Wikipedia

Canadian Bacon

This article is about the film. For other uses, seeCanadian bacon.

Canadian Baconis a 1995comedy filmwritten, produced, and directed byMichael Moorewhich satirizesCanada–United States relationsalong theCanada–United States border.[5]The film stars anensemble castfeaturingAlan Alda,John Candy(in his final film role),Bill Nunn,Kevin J. O'Connor,Rhea Perlman,Kevin Pollak,G. D. Spradlin,andRip Torn.It tells the story of a struggling President who is persuaded by his confidantes to fight with Canada, when a local sheriff and his friends get involved.

Canadian Bacon
A silhouette of the New York skyline including the Statue of Liberty. Above it is a boot with the Canadian maple leaf on the sole
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMichael Moore
Written byMichael Moore
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyHaskell Wexler
Edited by
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byGramercy Pictures
Release date
  • September 22, 1995(1995-09-22)
Running time
90 minutes[2]
CountriesUnited States
Canada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$11 million[3]
Box office$178,104[4]

The film was screened in theUn Certain Regardsection at the1995 Cannes Film Festival,[6]and was the final film released starringJohn Candy,though it was shot before the earlier-releasedWagons Eastas both films are dedicated in memory of him. It is also Moore's only non-documentary filmto date.[7]

Plot

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InNiagara Falls, New York,thousands of former employees are outraged with military businessman R. J. Hacker having closed down his weapons manufacturing plant, Hacker Dynamics. Local sheriff Bud Boomer and his deputy/girlfriend Honey then prevent a despondent former Hacker employee, Roy Boy, from committing suicide atNiagara Falls.

At a conference held at Hacker Dynamics, Hacker pins the blame for the shutdown of his business on thePresident of the United States,who has just arrived. The President defends his own belief that the future of the children is more important than war which has caused major decline in his approval rating.

After the press conference, the President confides in General Dick Panzer andNational Security AdvisorStuart Smiley (who is revealed to have ties with Hacker) that he's unhappy about not having an enemy to engage with. An attempted negotiation withRussian PresidentVladimir Kruschkin to start anew cold warwith Russia fails and the President's suggestion of a war oninternational terrorismis deemed too absurd.

Later that night, Bud Boomer offensively criticizesCanadian beerwhile attending a hockey game with Honey, Roy Boy, and deputy sheriff Kabral Jabar between the neighboring nations inNiagara Falls, Ontariocausing a brawl to break out. The ensuing riot ends up on the news the next day and catches Stuart's attention which led to everyone getting detained overnight. In turn, Stuart collects more information about Canada from aCIAagent named Gus and suggests Canada as their new enemy during a cabinet meeting.

Before long, U.S. television channels are littered with anti-Canadapropagandawhich Boomer believes wholeheartedly. He prepares for war by distributing guns to his fellow sheriffs, Honey, Roy Boy, and Kabral Jabar. He also helps form a localmilitia.After they apprehend a group of Americans "dressed as Canadians" attempting to destroy ahydroelectricplant despite Gus's protests that they are just Americans, they sneak across the border to litter on Canadian lands which leads to Honey being left behind and arrested by theMounties.In a rescue attempt, Boomer, Roy Boy, and Kabral sneak into a Canadian power plant and cause a countrywide blackout. When the President learns of this, Stuart orders the Omega Force to remove Boomer from Canada before it is too late.

Seeking revenge on the President for shutting down his business, Hacker uses a software program ( "Hacker Hellstorm" ) to activate missile silos across the country. The President learns that the signal causing the activation of the silos originated from Canada, and, as Stuart tells the President that is classified, summons Hacker for some answers. Hacker offers to sell a program to the President that can cancel out the Hellstorm—for $1 trillion. Fed up with the President being too busy to give Hacker the money, Stuart realizes that Hacker, getting up to leave, is the one controlling the silos, not Canada. After storming up, Stuart takes the operating codes from him required to stop the Hellstorm while accidentally killing Hacker in the process. The still busy President orders Stuart's arrest despite his protests that he is now able to give the codes to the President so they could deactivate the missiles which are aimed atMoscow.As the US government loses contact with Omega Force and as the launch time approaches, the President pleads withCanadian Prime MinisterClark MacDonald over the phone to stop the launch.

Meanwhile, Honey was taken to a hospital upon her capture and escaped all the way to theCN Tower.She discovers the central computer for the Hellstorm and destroys it with a machine gun, aborting the launch sequence. Honey then reunites with Boomer and they return to the United States on a speedboat. Before the final shot of Boomer and Honey's speedboat unknowingly heading towards the waterfall is shown, an epilogue reveals the characters' fates:

  • Boomer realizes his dream of appearing onCops.
  • Honey is named "Humanitarian of the Year" by theNational Rifle Association of America.
  • The President was defeated in the next election by a large landslide and now hostsGet Up, Cleveland.
  • Stuart served eight months in prison, but was pardoned by the new PresidentOliver North.
  • General Panzer committedsuicide by gunshotafter learning thatHogan's Heroeswas fictional.
  • Hacker's body has been viewed daily at the Republican National Headquarters from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
  • Gus was last spotted heading toMexicoin a tank.
  • Kabral has become a hockey star, winning theHart Memorial Trophythree years in a row. It was then shown that it was ironically for theToronto Maple Leafsas his hockey card shows him playing for them.
  • Roy Boy's whereabouts are unknown.
  • MacDonald is "still ruling with an iron fist".

