Trailer Park Boys: Don’t Legalize It (2014)
Cast: John Paul Tremblay, Robb Wells, Mike Smith
Director: Mike Clattenburg
Country: Canada
Genre: Comedy
Official Site: Here
Editor’s Notes: Trailer Park Boys: Don’t Legalize It is now playing in limited theatrical release.
I had no idea what in the heck Trailer Park Boys was until I received an email informing me that the third (!) feature length movie was on the verge of a limited theatrical and massive VOD release on the same day that the show’s 8th (!!!) season premiered on Netflix. Though my initial impression led me to believe that this was nothing more than a Canadian mockumentary in the vein of Duck Dynasty and that I was in no way the target audience for this thing, I was incredibly happy to be proven wrong. Congratulations, Trailer Park Boys. You got yourself a new fan.
The movie is clearly made for fans who are already familiar with the show and doesn’t waste any time giving any sort of recap. It just jumps right into the movie, complete with its multitude of overlapping subplots.
Trailer Park Boys: Don’t Legalize It opens at a funeral for Ricky’s (Robb Wells) parents that is attended by his good friends Julian (John Paul Tremblay) and Bubbles (Mike Smith) as well as other members of the community. Who are these people and what are their backstories? I have no idea. The movie is clearly made for fans who are already familiar with the show and doesn’t waste any time giving any sort of recap. It just jumps right into the movie, complete with its multitude of overlapping subplots.
There is a lot of movie in this movie. I will try to best to give a brief overview without summarizing. Julia has a plan to get rich by selling clean urine so people can pass their drug tests, but has to deliver his product to his rival in Montreal. The government’s impending plan to legalize marijuana puts a kink in Ricky’s pot dealing business, so he decides to travel to Ottawa to protest the legalization. Meanwhile, Bubbles wants to journey to Kingston to receive the inheritance left for him by his estranged and now deceased parents. The three set out on a road trip, with Jim Lahey (John Dunsworth) and Randy (Patrick Roach) hot on their trail in hopes of getting them caught and sent to jail.
One of the things that makes Trailer Park Boys: Don’t Legalize It work so well is the commitment to the characters by the performances.
One of the things that makes Trailer Park Boys: Don’t Legalize It work so well is the commitment to the characters by the performances. Aided by the voyeuristic nature of the filming (a feature that is humorously acknowledged by the characters in the film despite never really being explained), the trio of Wells, Tremblay and Smith have crafted incredibly funny characters that not only feel real but never feel like a caricature. The world these characters inhabit is believable, and the situations they find themselves in are ripe with comedy.
It will no doubt take time for newcomers like myself to adjust to the world of Trailer Park Boys and become acquainted with these numerous yet hilarious characters, but Trailer Park Boys: Don’t Legalize It serves as a wonderful introduction to the franchise. The film does have a lot of story to tell and occasionally it causes the film to drag, but it eventually does right its course. It’s also somewhat frustrating that for all the chaos that these characters go through, everything is tied up way too neatly far quickly. Oh well. These guys do have a show to return to after all. Nevertheless, this is a movie that finds joy in the absurd and ridiculous, but never feels over the top. There is a lot of subtle humor at play as well, further distancing it from the Duck Dynasty atrocity I thought it would end up being. This is smart comedy.
Having no previous knowledge of the show, I can only assume that one of the strengths of Trailer Park Boys: Don’t Legalize It lies in the fact that we can see that the actors have become incredibly comfortable in these roles and the writers and directors have finally settled into a way of storytelling that feels just right. I can’t know for sure unless I go back and see what other shenanigans these people have gotten themselves into. Good thing I plan to do just that.
The strengths of Trailer Park Boys: Don't Legalize It lies in the fact that we can see that the actors have become incredibly comfortable in these roles and the writers and directors have finally settled into a way of storytelling that feels just right.
