IMDb > Canadian Bacon (1995)
Canadian Bacon
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Canadian Bacon (1995) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 2 NEW)
Canadian Bacon (1995) -- The U.S. President, low in the opinion polls, gets talked into raising his popularity by trying to start a cold war against Canada.
Canadian Bacon (1995) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
5.7/10   8,388 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 10% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Michael Moore
Writer (WGA):
Michael Moore (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Canadian Bacon on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
22 September 1995 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy more
Tagline:
It Gets Lonely at the Top, When There's No More Butt to Kick. more
Plot:
The U.S. President, low in the opinion polls, gets talked into raising his popularity by trying to start a cold war against Canada. full summary | add synopsis
User Comments:
Brilliant Satire more (104 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

John Candy ... Sheriff Bud Boomer

Alan Alda ... President of the United States
Rhea Perlman ... Honey

Kevin Pollak ... Stu Smiley

Rip Torn ... General Dick Panzer
Kevin J. O'Connor ... Roy Boy

Bill Nunn ... Kabral
G.D. Spradlin ... R. J. Hacker (as G. D. Spradlin)
Steven Wright ... Niagara Mountie

James Belushi ... Charles Jackal (as Jim Belushi)
Brad Sullivan ... Gus

Stanley Anderson ... Edwin S. Simon

Richard Council ... Russian President

Wallace Shawn ... Canadian Prime Minister
Michael Copeman ... Panzer's Aide
more
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG for mild language and violence.
Runtime:
91 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby SR
Certification:
Australia:PG | USA:PG (NO. 33582) | Canada:PG (Canadian Home Video rating) | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | UK:PG
Filming Locations:
Buffalo, New York, USA more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The final note in the credits, "To Johnny LaRue - thanks to you, we got our crane shot", is a reference to one of John Candy's recurring characters on "SCTV Channel" (1983) . more
Goofs:
Continuity: Sheriff Boomer sprays French translations onto the side of his truck. In the next shot, the truck has only English. more
Quotes:
Boomer: There it is, men. Toronto.
Roy Boy: It's beautiful. Like no other city I've ever seen. It's like Albany. Only cleaner.
more
Movie Connections:
References The Alamo (1960) more
Soundtrack:
Toy Never Played With more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
31 out of 43 people found the following comment useful.
Brilliant Satire, 24 March 2005
9/10
Author: Wulfstan10 from United States

While it had some flaws, mostly in some incomplete development of themes and failing to make full use of the story's potential, this is a brilliantly funny satire that mostly succeeds wonderfully on many levels.

The idea to have the US pick on Canada, internationally one of the world's least offensive and bellicose countries is itself brilliant. It wonderfully picks on the US, and more generally, on any rather belligerent nation that likes to throw its weight around and create excuses for doing so.

It also picks on the use of propaganda and even on mass media and mass mob hysteria. This is especially true in the way the film portrays how the American media discusses Canada and how some members of the public react, so that the whole idea spins out of control of those who began it for their own personal reasons. I was barely able to breath with laughter throughout the whole period when the US was flashing its propaganda about Canada and showing how threatening they are, especially how they claimed the Canadians were "infiltrating" American society and were "massing" on the border. This is wonderful satire on sensationalist news stations and their willingness to use information in a wildly inaccurate and misleading manner in order to rile people up.

The film picks on everyone involved, Canadian and American alike. It attacks the stereotypes of both, highlighting their differences yet also attacking the misconceptions about both peoples. To have a number of Canadians in the film is another flash of inspiration, too, since there are Canadians playing comically stereotypical (i.e., polite, white bread, well-spoken) Canadians and Canadians playing comically stereotypical (i.e., redneck, belligerent, crude) Americans. It adds to the irony since one of the American's propaganda tools is that there are Canadian actors everywhere in the US as such integral parts of the American entertainment industry that they are taken for Americans, and lo and behold, here some are playing various people in this film.

Some parts of the film were simply silly, with jokes that were more gags rather than actually furthering the satire and points of the movie, and this is a weak spot. While some were funny and worked, others were a bit inane and the film would have been more successful had they stuck to developing the real themes and satire of the film, which are what make it great.

Anyway, despite some weak points, this film is a brilliant satire that contains a number of parts that are utterly hilarious. It did not fulfill its full potential, but it is not too far below perfect and the good parts are really, really good.

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Message Boards

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Reference help lexusis
Michael Moore's best movie watthead
More relevant in 2008 than in 1995 torq89
I'm supresed this wasn't banned in Canada. starman15317
As soon as I finished watching this movie... chenzi
Canadian Bacon 2 richeysj
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