We think we know Canadian comedy. Canadian television is known for comedy. Canadian film? Not so much.
How can Canadians, a funny people, not translate humour into Canadian film?
Barry Hertz from The Globe and Mail recently compiled a list of the 23 best Canadian comedies. You might be thinking that we are going to rip this list. Normally, you would be correct. For the most part, this is a beautiful collection of Canadian films that have funny elements.
As we noted in our review of The Wrong Guy, the film that was at the top of the list, funny is subjective. Maps to the Stars is not a comedy but has some funny moments.
We have seen 19 of the 23 titles: exceptions being BlackBerry, Psycho Goreman, Hobo with a Shotgun, and The Exchange.
2 of these films — Turning Red and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World — do not technically qualify as Canadian films. Yet they are welcome additions to the list.
Let's see the list:
1. The Wrong Guy (1997) David Steinberg
2. Strange Brew (1983) Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas
3. BlackBerry (2023) Matt Johnson
4. Goon (2011) Michael Dowse
5. Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy (1996) Kelly Makin
6. Le déclin de l’empire Américain (1986) Denys Arcand
7. I Like Movies (2022) Chandler Levack
8. Fubar (2002) Michael Dowse
9. Turning Red (2022) Domee Shi
10. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010) Edgar Wright
11. La grande séduction (2003) Jean-François Pouliot
12. Meatballs (1979) Ivan Reitman
13. Psycho Goreman (2020) Steven Kostanski
14. The F Word (2013) Michael Dowse
15. Crime Wave (1985) John Paizs
16. The Twentieth Century (2019) Matthew Rankin
17. Maps to the Stars (2014) David Cronenberg
18. My Internship in Canada (2015) Philippe Falardeau
19. Coopers' Camera (2008) Warren P. Sonoda
20. Hobo with a Shotgun (2011) Jason Eisener
21. Starbuck (2011) Ken Scott
22. waydowntown (2000) Gary Burns
23. The Exchange (2021) Dan Mazer
Michael Dowse has 3 films on this list: Goon, Fubar, and The F Word. Not sure if the last film is a "comedy" but we accept it for this list. Ken Scott wrote La grande séduction and wrote and directed Starbuck.
6 of the 23 films have been released in the last 5 years: BlackBerry, I Like Movies, Turning Red, Psycho Goreman, The Twentieth Century, and The Exchange. Maybe that is hope for more Canadian comedy in film.
There are a few underappreciated titles that tickled your humble narrator's funny bone:
- I Like Movies (2022) Chandler Levack
- Crime Wave (1985) John Paizs
- The Twentieth Century (2019) Matthew Rankin
- My Internship in Canada (2015) Philippe Falardeau
- Coopers’ Camera (2008) Warren P. Sonoda
- waydowntown (2000) Gary Burns
Hertz left off the Trailer Park Boys, which is fine with me. He left off Guy Maddin, which is a choice. The only Maddin film I would put on the list is The Saddest Music in the World.
Meatballs belongs on this list. Every time I've seen it, I keep asking "why wasn't this film funnier?"
Hertz makes a note about the few films David Steinberg has directed, including The Wrong Guy. We would make an argument for one of those films: Going Berserk belongs on the list. The film is helped by SCTV vets John Candy, Eugene Levy, and Joe Flaherty. Dana Olsen (whom I met briefly many years ago) and Steinberg wrote the script.
Going Berserk is a silly film in many ways. Its Kung Fu U parody, Murphy Dunne as a drug-taking legal defender, the hypnotism sequences. A film where I laugh out loud, which is damn rare, Canadian film or not.
Adventures in Public School is another Canadian film that would go on my list. The humour is quiet and subtle, very Canadian, and is a wonderful film as well.
Canadian film review: The Wrong Guy
CBC Arts explores the 50 greatest films directed by Canadians
Drive-ins are making a comeback: Here are some Canadian films to show
CanadianCrossing.com film coverage
If your funny bone responds better to over-the-top American comedies or the farcical element of French comedies, Canadian comedy films will feel way too subtle for your sense of humour.
If you aren't sure, you have a really good list of Canadian comedies to test your funny bone.
photo credits: waydowntown; I Like Movies
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