Directed By: Mike Clattenburg
Starring: Robb Wells, John Paul Tremblay, Mike Smith
Tag line: "Big Plans. Little Brains"
Trivia: This movie was nominated for 3 Genie Awards, including Best Motion Picture
The Trailer Park Boys, a Canadian television comedy about a group of friends living in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, has been around since 2001, though, admittedly, I’ve never seen a single episode. Yet despite my complete lack of familiarity with the show or any of its characters, I really enjoyed 2006's Trailer Park Boys: The Movie.
In fact, I thought it was pretty darn hilarious!
Ricky (Robb Wells), Julian (John Paul Tremblay) and Bubbles (Mike Smith), all of whom grew up in Sunnyvale, have been getting into trouble since they were kids. As a result of their most recent misadventure, the attempted robbery of an ATM machine, Ricky and Julian are arrested and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Ricky, who misses both his long-time girlfriend Lucy (Lucy Decoutere) and their beloved daughter Trinity (Lydia Lawson-Baird), nonetheless makes the best of his time behind bars by playing goalie for the prisoner’s street hockey team, while Julian lifts weights and learns about a whole new way to make money on the outside: stealing the change out of parking meters. Upon their release, Ricky discovers that Lucy has been working as a dancer at the local strip club, and is also been dating Sonny (Hugh Dillon), the club’s owner. Hoping to win her back, Ricky agrees to help with Julian’s latest scheme, but longs for the one big heist (something his fellow inmates referred to as “The Big Dirty”) that will net him enough cash to retire from his life of crime. When a golden opportunity finally presents itself, Ricky, Julian and Bubbles, along with their dim-witted buddies Cory (Cory Bowles) and Trevor (Michael Jackson), set to work on what they hope will be the score of the century. But will it make them rich beyond their wildest dreams, or are they destined for yet another stint in prison?
One of the best things about Trailer Park Boys: The Movie is that you don’t have to know anything at all about the television series to enjoy it. By way of several mockumentary-style sequences, during which the main characters are “interviewed” by an unseen film crew, we learn everything we need to know about Ricky, Julian, and Bubbles, who, in spite of all the obstacles life has thrown their way, remain the closest of friends. Yet what makes Trailer Park Boys: The Movie such a rewarding experience is how truly funny it is. Things get off to an uproarious start when, late one night, the trio attempts to rip off an ATM machine at the local shopping center. As the three pals are working to disable the machine’s alarm system, Ricky’s dilapidated car slowly rolls backwards (he forgot to set the emergency brake) and crashes through the front window of a cigarette shop. To ensure the evening isn’t a total loss, Ricky steals the cigarettes, a decision he regrets the moment a police helicopter swoops into view, tracking them as they race down the deserted highway. At one point during this high-speed pursuit, Ricky even has Julian pull over so that he can run into the woods to take a piss!
Trailer Park Boys: The Movie probably won’t be everyone’s cup of tea (some of the characters, and many of the situations, are completely over-the-top), but if it’s a zany, outlandish comedy you’re after, this one is sure to hit the spot.