Canadian Bacon (1995)

Director:

Michael Moore

Writer (WGA):

Michael Moore (written by)

Release Date:

22 September 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

It Gets Lonely at the Top, When There's No More Butt to Kick.

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.

Plot Keywords:

Niagara Falls | U.S. President | Canada | Special Forces | Food In Title

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Kanadiko bacon (Greece) (festival title) [el]
Kindynos apo to Vorra (Greece) (cable TV title) [el]
Operação Canadá (Brazil) [pt]
Operação Toucinho Canadiano (Portugal) [pt]
Operación Canadá (Spain) [es]
Operacja 'Bekon' (Poland) [pl]
Operazione Canadian Bacon (Italy) [it]
Pajzs a résen (Hungary) [hu]
Pekonia kanadalaisittain (Finland) [fi]
Unsere feindlichen Nachbarn (Germany) (video title) [de]

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild language and violence.

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

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

Company:

Dog Eat Dog Films

Trivia:

A deleted scene featured James Belushi and Mary Charlotte Wilcox as Canadian border guards wearing beaver hats. They improvised the entire scene. Afterward, Belushi, a relative newcomer to the comedy scene, told comedy veteran Wilcox (whom he didn't recognize) "You're kind of funny" and that she should try to get into comedy.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: At the beginning the motorcade is described as being in Niagara Falls where in fact it drives by Dofasco Steel on Ottawa Street in Hamilton Ontario. As well, the factory shot from across the water is also Hamilton, but this is a shot of Stelco Steel, Dofasco's neighbor.

Quotes:

Roy Boy: How come you never see any black guys playing hockey?
Kabral: Now do you think it's easy to just gradually take over every professional sport? Let me tell you something, man. Brothers have started figuring out this ice thing. Hope you enjoyed it!

Movie Connections:

References The Guns of Navarone (1961)

Soundtrack:

Ballad Of The Green Beret

Brilliantly Funny Film On Canada/Us Quirks

First of all I'd like to correct those who have claimed this film was written by a Canadian. Michael Moore wrote, produced and directed this film and he was born in Flint, Michigan. In fact his much acclaimed earlier film Roger & Me was all about his hometown and its unfortunate plight.

With that out of the way I'd like to say that Michael Moore did a wonderful job capturing the humour in the quirky traits and differences that separate Canadians and Americans whether that be Canada's pride for hockey and their beer or America's ignorance of Canada as a whole. The film is filled with funny little political hints and satire of the typical Moore fashion that helped make his last film Bowling For Columbine the best selling documentary of all time.

This movie is not a documentary but rather a witty story that brings forth the same concept of a president creating a fake conflict to boost poll ratings that Wagging The Dog was to later use more seriously.

Some of the comments made in this film show eerie foreshadowing to what has happened in the world since it was produced.

No matter what your motivation for watching this film you can expect to get the same formula of political commentary delivered with wit and humour that you get in all of Michael Moore's Films, TV Shows, and novels.