There’s a lot going on during the Canada Day long weekend but, once the sun has gone down and the picnic basket is unpacked, it’s a great time to unwind with one of these Canadiana classics. Depending on your preference or mood, we’ve divided this list into two parts — Canadian classics and Canadian classics: Couch locked edition.
Canadian classics
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
Directed by Ted Kotcheff and starring Richard Dreyfuss, this 1974 Canadian film is based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Mordecai Richler. The story follows the life of Duddy Kravitz, a poor Jewish boy raised in Montreal, Quebec who is obsessed with power and money.
Released in 1985, this Canadian comedy/drama was written and directed by Sandy Wilson who based it on her own childhood. The film stars Margaret Langrick as Sandy Wilcox, a pre-teen growing up in rural Penticton, B.C. in the late 1950s. Sandy wants to be treated like an adult and when her older American cousin Butch Walker (John Wildman) comes for a visit, the two form an unlikely bond over rock music.
In this 1994 Canadian drama, directed by Mina Shum and co-produced by the National Film Board of Canada, Sandra Oh plays Jade Li, an actress struggling to assert her independence from the expectations of her traditional Chinese Canadian family.
This 1996 Canadian mockumentary, directed by Bruce McDonald, follows the reunion of fictional Vancouver punk band Hard Core Logo. When the band gets back together ostensibly for an anti-gun benefit, they begin the tour in Vancouver and travel thousands of kilometers east along theTrans-Canada Highway to Winnipeg and then northwest along the Yellowhead Highway to Edmonton. On the way the band members begin to reveal dark secrets.
RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World
This Canadian documentary not only showcases the role of Native Americans in popular music history, but also includes scenes with real musicians — both dead and alive — including Steven Tyler, Iggy Pop, Link Wray, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Jesse Ed Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Slash and more. And while many artists and musical forms played a role in the creation of rock music, it’s thought by many that no single piece of music was more influential than the 1958 instrumental “Rumble” by American Indian rock guitarist and singer/songwriter Link Wray.
Canadian classics: Couch locked edition
This 1996 movie, written by and starring Canadian comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, follows the fictional tale of a pharmaceutical scientist who creates a pill that makes people remember their happiest memory, which might sound good on paper, but unfortunately has some adverse side effects.
Directed by Ivan Reitman, this 1979 comedy stars Bill Murray as the head counselor at a run-down summer camp. Murray’s character Tripper Harrison becomes the unlikely friend to a lonely young boy and shenanigans ensue. Trivia tip: Meatballs was Murray’s first leading role in a movie and the red shorts and colorful Hawaiian shirts he wore were from his own wardrobe.
Also known as The Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie, is a 1983 Canadian comedy starring the popular SCTV characters Bob and Doug McKenzie, portrayed by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis, who also served as co-directors. The plot follows two unemployed brothers who place a live mouse in a beer bottle in an attempt to blackmail the local beer store into giving them free Elsinore beer, but are told to take up the matter with management. When the brothers are given jobs on the bottling line inspecting bottles for mice, they uncover a secret plot to take over the world by placing a mind-control drug in Elsinore beer.
Porky's is a 1981 Canadian-American sex romp written and directed by Bob Clark about a group of Florida high school students who plan on losing their virginity by hiring prostitutes at Porky's, a nightclub out in the Everglades. When Porky takes their money, humiliates the kids by dumping them in the swamp and eventually badly beats one of the boys, they come up with a plan to seek revenge.
Also known as Trailer Park Boys: The Big Dirty, this 2006 Canadian crime/comedy film is based on the TV series of the same name. The film follows characters Ricky, Julian and Bubbles creating a plan for the “Big Dirty,” one last crime that will enable them to retire from their criminal lives.
sthomas@vancourier.com
@sthomas10
