Strange Brew
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Strange Brew is a 1983 film starring the popular SCTV characters Bob & Doug McKenzie, played by Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis, who also directed. Max von Sydow co-stars. The story is loosely based on the Shakespearean play Hamlet, with the McKenzie Brothers taking the roles of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
Two adult brothers, Bob and Doug McKenzie, are in a bind when they run out of beer and have already given away the beer money given to them by their father. The brothers place a mouse in a beer bottle in an attempt to get free beer. After presenting the evidence to management at Elsinore brewery, the brothers are given jobs on the line to inspect the bottles for issues such as mice.
What they are unaware of is a plot by Brewmeister Smith (von Sydow) to take over the world by placing chemicals in the beer which, when the consumer hears the appropriate music, causes him or her to attack others. (Thus the title "Strange Brew").
Meanwhile, a second plot is in action which closely resembles the play "Hamlet". The former brewery owner died and his daughter (Lynne Griffin) is about to turn 21, giving her full control of the brewery. Her uncle (Paul Dooley) marries the widowed wife and he takes control of the brewery (although he is really just a pawn to Brewmeister Smith's plan for total world domination). Bob and Doug are caught in the middle of these plots and maintain a close relationship with the daughter, stumbling upon the revelation of her father's murder and Brewmeister's plot for world domination. Plenty of comedy ensues.
External Links
- Comparison to Hamlet (http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=37680)