Canadian Bacon (1995)

This movie was just bloody awful. I don't even know where to begin. I feel like Michael Moore owes me an hour and a half of my life back.Moore needs to stick to doing documentaries because he obviously has no talent directing comedy.Not only was the film not funny, the production value was borderline home movie.While the premise wasn't bad the execution of it was terrible. It is kind of sad when South Park can do a better movie about invading Canada than Michael Moore. He really should be ashamed of himself for claiming to be a film maker after making such a horrible piece of dreck. This film was just a terrible from start to finish.

More was to be expected quite frankly from this Michael Moore political satire, poking fun at American society and politics. The movie did of course had its funny moments but the story was quite poorly done.Sorry Mr. Moore but the storytelling within this movie is just below average. Michael Moore obviously tried to make a comedy in a silly style but he just never goes all the way, presumably because he probably was too afraid his message wouldn't come across then. He also tries too hard to make the movie kick against several political issues, for which Moore is of course well known. It however doesn't always work out in this movie and it feels too forced. It also isn't always a good movie to watch since the way the main plot-line is told is highly unlikely. It feels like a too big coincidence all that Sheriff Bud B. Boomer and friends just happen to be involved in basically every aspect handled within the movie. This concept works in often lots of comedies but just not "Canadian Bacon" because of its quite messy storytelling. It made the movie painful to watch at times.What made the movie still perfectly watchable for me was its cast. John Candy, Alan Alda, Rhea Perlman, Kevin Pollak, Rip Torn, Kevin J. O'Connor, Bill Nunn, G.D. Spradlin, James Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, this movie has a true amazing comedy cast. They really uplifted the movie in my viewing experience. This was John Candy's last released movie and even though its not his best role out of his career, it's still a worthy one.It's silly concept and story also makes this movie worthwhile to watch in parts. It's of course quite funny to have a story involving America creating a sort of new cold war this time with Canadia, in order for the president to get reelected. It's even funnier to notice some parallels to the real world this present day and the Bush administration. So saying this movie is completely ineffective won't be fair. It also does some good job at times poking fun of American society, as well as the Canadian and all of their stereotypes. Of course Moore mostly kicks against the gun control, something he did of course much better and more effective later on in his documentary "Bowling for Columbine", for which he won an Oscar.It's a watchable enough film, though you probably can't help ending up being slightly disappointed with it.6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Political activist Michael Moore made his film debut with the documentary, "Roger & Me" in 1989. During his long career, he has raised tons of controversy with his documentaries, especially during this decade, with the likes of the widely seen films, "Bowling for Columbine" and "Fahrenheit 9/11". A few years after making his debut, Moore made this fictional piece, which is his only non-documentary film to date. "Canadian Bacon" is a comedy film, one which unfortunately didn't turn out so well.The U.S. President is currently doing very poorly in the opinion polls, with the country's economy dropping very low. To raise his popularity, the President is convinced that he must start a war, something which he has never done before during his time in the White House. So, he decides to conduct a cold war against Canada. He uses the media to lie and do everything else he can to make Canada look bad and manipulate the American public into believing that their northern neighbours are their enemies. Bud B. Boomer, the Sheriff of Niagara Falls, crosses the border with Deputy Honey, Kabral Jabar, and Roy Boy, where they all intend to attack! As you would expect from Michael Moore, this movie is very political, and if you're familiar with his political views, it shouldn't surprise you that this movie bashes the White House and the American military, whether you like it or not. Neither Americans nor Canadians are portrayed in a positive manor in the film, as neither are portrayed as very bright. Some Canadians have been offended by this movie, due to all the stereotypes, but personally, I'm not. In fact, I think one of the only remotely funny parts is the one where Sheriff Bud B. Boomer causes a riot at a hockey game in Canada when he says that Canadian beer sucks. I think the part where the RCMP Officer says "I don't know what you're talking aboot, eh?" gave be a bit of a snicker as well. However, most of the jokes, whether they're jabs at Canadians OR Americans, are simply not funny.Comedian John Candy, a Canadian, starred in "Canadian Bacon" as Bud Boomer. The movie was released after his tragic death in 1994 from a heart attack, and his role in it was the last role he ever completed (he died during the filming of "Wagons East"). I was only about 7 1/2 years old when he died, and had never heard of him during his life. However, I have since discovered how great a comedian he was by watching "SCTV", a classic sketch comedy show, as well as the hilarious slapstick comedy "Planes, Trains & Automobiles". "Canadian Bacon", however, is not a highlight of Candy's career, though he might add something to the film. R.I.P.A comedy movie about a war between America and Canada sounds like a good idea, but Trey Parker and Matt Stone did a MUCH, MUCH better job with it when they made "South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut"! In "Canadian Bacon", the jokes are mostly mediocre, and the movie may start out SLIGHTLY promising, but just drags for most of its approximate ninety-minute run. It appears that many have enjoyed this movie much more than I have, so I won't say avoid it like the plague, but I wouldn't expect a classic piece of political satire, and if you have high expectations, don't be surprised if they are not met.

With "Sicko" in the theaters, it brings us back to another one of Michael Moore's movies: "Canadian Bacon". This one portrays the US president (Alan Alda) trying to raise his approval ratings by starting a war with Canada; after all, every president needs to be famous for at least one military adventure. As one might expect, the movie trashes both the US (we look like a bunch of jingoistic whack-job ignoramuses) and Canada (for some reason, nothing upsets them); although you have to admit, our northern neighbor really looks better.John Candy - himself a Canadian - plays a police chief leading an invasion into Canada, first to throw garbage into a Toronto park, then to rescue a fellow officer (Rhea Perlman) accidentally left there. But it's just great how they show the government using the whole thing to make the people hate another country. A TV commercial says: "Canadians! They walk among us! Alex Trebek! Michael J. Fox!" These sorts of movies will always remain relevant as long as warmongers exist. And anyway, Michael Moore has plenty of reasons to like Canada (national health care, they don't invade other countries, and more). Probably most of all, "Canadian Bacon" goes to show what we lost when John Candy died (too bad that his last movie was the god-awful "Wagons East"). Also starring Kevin Pollak, Wallace Shawn, and brief appearances by Moore himself as a right-wing yahoo, and by Dan Aykroyd (another Canadian) as a cop.