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Belly up to ‘Trailer Park Boys’
Like all great works, it’s about the power of change.
Finally, a good Canuck flick.
Waiting for a film that combines romance, lap dancing, thrilling courtroom drama, and a moving illustration of the power of change? It has arrived, in a vintage Chrysler New Yorker. <i>Trailer Park Boys: The Movie will not disappoint.
The Showcase TV series that has become a true cult favourite and even a small piece of the national identity now leaps to the big screen, and it uses that wider canvas to display naked beer bellies of a depth and breadth that only cinema can allow. Ricky, Julian and Bubbles are at last given the heroic treatment they richly deserve in the new movie by director Mike Clattenburg (legendary for his work in Pit Pony and The Trailer Park Boys Christmas Special).
Like so many great works, Trailer Park Boys: The Movie is about the power of change. Unlike bills, change cannot be traced. There are no serial numbers on loonies, quarters and dimes. So if you steal a bunch of coins you’re basically home free. A lot of coins and, well, we’re talking about a lot of cat food. Enough cat food to last ten years.
Cats, dope and crime
That’s important, because Bubbles needs cat food. How else will he continue to put on the Super Cat shows? And Ricky needs those coins so his daughter can stop stealing barbecues and selling them at the flea market, even though it’s easy and Ricky did teach her how to do it. She should probably stop anyway, pretty soon, maybe.
The heist -- the Big Dirty, they call it -- will be the big score for everybody, a chance for Ricky to get back with Lucy and Bubbles to renovate his condemned shed. But crime is never simple. Someone always forgets to bring enough plastic cups and popcorn bags to hold the loot.
Trailer Park Boys operates in its own little universe. It’s a place where a woman can tell her wayward boyfriend that it’s time for him to get his act together and start growing dope again. A place where love scenes begin with an eight-track cassette of April Wine’s great hits including “I’m on Fire For You Baby.” A place where wedding vows are rewritten to include heartfelt pledges about maybe staying out of jail if possible, and putting a stop to any further plastic surgery. A place where a man can take the good road or the bad, the good road meaning ball hockey and dope, the bad way represented by potato vodka and weightlifting. A place where a man has to stand up for what’s right and tell his friends, “I’m going home to get drunk with my family.” A place where a man -- Julian, of course -- can reply to a bar bouncer’s accusation by saying: “This drink is mine! I brought it from home.”
Good Canuck crap
Tyee readers may recall my recent review of Bon Cop, Bad Cop, an awful piece of crap trying so desperately to be Canadian it was like chugging rancid maple syrup. Trailer Park Boys: The Movie is the reverse -- a movie that is thoroughly, inescapably Canadian, so Canadian that it is hard to even guess how a foreigner might react to it, and yet is all the better for it.
Like Bon Cop, Bad Cop, TPB:TM has its own case of Canuckolalia, at one point offering up a movie marquee with films titled “Wheat Kings” and “The Dark Canuck,” not to mention the April Wine love scene and cameo appearances by Gord Downey of the Tragically Hip and Alex Lifeson of Rush. But unlike that aforementioned bilingual turd, this movie is funny. It features great characters and the best kind of dumb humour -- the smart kind.
In addition to the holy trinity of Ricky, Julian and Bubbles (Robb Wells, John Paul Tremblay, and Mike Smith), the movie features Lucy DeCoutere as Ricky’s girlfriend Lucy, Nichole Hiltz as Wanda, a truly amiable lap dancer, and Hugh Dillon as Sonny, the evil club owner who, by his own account, has had sex with Lucy no less than 28 times. Gerry Dee is a prison boss so despicable he won’t let Ricky stay inside for the big ball hockey game, and John Dunsworth plays the trio’s drunken nemesis, Jim Lahey.
But in the universe of this Trailer Park, there is no one smarter than Ricky. Lesser men admit to pretending to be him sometimes. And when the chips are down in a court of law, Perry Mason and all the fictional lawyers of John Grisham cannot match him for sheer genius.
If you like the series, you will be in ecstasy. If you don’t, well, never mind. If you’re on the fence, go ahead -- give Trailer Park Boys: The Movie a shot. At the very least you will hear Bubbles speak an eternal truth: “Kitties are not supposed to smell like cigarettes.”
Steve Burgess reviews films for The Tyee every second week. ![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
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- Bill C-38: the Environmental Destruction Act
- Gov't Moving to Keep Farm Disease Outbreaks Secret
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- It's no yolk: Breakfast crew share $21.4M Lotto 6-49 jackpot in Ontario
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- The Gem of Canadian Science that Harper Killed
- Sexism Tinges Criticism of Teachers' Job Action
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- 'The Dictator'
25
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Davey-boy
5 years ago
Comments on "Belly up to ‘Trailer Park Boys’&q
It's hard not to love the Trailer Park Boys.
deeby
5 years ago
...N.B. that's pronounced 'cigritts'
Passaglias Left Foot
5 years ago
My all-time favourite episode remains the courthouse scene where Ricky gets the right to swear....because he's incapable of defending himself any other way. F*&$@#$ brilliant!
