Dear Canadians and Canada-Lovers,
You know that strange tickle you get when Canada gets mentioned in a movie? Sometimes you cringe, sometimes you giggle, but you always react. We do, anyway – and we thought Canada’s 150th birthday was the perfect time to release a supercut showing some hilarious, ridiculous and surprising times Canada and Canadian characters are mentioned in Hollywood films.
A little background
Our inspiration came from the film Allied (2016), where Brad Pitt portrays a Canadian soldier in WWII. After seeing the film, we tried to name other films that featured (better yet, starred) Canadian characters. We could only come up with a handful, but decided to dig deeper. Much deeper. After months and months of research, what we found was wildly entertaining and enlightening.
Yes, it’s true that Canada is often used as a punchline or a place of refuge for fleeing Americans. Also, our passports constantly protect undercover spies. But our military is also highly regarded, we make a lovely honeymoon destination, our national anthem is sung with unlikely enthusiasm, and "revealed as a Canadian" is apparently a go-to movie trope.
In fact, we found so many times Canada is name-dropped that we could have made at least three supercuts each using 150 different films. But we’ve curated our favourites to tell a story of how Hollywood – and by extension, much of the world – sees us on film.
We also tried to limit clip selections to times "Canada" or "Canadian" is specifically referenced, with a few exceptions (like the above-mention Allied, where he says he’s from Ontario). Call-outs to provinces and cities will have to be saved for another day. We also stuck to English language– but you’d be surprised how many times Canada gets mentioned in Bollywood movies (like I said, we went DEEP).
Enjoy the video, let us know what you think, and use the handy guide below to figure out where we took each clip.
Sincerely,
Dear Cast & Crew
All of the films in this video
(Click each link to see the clip)
Knocked Up (2007)
Love in the Afternoon (1957)
The Proposal (2009)
Passport to Shame (aka Room 43) (1958)
Bend of the River (1952)
Still Smokin’_ _(1983)
The 39 Steps (1935)
Meet Wally Sparks (1997)
49th Parallel (1941)
In Bruges (2008)
Drillbit Taylor (2008)
We’re No Angels (1989)
The Last King of Scotland (2006)
HardBall (2001)
The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz (2005)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Smokey and the Bandit II (1980)
Meet the Robinsons (2007)
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)
The Entertainer (1960)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
Love & Other Drugs (2010)
Blue Chips (1994)
The One That Got Away (1957)
French Kiss (1995)
Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962)
Razorback (1984)
The Promotion (2008)
Tusk (2014)
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (2009)
The Nines (2007)
Across the Pacific (1942)
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005)
The List of Adrian Messenger (1963)
The English Patient (1996)
Collateral Damage (2002)
Barely Lethal (2015)
Nowhere to Run (1993)
Grown Ups (2010)
Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935)
The Love Guru (2008)
Yoga Hosers (2016)
Chasing Amy (1997)
Universal Soldier (1992)
Allied (2016)
Sailor of the King (1953)
Quantum of Solace (2009)
The Helen Morgan Story (1957)
Jubal (1956)
Weird Science (1985)
Mr 3000 (2004)
North West Mounted Police (1940)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Zookeeper (2011)
Whisky Tango Foxtrot (2016)
International Lady (1941)
Playing for Keeps (2012)
The Wild One (1953)
12 Years a Slave (2013)
Possessed (1947)
Immortal Sergeant (1942)
Escape from New York (1981)
Horrible Bosses _ _(2011)
Tigerland (2000)
The Lucky Ones (2008)
Across the Universe (2007)
Paratrooper (1953)
Buck and the Preacher (1972)
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Cool Runnings (1993)
Death Sentence (2007)
The ’Burbs (1989)
Tonight and Every Night (1945)
Shoot to Kill (1988)
Madagascar 3 (2012)
50/50 (2011)
The Women (1939)
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011)
The Last Detail (1973)
Tea and Sympathy (1956)
McQ (1974)
Lost in America (1985)
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (2007)
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
The Whole Nine Yards (2000)
Blue State (2007)
Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)
A Bullet for Joey (1955)
Women’s Prison (1955)
Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
Hellfighters (1968)
Jumanji (1995)
Flashback (1990)
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Argo (2012)
The Jackal (1997)
The Wild (2006)
The Counselor (2013)
Duplicity (2009)
U.S. Marshals (1998)
Arthur Christmas (2011)
Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
Far and Away (1992)
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
The Tamarind Seed (1974)
The Anniversary (1968)
Catchfire (1990)
Barb Wire (1996)
No Good Deed (2002)
Stakeout (1987)
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Vampires Suck (2010)
Syriana (2005)
Wag the Dog (1997)
Dudley Do-Right (1999)
Death Hunt (1981)
The Insider (1999)
Northern Pursuit (1943)
Thunderball (1965)
Canadian Bacon (1995)
Deja Vu (2006)
South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
The African Queen (1951)
Legends of the Fall (1994)
Homecoming (1948)
The Devil’s Brigade (1968)
Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife (1938)
The Key (1958)
The Detective (1968)
Action in the North Atlantic (1943)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
The Tuskegee Airmen (1995)
Harper (1966)
Cry Wolf (1947)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)
The Haunted Strangler (1958)
Susannah of the Mounties (1939)
The Far Country (1954)
Frozen River (2008)
The War of the Worlds (1953)
Dudley Do-Right (1999)
Babylon A.D (Unrated Version) (2008)
Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995)
Youngblood (1986)
Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009)
Punchline (1988)
Easy to Wed (1946)
Sherlock Holmes and the Scarlet Claw (1944)
