SCIENCE ON SCREEN: STRANGE BREW
RICK MORANIS, DAVE THOMAS | CANADA, USA | 1983 | 90 MIN | PG
Biology on Tap
Biology professor and beer scientist Dr. Matthew Farber explores the remarkable processes that turn humble ingredients into one of the world’s most beloved beverages.
Originating as characters on SCTV (Canada’s answer to Saturday Night Live), dopey brothers Bob and Doug McKenzie (Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas) quickly caught on in the Great White Way and abroad, lodging a particular brand of hockey-loving Canadian yokel into the cultural imagination. Their inspired idiocy comes to the big screen in this hilarious romp, which finds the McKenzie brothers on an quest for free beer that variously involves flying dogs, vengeful ghosts, and brainwashed mental patients. Along the way they also stumble upon a plot by Brewmeister Smith (Max von Sydow), an evil genius intent on turning the world’s population into violent drones by lacing bottles of beer with mind control drugs. Luckily for the fate of mankind, our unlikely heroes have never encountered a hairy situation that they can’t drink their way out of (literally), and their bumbling adventures make STRANGE BREW a cult classic only a complete hoser would miss.
Cast: Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis, Paul Dooley, Max von Sydow
About the Speaker:
Dr. Matthew Farber, Assistant Professor of Biology, is the founder and director of the Brewing Science Certificate program at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. His research focuses on innovative applications of biotechnology for the improvement of beer production, and he is an inventor on two provisional patents related to beer quality. Dr. Farber is the co-author of Mastering Brewing Science: Beer Production and Quality to be published in Fall 2019 by Wiley. He received a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Pittsburgh. He loves beer foam and dislikes “juicy” as a beer descriptor.
The Science on Screen® program pairs screenings of classic, cult, science fiction, and documentary films with lively presentations by notable experts from the world of science and technology. Each film is used as a jumping-off point for a speaker to introduce current research or technological advances in a manner that engages audiences of all backgrounds.
Science on Screen is an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.