Strange Brew

Released: August 26th, 1983. Rated PG. 90 min.

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Main Cast:

Dave Thomas—Doug McKenzie
Rick Moranis—Bob McKenzie
Max von Sydow—Brewmeister Smith (as Max Von Sydow)
Paul Dooley—Claude Elsinore

Storyline:

Canadian brothers Bob and Doug Mackenzie enjoy drinking beer, yet they do not have a lot of money. Bob hatches a plan to scam local Elsinore brewery out of free beer by raising a baby mouse inside of an empty beer bottle, then claiming that a full-grown, live mouse was found in a bottle that he purchased. As they travel to the brewery to make their claim, they befriend Pam, the newly appointed owner of the brewery, after her father mysteriously dies. As Bob and Doug help Pam make sense of everything, they uncover a sinister plot by the brewery's head brewmeister and some disturbing hockey players.

What makes it special?

SCTV, the Canadian version of SNL, had a lot of overlap with American comedies made in Hollywood. Many of the Canadian stars found success in America, taking on roles that had nothing to do with their Northern homeland. This is not the case with Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas at the time. They achieved great success on SCTV with their fake TV show Great White North, hosted by the always-tuqued McKenzie brothers, Bob and Doug. Great White North was as pro-Canada as a show could get, with the brothers living life through hockey, back bacon, long underwear, and doughnuts.