Canadian Bacon

In Michael Moore's political satire, the U.S. President (Alan Alda) decides to wage a Cold War against Canada in an attempt to reverse his slipping popularity, and, as a result, he drives a small group of incensed Canadians to take matters into their own hands. Alda is the first president in years not to lead his country into war, which naturally means that his approval rating is dangerously low. The sure-fire way to boost his popularity is to start a war and demonstrate American superiority. Unfortunately, as his advisors point out, the U.S. has run out of enemies. That is, until Alda's National Security Advisor Stuart Smiley (Kevin Pollak) happens to catch a segment on the news about a brawl at a Canadian hockey game that began when local American sheriff Bud Boomer (John Candy) made a remark about Canadian beer. This incident give Smiley the notion to make the public believe that Canada is their new enemy. Determined to demonstrate the mighty power of America to the Canadians, Boomer gets a group of equally angry fellow Americans together to cross the border and perform the most serious of all Canadian crimes — littering. However, the invasion is foiled and Boomer's numerous blunders threaten to turn a fabricated war into a real one. Written, directed, and produced by Michael Moore, best known for Roger and Me (1989), his scathing documentary on General Motors, Canadian Bacon takes lighthearted jabs at the differences between the U.S. and Canada, while also satirizing America's obsession with its military strength. The film features John Candy in his last complete screen performance. — Don Kaye

Review AMG:
Michael Moore's detractors were no doubt pleased to see him fall on his face with his first narrative feature, a slapsticky working-class comedy shot through with half-formed leftist rants about corporate greed, international relations, and bad beer. Something like Dr. Strangelove crossed with Strange Brew, Canadian Bacon is a great idea on paper that plods on the screen. The problem is in Moore's direction: Though smart enough to surround himself with seasoned pros — including cinematographer Haskell Wexler and composer Elmer Bernstein — it's clear that the guerilla documentarian has no skill with actors. John Candy provides a warm but befuddled turn as the director's ostensible stand-in, and such capable actors as Alan Alda, Rip Torn, and Rhea Perlman seem adrift, under- or over-performing in their respective supporting roles. (One exception: a hilarious cameo turn from Dan Aykroyd as an anal-retentive Canadian highway patrolman.) It's obvious that with Canadian Bacon, Moore is striving to create a comedy that gets his message across to the proletariat, but by slapping together a film that veers between the super-broad and the hyper-topical, he ends up alienating just about everyone. — Michael Hastings