Gripping story with well-crafted characters

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

The U.S. President (Alan Alda), low in the opinion polls, gets talked into raising his popularity by trying to start a cold war against Canada.Nathan Rabin in a 2009 review concluded, "After generating solid laughs during its first hour, Canadian Bacon falls apart in its third act," lamenting the film "was perceived as too lowbrow for the highbrows, and too highbrow for the lowbrows." While the film, in my opinion, never "falls apart", it does feel a bit uneven, with some parts being pretty funny and others not so much. The best parts come across more like skits (notably the Dan Aykroyd scene). Michael Moore should be commended for this film, as it is far outside of what he typically does, but he could hardly be called a comedic genius on this entry alone.

I love this movie. It cracks me up every time I watch it. One of the things I think is funny is the fact that so many Canadians appear in it--although they could be walking undetected among us Americans! The idea of Canadians' massing along the border, preparing to invade the US, is hilariously depicted by the "news media," trying to whip up anti-Canadian feeling. And, Alan Alda as the vacillating politician, with Rip Torn as his Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were perfect! I enjoyed hearing the two Mounted Policemen debating about how to end a sentence without using a preposition. Their Canadian accent is more noticeable in that scene than in most others. In real life, it is interesting to consider how-different we are, even though we have so many apparent similarities. Only the Australians or Israelis are more like us Americans than are the Canadians. Yet, we are different. The scary thing is how realistic the idea of creating an enemy, where one doesn't exist may have turned out to be, as in the alleged "weapons of mass destruction" that motivated the invasion of Iraq.

I don't write a lot of reviews, for the same reason I don't write history books; I'm not creative and verbose enough... So, I'm not sure if I will be able to fulfill the curious minimum word count that IMDb requires from anyone who wants to share a few comments about a film.However, I wish Moore would take his time, develop the ability to focus on one of clever schemes all the way though to the end, because that's all that keeps this movie from becoming a cult classic.It's clever innuendos which take aim at America's propensity to use war and other fabricated emergencies for political benefit is dead on, while also taking potshots at some of the more humorous examples of Canadian culture. Haven't heard such good needling of American policy since Will Rogers; and boy, isn't it timely.Anyway, I suggest only independent thinkers bother to watch Canadian Bacon, because the sheep who believe as they've been told to won't get it.The movie gets a seven rating and so does Michael Moore until he focuses and writes a complete script which it looks like he has the capability of doing.

An American President (played by Alan Alda) is seeing his popularity ratings plummet and his chances for a second term rapidly disappearing. What to do about it? In this very funny satire, the answer, of course, is to create an enemy to whip up US public opinion in support of the start of a new Cold War. But who will it be against? The Russians are no threat anymore. Well, the obvious choice is - Canada! After all, Canada has massed 90% of its population along the border (they must be up to something!) and the Toronto Blue Jays have won the World Series - twice (and they cheated to do it!) So, "Operation Canadian Bacon" is launched! This is a great satire that pokes fun at pretty much everything and anything: Canada and Canadians, the US and Americans, international relations, arms manufacturers, etc. John Candy was brilliant as Niagara County (NY) sheriff Bud Boomer, who gets so caught up in the anti-Canadians rhetoric being spewed forth from the White House that he takes it upon himself to lead an invasion. Unfortunately, he loses one of his comrades (Honey, played by Rhea Pearlman) who gets arrested in Niagara Falls, Ont. - for littering! To the White House, Honey becomes a hostage. Troops are sent in (and Bud goes too) and the whole thing spirals into a very "serious" international incident, during which Russia almost gets nuked by accident! Candy was the perfect stereotype of the ugly American - loud, crude and totally ignorant of anything outside his own immediate circle (and pretty ignorant within that circle!) Pearlman and Alda were also quite good, and I enjoyed Bill Nunn as Deputy Kabral, another of Boomer's gang, who gripes about being determined to make Canadians "white." There was really no significant Canadian character in the movie, but a brilliant caricature by Dan Aykroyd as an Ontario police officer who pulls Boomer over while he's on his way to rescue Honey in Toronto to insist that the anti-Canadian slogans painted on his truck have to be in French as well to comply with Canadian language laws.I wouldn't say that this was outrageously funny but it was humorous throughout and completely enjoyable. A number of Canadians appear in the cast, and there's some fun poked at the fact that the entertainment industry in the US is so dominated by Canadian actors (surely a plot from up north) and also at some Canadian singers (Ann Murray, Gordon Lightfoot.) There was also a very funny spoof of the tendency of US networks to over-dramatize everything that happens ("Operation Canadian Bacon" with a crossed out maple leaf being the backdrop for an outrageous anchorman, played by Stanley Anderson.) I was surprised to see that this was directed and written by Michael Moore - and in many ways I found this far more entertaining (and effective) than the quasi-documentaries/propaganda pieces he's now more famous for, although it's somewhat low rating makes me wonder if Americans can really understand and/or appreciate both the humour and the caricatures. All in all, I found it to be good fun. 7/10