Strange Brew (1983)

Rating: ****
Director: Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas
Cast: Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Max Von Sydow

A brilliant and hilarious film featuring Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas as Bob and Doug McKenzie from their SCTV days. Bob and Doug try to get a free case of beer by squeezing a mouse into a bottle of Elsinore beer and claiming that it made them sick. Instead, they end up with jobs at the beer factory and get all the free beer they want. Unfortunately, the factory is run by the evil Brewmeister Smith (Max Von Sydow) who has laced Elsinore beer with a mind controlling drug. Bob and Doug stumble through the film trying to figure out what's going on and eventually manage to save the world from the tainted beer. Careful and academic viewers will notice that the story is a clever retelling of Shakespeare's "Hamlet," adding yet another layer of appreciation, complexity, and enjoyment. Great stuff.