Truman Green
5 years ago
I just watched the trailer.
Trust me, Steve--I live in a Trailer Park, eh--these goofs could never get women who are THAT good looking. I outta know, eh. (Neither can I). Hot, gorgeous women tend to go for rich guys with new cars.
ubiquitous
5 years ago
One of my favourite lines from the show:
Ricky screwing up the saying "kill two birds with one stone" says instead, "get two birds stoned at once".
maestro
5 years ago
The Trailer Park boys is a true phenom.
My redneck brother -in - law told me about it...and I started watching it after it had been on TV a couple of years.
I find that when one watches it,and finds it to be hilarious yet then one reflects on it and why it is so funny one often realizes it's because it is so multi- layered....
Bubbles is one of my all -time favourite comedy characters, maybe even surpassing Seinfeld's Kramer and some others.
Randy's No- Shirt policy is brilliant...as is Ricky's straight faced scams....going into a Gov't building and grabbing furniture unobstructed...always knowing someone with a first name the victim can relate to etc. .....Selling dope to prison guards...
I assume the show aims to plays to broader international market ie the US etc. but my feel is that it is more subtely Canadian and a jab at things Canadian. ie the lax justice system, the pot growing just about everywhere and anywhere. etc. One would think the show's white trash theme would play best in the U.S.. I actually thought it was a U.S TV show with a U.S based set when I first heard about it.
Favourite episodes???? are a tough call ..love Green Bastard wrestling,...the car chase scene pulling the trailer...Bubbles shopping cart scams......Randy and Leahy's S & M scene....J Rock...Losco the Vet,...on and on.
Truly a Great show.
alive
5 years ago
Very revealing to see your comments!
It must be a real red-neck crowd here on Tyee.
Sometimes stupid jokes can be funny, but this show is one big stupid joke!
It has no base in reality and is a poor imitation of slapstick comedy.
Passaglias Left Foot
5 years ago
As our Ricky would tell you Alive, "You got nothin' better t'do, yeh f*@&%#** idiot!"
Lighten up. TPB is punk rock comedy. It beats the hell out of all these lousy reality TV shows as well as other handheld cam “guerilla" efforts. It is unique and Canadian! Rock on.
darcy.mcgee
5 years ago
hahahahahahah
I love that description. Of course, the face that it could also be used to describe a great majority of Burgess' time on CBC doesn't make it at all less appropriate.
Does anybody else here agree that the guy who greenlighted "Bon Cop, Bad Cop" should have his passport stripped -- maybe a straight swap could give Conrad Black back his in exchange. That was no less a swindling of our tax dollars than those perpetrated by the Liberal Party of Canada.
Would that it were not so, though. Trailer Park Boys is less of an image that I was foreigners to have of Canada than even Red Green or the great hosers that came before...The Mackenzie Brothers. They are a grossly exaggerated cliche, but in the case of TPB the cliche being exaggerated isn't even real: very few Canadians drink that much beer, very few Canadians deal pot, and very few Canadians live in trailers.
How tragic that Geddy Lee appears here; this is yet another cliche of Canadian "mainstream culture"; Geddy ran a vocal track on The Mackenzie Brothers' huge hit, and has been sucked into virtually every token CanCon rocker production since.
thomas49
5 years ago
There is an article on the tyee sidebar about digital anal massage to get rid of hiccups.
If you can believe digital massage will get rid of your hiccups,the trailer park boys ain't that far out.
True...but,there are people like them about and they call each other hosers and scream,WHATSUP! and every other cliche of the moment.They shop at WalMart and you can see them loading the family minivan with Kraft dinner and then to the beer store to get their Canadian ,cause you know after two or three beers they will be loudly proclaiming ...I AM CANADIAN !
oh,damn ! did i just describe my inlaws?
alive
5 years ago
Passaglias Left Foot:
Well, if you still read comicbooks, I will forgive you.
Working Man
5 years ago
My wife cannot understand why I thin it is so funny.
spanky
5 years ago
Fukkin rights Ricky! I love the boys! They remind me of all my worst ambitions. Hey Bubs how are those fukkin kitties doing? Corey, trevor, smokes you cock sukkers. Let's grow some good weed, get high and get so drunk i can't walk or talk.
spanky
5 years ago
Oh ya and i was lucky enough to meet Julian in the rosedale on robson elevator once. fukkin rocked my world. i was star struck to the max. i was at a loss for words. can you read my mind?
