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.
*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.