"Surrender her pronto, or we'll level Toronto."
(Reminds me of an old joke:
"The Lone Ranger goes to Canada" . . . or . .
"On to Toronto,Tonto, pronto!")
It's probably easier for a Canadian to like this movie, and to find it funny. Allan Alda's line, above, was one of the many times I laughed out loud -- my real test for a funny movie.
What it is, is, an exaggeration of the exaggerated perception that (we think) Americans have about Canada -- the cleanliness, the politeness, the accent ootandabooot etc. Plus, the portrayal of Americans looking like goofs as they stumble around and over-react to those exaggerations. Canadians understand both the substance and the hyperbole around those clichés, and the LOLs are easy to come by.
Then, of course, the movie exaggerates American clichés also, and "everybody" loves to laugh at Americans, even though most Canadians (certaintly the ones that have visited often) have great admiration for the giant to the south, and lots of envy too.
Also, lots of movie clichés get the same satirical treatment.
Hey, it's really great fun at the expense of both sides, although in different ways. I can't believe that it's Roger Moore who put it together -- most of his stuff is so heavy and self-important as to be unwatchable. (On second thought, I guess it IS typical MM -- mocking as much Americana per minute as he can) But he must have been doing different drugs when he did this mini-masterpiece.
It cannot go unnoticed, of course, that John Candy, the American sheriff is/was very, very Canadian.
Canadians, and Americans who know about Canada, should find this a funny movie worth their time.
(Reminds me of an old joke:
"The Lone Ranger goes to Canada" . . . or . .
"On to Toronto,Tonto, pronto!")
It's probably easier for a Canadian to like this movie, and to find it funny. Allan Alda's line, above, was one of the many times I laughed out loud -- my real test for a funny movie.
What it is, is, an exaggeration of the exaggerated perception that (we think) Americans have about Canada -- the cleanliness, the politeness, the accent ootandabooot etc. Plus, the portrayal of Americans looking like goofs as they stumble around and over-react to those exaggerations. Canadians understand both the substance and the hyperbole around those clichés, and the LOLs are easy to come by.
Then, of course, the movie exaggerates American clichés also, and "everybody" loves to laugh at Americans, even though most Canadians (certaintly the ones that have visited often) have great admiration for the giant to the south, and lots of envy too.
Also, lots of movie clichés get the same satirical treatment.
Hey, it's really great fun at the expense of both sides, although in different ways. I can't believe that it's Roger Moore who put it together -- most of his stuff is so heavy and self-important as to be unwatchable. (On second thought, I guess it IS typical MM -- mocking as much Americana per minute as he can) But he must have been doing different drugs when he did this mini-masterpiece.
It cannot go unnoticed, of course, that John Candy, the American sheriff is/was very, very Canadian.
Canadians, and Americans who know about Canada, should find this a funny movie worth their time.