With Canada Day right around the corner it’s time to start buying those fireworks, filling those beer cups, and laying out your red and white short/teeshirt outfit for the day. Let me take some of the work out of the party prep by providing you with some solid Canadian entertainment suggestions.

Bon Cop Bad Cop:

This 2006 comedy-thriller is the ultimate Canadian buddy cop flick. “When a body is found hanging on top of the sign demarcating the Ontario-Quebec border, police officers from both Canadian provinces must join forces to solve the murder.” The film is bilingual and takes advantage of its Canadian origin with the dialogue switching rapidly from English to French and back, subtitles being provided to keep everyone in the loop. This fast paced suspense filled drama will have you on the edge of your seat, brimming with Canadian pride, and laughing all the way to the end. If you’re feeling up to the challenge why not try turning off the subtitles and seeing which of your friends is most in touch with their Québécois-side and can keep you up to date with the plot.

C.R.A.Z.Y:

If you’re looking for something a bit edgier try checking out this 2005 Québécois film. While I warn you, this isn’t necessarily a film to sit down and watch with your parents (the film doesn’t shy away from nudity or explicit language), it can be a great one if you and some friends are looking for something a little less rom-commy than what you typically find at a mall movie theatre this time of year. C.R.A.Z.Y “tells the story of Zac, a young gay man dealing with homophobia and heterosexism while growing up with four brothers and a conservative father in 1960s and 1970s Quebec.” The film’s director, Jean-Marc Vallée, didn’t shy away from the high costs of music copyright and for that we can thank him as the iconic names that grace the soundtrack list such as: Patsy Cline, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones and David Bowie, add to the films overall feel, capturing the zeitgeist of the 70s. Again, this film requires subtitles for us English folk, but has earned itself a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating and is well worth your time.

Scott Pilgrim VS The World:

This extremely clever, fast paced 2010 comedy is based on the graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim by Toronto native Bryan Lee O’Malley. Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), a young Canadian musician, meets the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), an American delivery girl. In order to win Ramona, Scott learns that he must defeat Ramona’s “seven evil exes”, who are coming to kill him. This film successfully brought the comic book to life and did so by shooting on location at several Toronto hotspots, as well as some lesser known homages to locales. Whether it’s Lee’s Place or the Pizza Pizza across from Honest Eds, Toronto is definitely represented and shown off in this eye-popping and energetic picture. Guaranteed to get the laughs going, Scott Pilgrim VS The World will be a great, light hearted addition to your festivities!