Black
5 years ago
I can't believe that no-one has forwarded the kidnapping Alex Lifeson episode as a favourite, so it is time for me to chime in.
Dropped the cable and am missing the show, but I can see why many do not like TPB; I felt the same way the first time I saw it.
However, disliking the show is no more a sign of intellectual superiority than liking the show is a sign of stupidity.
Rock on, Bubbles.
spanky
5 years ago
Yeah Blacky, the kidnapping episode rocked. But you did not say why? my favourite part was at the end when Bubs plays a few licks and sings along. Fukkin rights Rikki would say. Rikki reminds me of my old man Rikki and Rikki's dad reminds me of my dad. follow that?
peace out hommies.
darcy.mcgee
5 years ago
This is absolutely true, and I certainly hope my comments didn't imply this. It's no different than suggesting that watching Battlestar Galactica makes people smart; silliness.
I'd choose to broadcast another image of Canada is all; unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective, I don't get to choose that often.)
maestro
5 years ago
TPB is like booze...there is no such thing as bad booze ,....just some booze is better than others.
Same logic applies to TPB's .... can't recall a bad episode...most are good, some are all time classics.
However, always be wary of the Canadian Content subtleties, and why certain " stars " are in episodes and not others...
Re intellectual superiority etc...the IQ elite may brush it off, but that shows they ain't IQ elite. They are probably glued to CBC and PBS most of the day... then dispense their subjectively gleaned wisdom to us later.
TPB is funny and on many levels...
peefer
5 years ago
Interesting that when they were first shopping the show around The Comedy Network turned them down. Showcase took a chance, bless 'em.
The reason it's so funny is that we can relate to the characters. We all know people like that, who talk like that, or wished we did.
And who gives a damn if Americans can relate to it? Do the Americans ever give a damn if their shows relate to anyone but Americans?
We relate to it, we enjoy it, that should be good enough.
freebear
5 years ago
"They are a grossly exaggerated cliche, but in the case of TPB the cliche being exaggerated isn't even real: very few Canadians drink that much beer, very few Canadians deal pot, and very few Canadians live in trailers."
Really?
The point is that they are a "grossly exaggerated cliche".
And living in trailers may become an increasing reality as I know I can not afford a 30 year old home selling for $250,000.00 !
Makes me want to light one up; get drunk; and be with my friends!.
I too liked the Kidnapping Alex Lifeson episode; Bubbles being a Roadie, and playing the song with Alex.
Fii
5 years ago
Geez, could you get more "guy film"? (Insert apology to all the men out there who cannot relate to this movie any better than I can) haha... Burgess- please get over the idea that YOUR point of view speaks for all Canadians- holy shit, if this is Canada where is my passport?? I'm sure it's funny; in a "Duh- I'm a big, fat stupid white guy kind of way". A reflection of our culture?? Yah- whatever, buddy.
Robinhoody
5 years ago
Alive, not sure where you grew up. Surely TPB doesn't reflect all of Canada but I find a lot of it very familiar. In a lot of places in BC, whether or not you grow pot determines whether you make enough money in a year to take a couple weeks vacation, or buy a car. These are indeed signs of success and "getting your life together." Although in regards to political success, there is an unwritten rule that you should stop growing pot before running for mayor or other elected offices. TPB hasn't touched on this moral theme yet.
anarcho
5 years ago
Come on! Canada has hundreds of thousands - if not some millions of beer-swilling, pot smoking red necks. Go outside of the middle class burbs and you can't avoid them - God bless em! Of course, few are as funny as the TPBs...
Glen P. Robbins
5 years ago
I had just finished publishing some municipal polls my firm had conducted for Surrey, Vancouver, and Coquitlam, and was crowing a little about getting the numbers right.
On our website/blog I couldn't help adding that my firm had been voted best in Freedom of Voices and Choices award, which I had scooped from TPB.
I received a number of emails of congratulations, but my favourite were a few liberal blogs musing about the fact they had never heard of the award, notwithstanding the actual polling achievement. Because of this 'representation' on my part, which would have been identified as satirical by most (many) (a few I hope), the conclusions being drawn were that I could not be for real.
I realized very quickly that not everyone who enters a debate or discussion on blogging sites is necessarily worthy of the time.
I hope that my polling firm will be further considered by Ricky, Julian, Bubbles, Jim L. and Randy 'Wimpy' as a nominee next year for the Freedom of Choices and Voices award.
brisco330
5 years ago
I think kitties are supposed to smell like liquor and whores!