Trailer Park Boys

       When people think of Canada a few things come to mind: Hockey, maple syrup, the cold and Rick Moranis doing a goofy accent. After watching Trailer Park Boys though you’ll be associating America’s hat with drugs, alcohol, vulgarity and learn that even in the kindest country in the world has its own scum bags.

       Trailer Park Boys is a Canadian comedy series in the “mockumentary” style of other shows such as the popular “The Office.” Set in the rundown fictional Sunnyvale trailer park in Nova Scotia the show stars the three titular trailer park boys who are actually grown men; Julian, the de facto leader and most put together of the group, Bubbles the sarcastic cat lover and Ricky who is the living embodiment of white trash. 

       The show, which started its life as an independent film, follows the daily exploits of the three main characters as they try their best to get ahead in their respectively crappy lives the only way they know how, by breaking the law. Whether selling dope, robbing stores and taking advantage of Canada’s exceedingly lenient justice system. The comedy of the show comes completely from the characters and their interactions with the community they’ve grown up in and the various ridiculous situations the boys find themselves in.

       While the writing may seem to get repetitive as characters never truly grow it actually gives off an endearing sense of consistency. Season one will feel as familiar as the latest season, save for certain characters growing up such as Ricky’s daughter who was eight at the show’s beginning. The show also has a clever way of punching its clock back to zero at the end of every season with everyone back in the same situation as they started.

       The handheld camera, documentary style of setting makes the situations feel like watching a prolonged episode of cops as the boys try and evade the law and devolve into slapstick shenanigans. While adding to the hilarity this style starts to work against itself and becomes fourth wall breaking. The documentary team in the show feels the need to get everything and continue to film even when their lives are at stake or when it doesn’t make any sense for them to film a particular scene or characters.

       Trailer Park Boys has been around since 1999 and has recently come back in to light as risky original Showcase series had a ninth season picked up by the leader of risk takers, Netflix. Trailer park Boys may be a bit much for the prudish comedy viewers there’s a lot to be seen in a show about a humble trailer park and its criminal populace.

       With nine seasons, several movies and specials all available on Netflix and still more to come Trailer Park Boys is definitely worth a watch just to see a wilder side to the Great White North.