Men With Brooms

I was intrigued by the curling event at the last winter Olympics, but I didn't go out of my way to see Men with Brooms for several years. To think that I wasted all that time. This is a very funny romantic comedy and it taught me a great deal about the sport of curling. I loved the soundtrack, the herd? of beavers, the clever dialog, the romance, the peek at Canadian life, and the tight storyline. Paul Gross did a great job directing this movie and acting one of the principal roles. I highly recommend that everyone go on and see some of his other work: Due South (this TV series is where I started - a very funny story of a Canadian mountie who moves to Chicago with his wolf to find his father's killer and stays to help the Chicago police), Slings and Arrows (a great comedy TV series about a Shakespearean festival theatre in Canada with a ghost, several love stories, quirky actors, backstage drama, and a heartless business manager. As a side benefit, I learned a lot about Shakespeare's plays and how to appreciate them.), Passchendaele (a beautifully filmed story of Canadians in a World War I battle and a love story related to it), Getting Married in Buffalo Jump (a terrific love story with a great deal of depth, set on an Alberta ranch), and H2O & it's sequel, Trojan Horse (I haven't seen H2O yet, but Trojan Horse is a wonderfully tense political drama involving the merging of Canada and the United States and centering on a Presidential election where you really don't know who the good guys are).

O those wacky Canadians! They do know how to amuse themselves.This is a solid Paul Gross/John Krizanc [Due South] script that combines earthy humor with the dignity and pathos of the granite men who curl for fun. Guess they have fun, pushing 42 lb. polished granite rocks around on salted ice, though it appears manifestly serious. Couldn't read the figures on the check they finally earned for all that ruthless determination, spirituality, and honor defining their slow-mo game. Okay, sport. The training exercises were hysterical, as was the male bonding session, though watching that hot industrial slag pour down behind the heaps they were relaxing on with tokes was a bit unnerving. Great shot, though! Paul Gross is excellent, directing as well as playing a soulful, likeable cad a smart woman wouldn't hook up with on a bet. Well, maybe on a bet... Molly Parker, as his wistful overlooked wannabe girlfriend, sister to his wistful, jilted astronaut/bride [Michelle Nolden] was perfect. The rest of the cast were also smack "on the button", with Leslie Nielson impeccable as Gross' father who raises "magic" mushrooms by growing them in the end product from his poor dairy cow. Not talking milk here. Oddly eclectic music choices for the score, but each works in its place for curling, romance, curling, and confused militant beaver stampedes. I'm basically a basalt woman myself, but the granite men held my attention throughout, no problem. Highly recommended for Canadaphiles. And other types who don't think they live far enough north.

I recently rediscovered Canadian actor Paul Gross, 20 years after his Due South program aired on CBS in the US. Decided to try out some of his other films, and I was stunned at the level of crass, bawdy vulgarity in Men With Brooms. That said, this is an INCREDIBLY funny movie, but certainly nothing to pop in for family movie night. I'm in my 60s, have been around the block a time or two, and it's not often that anyone in the film industry can make me blush, but this movie surely did! Beyond that, though, this well-crafted comic story is one of discovery, victory, and redemption -- themes commonly found in Gross's high-quality stories of life, death, and love. A curling coach dies, and his long-gone, generally nutty players return to town for his funeral after a 10-year separation. They then team up to compete once again for the Golden Broom trophy. Each player has a story, as does each of the women in their lives, and as the plot develops we have the chance to know and love them all. Curling is a sport that requires tremendous fitness, skill, and timing. I know the camera can make those shots look fabulous, but cannot believe all the action is the work of only the cameraman and the film editors. How in the world did they assemble a cast of actors who could pull it off? Did they all take curling in high school P.E., or were they trained in pre-production? Speaking of actors -- everyone in this production is simply first-rate. The big surprise is James Allodi, someone I'd only seen briefly in small roles, but he played his part, an unhappily married funeral director and "lead stone," to perfection.

I bought this film for three reasons: 1. I like the work done by Paul Gross in the very much underrated "Due South" TV series (available on DVD in two pressings: U.S. and Canadian?). 2. I like Leslie Nielsen too. 3. I've heard of "curling." I was a bit disappointed by the profanity in the film. Although I'm a Navy veteran myself I don't hang out with sailors much these days and the language seemed out of place. I also didn't care for the gratuitous smoking which did nothing for me to advance the story line. I found the character of the younger sister very compelling. I couldn't help wanting to see her succeed in life. The humor is dark, I especially appreciated the opening moments of the film. This humorous film is a vehicle for a deeper message of redemption and relationships which may likely go right past some viewers in light of the blazing excitement of curling. I would have loved to see Diefenbaker (any of the three of him) again with Paul and Leslie. I'm glad I purchased this film.

This DVD arrived on time and there were no packing or quality problems. It played just fine. Seeing the pack of beavers at different points in the story really made you chuckle. Some crude moments & dialogue, so beware. This is curling and not hockey so I expected any humour to be less crude and base-level. A good story, though, and Leslie Nielsen's portrayal of Cutter's father was what one would expect from an accomplished Canadian artist.

Si vous êtes fan de Paul Gross et du curling, n'hésitez pas ! Cette comédie est sympathique et permet de passer un bon moment. Dépourvu de second degré s'abstenir : il s'agit d'humour canadien, on peut passer à côté si on n'est pas habitué. L'intrigue est simple mais les acteurs sont attachants et les compétitions de curling plutôt amusantes. Sans prétention donc.

Ich habe schon lange nicht mehr so gelacht. Aber man muss dabei sagen, dass ich die Kanadier und den kanadischen Humor liebe.

As a Paddy, I came to this not knowing the first thing about Curling as a sport. But Gross' great performance and witty script - with a great supporting cast - and Nielson as his whacked-out-on-magic-mushrooms father equals lots of laughs and more than a few touching moments. Great comedy.

Die DVD kann auf europäischen Playern leider nicht abgespielt werden (Fehlermeldung bei Start), da sie einen Region Code 1 (US) hat.