Cast

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Production

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Moore was inspired by the pro-war sentiment and 90% approval rating for PresidentGeorge H. W. Bushat the time of theGulf Warand wondered if the president could gain public support for war on any country, even Canada.[9][10]

The film was shot in fall 1993,[11]inToronto,Hamilton,andNiagara Falls, Ontario;andBuffaloandNiagara Falls, New York.[12]Scenes depicting the rapids of theNiagara Riverwere actually filmed atTwelve Mile CreekinSt. Catharines.Parkwood EstateinOshawawas the site for theWhite House,[13]andDofascoin Hamilton was the site for Hacker Dynamics. The scene where the American characters look longingly home at the US across the putativeNiagara Riveris them looking acrossBurlington BayatStelcosteelworks inHamilton, Ontario.

The hockey game and riot were shot at theNiagara Falls Memorial Arenain Niagara Falls, Ontario,[14]and the actors portraying the police officers (who eventually join in the riot upon hearing "Canadian beersucks ") are wearing authenticNiagara Regional Policeuniforms.[15]

Originally,PolyGram Filmed Entertainmenthad arranged for the film to be released byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer(MGM) in the fall of 1994. However, PolyGram later started its own distribution company,Gramercy Pictures,withUniversal Picturesin the summer of 1993, and battled with MGM to get the distribution rights back from them.[16]Gramercy ultimately gave the film a limited release in 1995 before essentially taking it straight to video. Today, MGM now owns the film through their acquisition of the pre-1996 PolyGram library.

The film has numerouscameosby Canadian actors, includingDan Aykroyd,who appears uncredited as anOntario Provincial Policeofficer who pulls Candy over (not for the crude anti-Canadian graffiti on his truck, but its lack of a French translation; Boomer dutifully sprays his truck in French graffiti).[8]Moore himself appears as an Americangun nut.Cameo pictures of Canadian-American American actors in Propaganda areMichael J. Fox;Lorne GreeneandAlex Trebek.[17]

Reception

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Canadian Baconreceived unfavorable reviews by critics.[18][5][19]OnRotten Tomatoesthe film has an approval rating of 17% based on reviews from 18 critics.[20]

The A.V. Club'sNathan Rabinin a 2009 review concluded, "After generating solid laughs during its first hour,Canadian Baconfalls apart in its third act, "lamenting the film" was perceived as too lowbrow for the highbrows, and too highbrow for the lowbrows. "[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Persall, Steve (February 3, 1995)."John Candy's real last movie".Tampa Bay Times.RetrievedNovember 23,2023.
  2. ^"Canadian Bacon(PG) ".British Board of Film Classification.April 21, 1995.RetrievedNovember 2,2016.
  3. ^"Canadian Bacon".Box Office Mojo.Archivedfrom the original on March 31, 2017.
  4. ^"Canadian Bacon (1995) - Financial Information".The Numbers.Archivedfrom the original on March 14, 2015.
  5. ^abHolden, Stephen (September 22, 1995)."FILM REVIEW; America's Cold War With Canada. Just Kidding!".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on May 26, 2015.
  6. ^"Festival de Cannes: Canadian Bacon".festival-cannes.Archived fromthe originalon October 12, 2012.RetrievedSeptember 6,2009.
  7. ^Fine, Marshall (November 28, 1993)."Movies: On Location: Will His 'Bacon' Sizzle?: Sure, Michael Moore can get a rise out of former GM honcho Roger Smith, but let's see how the documentarian does with his first feature".Los Angeles Times.Archivedfrom the original on January 8, 2014.RetrievedMarch 29,2011.
  8. ^abcRabin, Nathan (April 15, 2009)."North of the Border Case File #135".The A.V. Club.RetrievedFebruary 5,2015.
  9. ^Griffin, Dominic (December 1995)."Canadian Bacon, Film Threat Review".Film Threat Magazine.Archived fromthe originalon December 2, 1998.
  10. ^Seguin, Denis (September 7, 1995)."Canadian bacon, EYE Review".Eye Magazine.Archived fromthe originalon February 2, 1999.Could the president just name any country as the new enemy? Would the American public just fall into step behind him and support the war? And I thought, 'What would be the most absurd example of that?' And I came up with Canada.
  11. ^Bradley, Ed (April 26, 1995)."Moore Gets to 'Super Bowl' of Film Makers".The Flint Journal.Flint, Michigan.Archived fromthe originalon January 22, 2013.RetrievedAugust 2,2012– via Dog Eat Dog Films (Michael Moore official site).
  12. ^"Parks, Camera, Action!".Parks & Trails New York.RetrievedNovember 23,2023.
  13. ^"Lights, Camera, Durham".The Spark Magazine.October 5, 2023.RetrievedNovember 23,2023.
  14. ^"Rhea Pearlman at the Niagara Falls Arena During the Filming of Canadian Bacon".Niagara Falls Public Library.Archived fromthe originalon January 15, 2013.RetrievedApril 10,2008.
  15. ^"John Candy at the Niagara Falls Arena During the Filming of Canadian Bacon".Niagara Falls Public Library.Archived fromthe originalon January 15, 2013.RetrievedApril 10,2008.
  16. ^"Canadian Baconwill open at Cannes ".Entertainment Weekly.
  17. ^"A look back at past movies filmed in Buffalo".WKBW.May 23, 2016.RetrievedNovember 23,2023.
  18. ^Powers, William F. (September 22, 1995)."'Canadian Bacon'".Washington Post.
  19. ^"The film that made Michael Moore stick to documentaries".CBC News.September 13, 2018.RetrievedNovember 23,2023.
  20. ^"Canadian Bacon".Rotten Tomatoes.RetrievedMarch 9,2024.
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