crusty idiot personality and Oscar (Eric Peterson) is still fly-off-the-handle crank he always was. The entire cast is consistent and on point, it's cool they all came back. The movie also has some cool lower-key cameos (a couple of the on camera sports casters from TSN).The most important part is that the movie retained the shows sense of humour and the movie was hilarious. They did a good job giving each character a chance to contribute (Karen got the short shrift if I had to pick one of the central cast). They even did some things that the fans had been waiting for like Brent and Lacey finally getting together.I'll admit that this review isn't completely objective. I honestly loved the show and I'll admit that bias. But I do genuinely think this movie did an excellent job putting on one last show for it's audience. It came across as very genuine, like they knew how much the show meant to some people. I would recommend this to Corner Gas fans wholeheartedly. To the cast and crew, thanks for the memories, this was a fitting finish for the residents of the fictional town of Dog River, Saskatchewan.

If you are Canadian, or know someone who is Canadian, or can spell the word H-o-c-k-e-y, you may already be familiar with the legend of Corner Gas, that great opus which begat this movie.Once upon a time, deep in the bowels of the Canuck entertainment industry (an industry which owes its very existence to the exchange rate with the US dollar; and which can claim to have spawned over 90% of all the bad sequels made in the last 30 years) a fairly unknown but undeniably clever comic pitched an idea for a Canadian-ish Seinfeld ("Seinfeld without the nasty edge") and not only was it accepted, it was an international hit.Even as you read these words, on some comedy channel somewhere in the digital world, Corner Gas is running, and, like Lucy, may run long after the rest of us have shuffled off this mortal coil.The team behind GAS left the party while the getting was good, and tried a bunch of spinoffs. The fact that you never heard of the spinoffs pretty much answers your next 2 questions.Which left only one option -- recapture the glory days by bringing the whole team back into harness for a feature.And here we are.It's actually hard to review because -- and this is fatal for a critic -- I know the series too well, and that means I am reacting to my memory of the characters as much as the characters themselves, in the movie.So, bottom line, if you are fan of the original, there are worse ways to spend a rainy afternoon than with Brent and boys. And the incredibly photogenic Gabrielle Miller doesn't hurt either.However, as raw entertainment, there are problems. The script is massively overwritten. You get the feeling that every time writer A noticed a problem, writer B would try to plaster over it with a clever pun or a segue. With the expected result.None of which changes the fact that it is meandering, overlong, uneven, and poorly meshed to the feature-length format.That's my view as a critic.As a fan, however, it was great fun to see the gang back in action again!

The mayor of Dog River Fitzy has lost the town's money in property investments in Detroit. Now the town is going bankrupt. Lacey Burrows (Gabrielle Miller) has an idea to enter the town into a newspaper contest for the quaintest town. Hank Yarbo (Fred Ewanuick)'s ideas are as terrible as ever. Davis Quinton (Lorne Cardinal) is let go as a cop and he decides to be a private investigator. Fellow cop Karen Peel (Tara Spencer-Nairn) is pregnant and starts writing lots of tickets. Wanda Dollard (Nancy Robertson) discovers Davis' man-cave and starts a bar there without Davis' knowledge. Emma Leroy (Janet Wright) is itching for Brent (Brent Butt) to have kids. Oscar (Eric Peterson) sells his car for a horse.The TV show was always a bit about nothing. So the town going bankrupt is a big something. However, it's handled with the show's usual lightness. All the main characters are back and that's a great thing. Nobody is missing. It is just as charming as the show. It's not so complicated that even people who are not familiar with the TV show will easily get into this.

we are testing this on an American friend of ours who has not seen the show this weekend. unleash dog river ! the first time my mother and I saw it was great. then when I thought of it, it was more of an event - like boyhood, but not as long and well you know what I mean. there's a juxtaposition between the two. okay well onward. that small town story is all you need to do well here. complete with a well-meaning mayor and a good dose of wullertonites (pfff!). (it's a thing). and parodies of retirement, casinos, cheesy entertainment, cluelessness, helicopter parenting, doomsday preppers, community hi-jackers, corporate scumbags, well meaning Canadian donut franchises...I can't spoil this for you. I stop now.