I wasted 3 hours trying to download video on my Mac and getting the run-around trying to download Adobe Flash Player 10 before getting to watch Part 2 of this Miracle-ous movie. And it was MORE than worth it.
There's no doubt that Keep Your Head Up, Kid: The Don Cherry Story is one of the nation's most identifiable, epitomizing films to come around since... That Pierre Elliot Trudeau movie? Seriously, it's no secret we have a bit of a shortage of cultural icons here in the True North, but Don Cherry is about as iconic as they come. Do a quick sondage and I'm sure you'll find he's one of the first famous Canadians to come to mind.
Anyways, the best part of this movie isn't even just the idea (which was ingenious on its own and was the brainchild of Don's biological child, Tim Cherry, who wrote the story – props!) but the production value of this little national treasure. The filming and acting was top-notch, and maybe it's the extra romance that the film was shot in Winnipeg and Brandon (at the Keystone Centre), but I couldn't help but feel extremely attached to the movie and proud of it.
(OK, I did spot a good half-dozen guys I know that play Bisons and keep hearing about more and more people who were part of the cast, so that was fun to point out! But I kept not being able to believe it in a way because I know their acting experience is, well, void, and the movie's so rockin'! Well done y'all!)
So anyways, maybe my attachment to the extras is relevant, maybe it isn't, but I swear to you that movie has all the makings of a successful Hollywood jock movie — a sincere, not-oversweetened romantic plot, lots of true-to-life hardships dealt to the main character, and lots of funny moments that help represent a guy we already know but haven't really cracked (OK, my love affair with bio-pics is starting to show...)
You get to get to the bottom of Don along with the screenplay, though again, it leaves you wondering which representation of ol' Grapes is more accurate: the sweet, considerate father and husband, the determined hockey-obsessed devotee, or the balls-to-the-walls crazy hothead we saw on TV every week during our upbringing. (Is it really ALL an act? They hinted at signs of his temper throughout the movie but he did really just seem like a mild, genuine guy...)
Maybe hockey makes us all crazy. Either way, the moments where we learn why Cherry was nicknamed "Madagascar" by his old coach (He said he would've sent him away there if he could... Instead, he traded him to Three Rivers, Quebec) and other intricacies in Cherry's career and life shouldn't be skipped. This movie is comparable to a Hollywood-scripted romance about a man and his loves; hockey and a woman named Rose, but with all the Canadian no-bullshit you need to buy in. And that's what we can continue to be known for thanks to this CBC special: no frills or opening-day, "coming to a theatre near you" gimmicks, just a film about a "good Canadian kid" (in Don Cherry speak) making his way in the world who moved 53 times for hockey, only to play 1 game in the Show for the Boston Bruins early in his career, coach them, then end up a national broadcast legend for his colour commentary on the CBC (along the way running his tongue and getting into trouble for bigotry). Ahh, Canada's Sweetheart.
Doesn't hurt that the young Don (as played by Jared Keeso) was a total babe either! (That is NOT a gimmick, most of my buddies who were extras are real hockey players and total top models too! Can't fight the truth....)
Snuggle up to your Mac (unless you're fighting..) and settle in to watch the 2-part series here: http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Shows/The_Don_Cherry_Story
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