TalkingFilmTalkingSports

After a recent viewing of David Gordon Green’s ‘Pineapple Express’ (2008), I began to think about the decline of the stoner comedy, which dominated the comedy genre for a brief period in the 2010s, thanks to figures like Seth Rogen and Danny McBride. The genre itself started to take off in the late 1990s/early 2000s with comedy classics such as ‘Harold & Kumar’ (2004), ‘Dude Where’s My Car?’ (2000), and ‘Half Baked’ (1998), but it ceases to exist today. Maybe it’s due to marijuana being less of a taboo subject than it was 10–20 years ago (therefore being less edgy), or perhaps it’s because great comedies, in general, are seldom these days. Either way, I’ve never been a huge fan of these movies and this is most likely because I’ve never been much of a “weed guy”. However I’ve had my fair share of beers in my time, and I personally feel like the beer/getting drunk comedy is a super underrated subgenre that fails to escape the shadow of its stoner cousin.

This got me thinking about the greatest beer movies of all time. Now this isn’t to be confused with movies that are about getting drunk; ‘Superbad’ (2007), or ‘Project X” (2012) (perhaps we’ll get to these one day), but rather comedies where beer is an essential theme of the movie. Movies that you and your friends can share a few beers to as you aim to pass the time before you head out to paint the town on a Friday night. Or movies that you can crack open a 6-pack to on a hot summer Saturday afternoon — with your lawn freshly cut and food smoking on the grill. Regardless of what you’ve got going on, this is a 6-pack of the six greatest beer films that you can crush (responsibly) a few of your favourite beers to.

1. Smokey and the Bandit (1977)

Just classic Burt Reynolds at his absolute best. Definitely the movie I think of when I hear ‘beer movie’. The plot of the film is simple, Bandit (Burt Reynolds) and his crime partner Snowman (Jerry Reed) are tasked with illegally lugging hundreds of cases of Coors beer from Texas to Atlanta for a hefty sum in exchange. During the film there are many high-speed chases with law enforcement, with the focal point on Bandit ripping through Southern back roads in his sweet Trans Am and Sally Fields wearing a wedding dress as his passenger. As good as it gets.

I mean as far as movies are concerned. Smokey and the Bandit is the peak for Burt Reynolds, mustaches, cowboy hats, Trans Ams, police chases, and Coors. Probably even beer in general. Now I haven’t seen the rest of the trilogy, but in my opinion, there’s no need to. You don’t get cooler than this movie, and it’s a great way to start off our list.

2. Beerfest (2006)

The premise of Jay Chandrasekhar’s cult classic comedy is simple. Two brothers head to Germany to spread their Grandfather’s ashes, here they discover “Beerfest” which is basically a cross of an underground drinking competition with the Olympics. In short, the brothers are humiliated at the competition by the Germans and make it their mission to return the following year with their friends and represent the U.S.A.. Now there is also something at stake in this film about a recipe and someone being the rightful heir to a brewing recipe/company. I can’t remember. Every time I’ve seen this movie I have been under the influence.

Regardless the movie is super fun. I mean it’s five best friends competing in a Beer Olympics with Rockyesque training montages, only instead of pushing their muscles to the limit, their pushing their livers to the limit. Spoiler alert, but there’s a death in this film that really shows that the directors/writers are aware this movie is stupid and that they’re just having fun with it. Furthermore, this movie gave us the iconic Das Boot and the strike-out, two things almost every viewer attempted after their first watch of this movie. Also, Psych’s James Roday Rodriguez is in this film with an all-time heat check/cameo. Tremendous stuff.

3. Beer League (2006)

Such a strange film. Ralph Macchio during a dark period of his career. Joe Lo Truglio steals the show. Cara Buono’s character ends up with Artie Lange’s character (gee I wonder who wrote this) in an all-time these-people-would-never-end-up-together that rivals Seth and Jules in Superbad (2007). Plus there’s sneakily not that much beer. The film is basically this; Artie Lange is a bum whose whole life revolves around his Men’s Beer League softball team in New Jersey. His team gets into a fight with another team, which his arch-rival plays on, and they decide that whoever finishes last in the standings has to leave the league at the end of the season. You can pretty much tell where this movie is going.

