Project Grizzly (1996)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Peter Lynch

Release Date:

3 October 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

Whenever I have that dream... something bad happens.

Plot:

A documentary follows a Canadian fellow working on his dream: building a suit of armor so he can observe grizzly bears from a close distance.

Plot Keywords:

Grizzly | Bear | Knife | Bear Attack | Body Armor

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Troy Hurtubise

...

Himself

Runtime:

72 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

North Bay, Ontario, Canada

Company:

National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "The Simpsons: The Fat and the Furriest (#15.5)" (2003)

A bit of juxtaposition...very Brechtian (!)

I first became aware of this film and that figure of fun Troy Hurtubise on the hilarious British TV show "In Bed With Me Dinner" with Bob Mills lampooning the film. Although somebody reading this would say "Don't laugh about it, you haven't seen the full film". Well, I bought the full "Project Grizzly" video a while ago from a friend, and I have to say that this is the most unintentionally funny piece of documentary film-making. Troy: What can be said about the man. He just doesn't see the humour that's so clearly visible to the viewers, but you've got to take your hat off to him, purely because he seriously has a screw loose. For any novices out there, root out the scene where one of Troy's buddies is talking about the game for all the family 'Out Run The Hand Grenade', or any scene involving testing the suit. I have to say as well, that I didn't go into viewing the film being snobby about anything, or expecting a marvelous piece of dramatic film. Plus Bob Mills reigned supreme on his show by poking fun at the whole idea of Troy and his little journey. Honestly, I knew that Troy would keep going with the bear business, but I never thought that in Old Blighty, I'd see him poking out of magazines (in that probably unmovable suit to match!), and being lampooned on that old chestnut "Have I Got News For You". What else is there to say, this isn't no Academy Award winning triumph, but it's definitely worth buying or renting if you see it available. In short words: this is excellent, you have to see it.