Strange Brew [Blu-ray]

Overview

Purporting to be loosely based on Hamlet, Strange Brew is about an evil braumeister at the Elsinore Brewery who has discovered an additive that when guzzled in beer, allows the drinkers to be easily controlled. Braumeister Smith (Max von Sydow) has a plan to take over the world with his new brew, and only the Great White hosers of the North, Bob and Doug McKenzie (Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas) -- with their plaid shirts, ski toques, fur-lined parkas, and addiction to beer -- can stop the dastardly plan, sober or not. There are several jabs at "hoseheads" and the business of movie-making, including an epilogue that critiques the film itself. Strange Brew found a cult audience with fans of the Second City comedy troupe, of which Moranis and Thomas were members.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/01/2016
UPC:	0883929525270
Original Release:	1983
Rating:	PG
Source:	Warner Home Video
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Language:	English
Time:	1:30:00
Sales rank:	11,937

Special Features

The Animated Adventures of Bob and Doug McKenzie; Classic McKenzie Brothers Sketch from SCTV: How to Stuff a Mouse in a Beer Bottle; Theatrical Trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Dave Thomas	Doug McKenzie
Rick Moranis	Bob McKenzie
Max von Sydow	Brewmeister Smith
Paul Dooley	Claude Elsinore
Lynne Griffin	Pam Elsinore
Angus MacInnes	Jean LaRose
Tom Harvey	Inspector
Douglas Campbell	Henry Green
Brian McConnachie	Ted
Len Doncheff	Jack Hawkland
Jill Frappier	Gertrude
David Beard	Judge
Thick Wilson	Prosecutor
Mel Blanc	Mr. McKenzie
Robert Windsor	Bailiff
Eric House	John Elsinore
Sid Lynas	Angry Man at Moie
Ron James	Man in Movie
Dora Dainton	Woman in Movie
David Clement	Man in Alley
Paddy Sampson	Pensioner
Roger Dunn	Beer Store Clerk
Diane Douglass	Receptionist
J. Winston Carroll	Fire Chief
James Conroy	Bald Con
Glenn Beck	Prison Guard
Desh Bandhu	Parking Attendant
Ilija Ilijevski	Emcee at Oktoberfest
Mary Charlotte Wilcox	Nurse
Maggie Butterfield	Nurse
Thom Bell	Orderly
Christopher Benson	Orderly
John Stoneham	Orderly
David Rigby	Policeman
Denis Forest	Policeman
Dick Grant	Policeman
George Stinton	Policeman
John Kelly	Policeman
Tom Bell	Hospital Orderly

Technical Credits

Dave Thomas

Rick Moranis

Steve De Jarnatt

Dave Thomas	Director,Screenwriter
Rick Moranis	Director,Screenwriter
Steve De Jarnatt	Screenwriter
Eric Allard	Special Effects
Jack Grossberg	Executive Producer
Henry Pierrig	Special Effects
Louis M. Silverstein	Producer

Editorial Reviews

The performers are the key to this film's success. Moranis and Thomas have a fantastic chemistry. One gets the sense that much of the material was improvised, but the two have been doing this so long that they don't step on each other's lines. There is a respect between the two that translates into a believable sibling relationship on the screen. Their grounded-in-reality interaction helps sell the more wild jokes in the film (Bob drinking an entire vat of beer, their dog Hosehead flying, and the boys' survival techniques when trapped in their van at the bottom of a lake). The casting in the film is inspired. Paul Dooley is a fine comic actor, Mel Blanc provides the voice for Mr. McKenzie, and as the bad guy threatening to take over the world with beer, Max Von Sydow chews scenery in his own intense, imploding style. The characters of Bob and Doug McKenzie were created by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas while they were working on SCTV. The two actors would don the costumes late at night after all of the other taping had been completed. They would improvise two-minute conversations between the characters about a given topic. While 25 or so of them would be taped at each session, only one or two from every batch were good enough to put on the air. Strange Brew is certainly not perfect; however, it is well crafted, lovingly performed, and chock full of jokes ranging from the ridiculous (the aftermath from drinking four-month-old chocolate milk) to the sublime (their fantastic two-minute conversation that plays over the closing credits). With Strange Brew, Moranis and Thomas pull off something that very few gifted sketch comics have. They created a funny 91-minute movie out of material that was never supposed to last longer than two.

All Movie Guide - Perry Seibert