Now this movie may have flopped at the box office, but we don’t care. This is a piece about beer and movies — that’s all we care about. The title kind of throws you off as like I said earlier, there’s not that much beer, and ‘Beer League’ is apparently just what they call a Men’s recreational sports league. However, there are many scenes of the gang getting drunk at their favourite bar drinking beer. As a matter of fact, my favourite part of the film is that before the pivotal final match, the team gets so drunk at the bar with shots, cocktails, and beer that they end up showing up to the final incredibly drunk and end up losing. A sneakily funny film that deals with alcoholism and degeneracy when you look past some of its weak points.

4. The World’s End (2013)

The third and final entry of the fan-dubbed ‘Cornetto Trilogy’. Although it’s regarded as the weak link in comparison to its predecessors Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, it’s still a great film and my second personal favourite of the three. The film opens up with five high school best friends, who on their last day of school attempt to go on a pub crawl in their town. 12 pints in 12 unique pubs, culminating in the final drink at ‘The World’s End’ pub. One by one the boys drop out of the challenge with none of them ultimately completing it. We then fast forward to the present day where 20 years later, the boys have reunited in their hometown to attempt the challenge again. However, as the night unfolds, the boys realize that their hometown has been overrun by alien clones and the apocalypse ensues.

I mean it’s such a great premise for a film and the cast is loaded with British A-Listers and is directed by the one and only Edgar Wright. What I love most about this film is that as I get older you can really see different parts of the characters in yourself and can understand that as you get older, recreating memories from your teen years can never be properly done — especially as you all start to slowly grow apart. An additional point I love is the film does touch on alcoholism and British drinking culture, despite it being an action/comedy. For example, Nick Frost’s character has been sober for nearly two decades — making him ‘betray’ Simon Pegg’s character who is obsessed with recreating this peak high school moment and getting absolutely obliterated, as, unlike the rest of his friends, his life has not panned out.

Also, mid-writing of this I had to rewatch the opening sequence. Terrific. Plus the soundtrack is legendary.

5. Strange Brew (1983)

I don’t believe I’ve ever seen Strange Brew all the way through. I’m not sure if anyone outside of Canada has ever seen it. Believe it or not, there just aren’t that many beer movies. Strange I know. The film is based upon two SCTV characters, Bob and Doug, who end up getting jobs at a beer company where they are to inspect bottles for mice on an assembly line. Now I can’t really remember because it’s been so long, but basically the owner of the beer company where Bob and Doug work has been secretly murdered and the new owner wants to contaminate the beer with a psychedelic drug that puts drinkers under his spell. Great stuff I know.

Basically the pair end up saving the day, despite being idiots, and are praised as heroes. Now this movie makes this list for two reasons; it’s a Canadian Cult Classic, and there’s one incredible scene where Bob is locked in a vat of beer and instead of drowning, like in Beerfest (spoiler), he drinks his way out — ultimately blowing up to a size that obliterates Violet Beauregarde’s blow-up in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). I mean what more could you want from a beer flick?

6. The Last Detail (1973)

I’m cheating with this one. But I don’t think I’ve seen or know of any other beer movies. Plus this has to be a 6-pack. You can’t buy a 5-pack of beer. However, I’m including this entry by way of a loophole. You see, The Last Detail, has, in my opinion, the greatest beer-drinking scene in any film I’ve ever seen.

For a quick recap, the film follows two Navy lifers played by Jack Nicholson and Otis Young, who must transport an 18-year-old sailor (Randy Quaid) to the Navy prison in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Along the way, the lifers realize that they need to show the young sailor a good time before he goes away for eight years for stealing $40, so that’s exactly what they do. The trio hustle to make money, get in fights, meet some girls, visit a brothel, have a BBQ, get high, and get drunk in one final send-off.

Now there’s one scene in particular where the three get a hotel room for the night because they got too drunk and missed their train. When they arrive at the hotel room, I’m truly convinced that the director, Hal Ashby, simply set up the camera, provided his actors with a few dozen beers, and let them loose. It’s basically just the three of them shooting the shit, watching war movies on tv, teaching semaphore codes, arguing, all whilst chugging back beers. The acting is too good for them not to be drunk. In my opinion, it’s the greatest depiction of a boys’ night in, especially as it ends with them drunkenly sleeping on uncomfortable cots. It’s an all-time scene in a truly all-time film.

I hope you enjoyed this list. It was a ton of fun to make and let me know some more top sixes I can do next. Or if I missed any classic beer movies. And if you do enjoy some brewskis whilst watching any of the above mentioned flicks, enjoy responsibly.