Hailing from 1995, CANADIAN BACON was the last film appearance by the late John Candy and the first (and only) fictional film directed by Michael Moore. A satiric portrait of America declaring war on Canada, the film was a pretty ambitious undertaking for a director who was, and still is, known primarily for documentaries, and it plays exactly as you’d expect.
The stunningly unfunny opening sequence involves Roy Boy (Kevin J. O’Connor), who’s been laid off by the powerful weapons magnate R.J. Hacker (G.D. Spradlin), attempting to commit suicide by wrapping duct tape around himself and jumping into Niagara Falls. He’s rescued by Sherrif Bud Boomer (John Candy) and his partner Honey (Rhea Pearlman), who for some reason shoots Roy in the shoulder. These three end up at an auction for dangerous weapons held by Hacker, in the company of the President of the United States (Alan Alda)—apparently the first time an American president has set foot in the Niagara Falls area “since 1901 when William McKinley stopped by and was shot.” During the event a grenade launcher bought by Roy goes off and nearly kills the President, with Boomer tackling him and saving his life.
Finding that his poll numbers aren’t affected by the alleged assignation attempt, the President decides to initiate a new cold war. After failing to entice Russia into resuming its antagonism toward the US, the President turns his attention to Canada. National Security Advisor Stu Smiley (Kevin Pollock) vows, “Give me one week and I’ll have Americans burning maple leaves so fast they won’t have time to think about their smog-filled lungs, rising interest rates or their dwindling savings accounts.” As promised, within a week American sentiment against this new national enemy has reached a fever pitch, with Molson beer trucks getting attacked and “Bomb Canada” signs proliferating.
Boomer proves a problem, causing a riot at a Canadian hockey game (by saying the beer sucks) and disrupting a false flag operation carried out by government operatives. Worse, he and Honey cross the border to vandalize the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, which results in Honey being held hostage by the Canucks and Boomer trying to rescue her. There’s also some nonsense about an American missile silo in Canada, the precise import of which is never made clear.
Moore’s directorial inexperience was mitigated somewhat by a veteran crew that included producer David Brown (JAWS) and cinematographer Haskell Wexler (MEDIUM COOL), and a cast comprised of seasoned comedians. The film is clumsy and amateurish nonetheless, with an overly broad screwball veneer and shockingly sparse laughs (Moore’s documentaries are much funnier). The political angle tends to be on the simplistic side (with the 1990s comedies BOB ROBERTS and WAG THE DOG making many of the same points, and better) and none of the actors manage to stand out (not even John Candy, whose final film appearance, I’m sorry to report, was far from auspicious).
But the film doesn’t entirely miss its mark. The portrayal of manufactured anti-Canadian sentiment feels on-target given that Canada has long been a popular scapegoat for American political figures looking to divert attention from own their bad decision-making; note the periodic rumblings from Hollywood about “runaway production,” which fail to take into account the many valid reasons so many American-made films (this one included) decamp to the Great White North. After thirty years, in fact, that particular aspect has only grown more relevant.
Vital Statistics
CANADIAN BACON
Dog Eat Dog Films/Gramercy Pictures
Director/Screenplay: Michael Moore
Producers: Michael Moore, Davide Brown, Ron Rotholz
Cinematography: Haskell Wexler
Editing: Wendey Stanzler, Michael Berenbaum
Cast: Alan Alda, John Candy, Bill Nunn, Rhea Pearlman, Kevin Pollack, Kevin J. O’Connor, G.D. Spradlin, Rip Torn, Seven Wright, Brad Sullivan, Stanley Anderson, Richard Council