Strange Brew was based on the popular SCTV characters Bob & Doug McKenzie played by Moranis and Dave Thomas respectively. This was the film debut for Moranis. The plot revolves around the McKenzie brothers thwarting an attempt by an evil brewmeister to, not only steal the Elsinore Brewery from the daughter of the former owner who died suspiciously, but also to take over the world by putting a drug in Elsinore beer which makes those who drink it attack others when stimulated by musical cues. Yes, it is a silly plot and the film is quite silly as well.

The film includes a lot of the improvisation that SCTV (Second City TV) was known for as well as loose references, interestingly enough, to Shakespeare's Hamlet. Among some of those references are the name of the brewery, Elsinore, is also the name of the Danish castle in Hamlet and the ghost of the deceased father makes an appearance as well. Bob and Doug seem to play the role of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet's two dimwitted friends who ultimately get double-crossed into a plot to kill the prince. I never made those connections until someone else pointed them out to me many years later.

Here is the original trailer for Strange Brew...

Spaceballs is a parody of Star Wars co-written, directed and starring the one and only Mel Brooks. Rick Moranis played "Dark Helmet" who is a character obviously based on Darth Vader. The film also starred Bill Pullman, John Candy, Daphne Zuniga and the voice of Joan Rivers in addition to Brooks and Moranis. In typical Mel Brooks fashion, the movie includes lots of over-the-top silliness but also includes some subtle humor as well. Interesting enough, George Lucas actually gave his approval to Brooks to make the film after reading the script since he was a big fan of Brooks' previous films.

Here is the original trailer for Spaceballs...

Both films reference the Star Wars franchise. The Spaceballs references are obvious, but Strange Brew has a scene where Moranis' character says, "He saw Jedi 17 times, eh!" What is interesting about that line is that Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) opened in May 1983, while production of Strange Brew had wrapped five months earlier, in December 1982. Not only had the McKenzie brothers not seen "Jedi" - but they couldn't refer to it by its full title, since the "Revenge/Return" title issue was still up in the air while they were filming. Both films also star Rick Moranis and are featured in this issues to celebrate his birthday.

That will do it for this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Hope you enjoy the "Preview Review" issues and please let me know if there are any 80s movies that you want to see me cover. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the new Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: Here was a menu which disturbed me. Look at the two lines that are highlighted in yellow. As it says, it may cost about $3 extra, but I would think it is definitely worth it...

Quote of the day: "Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start." -Nido Qubein