Bon Cop, Bad Cop
Encyclopedia
Bon Cop, Bad Cop is a 2006 Canadian comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...

-thriller buddy cop film
Buddy cop film
The "buddy cop" is a subgenre of buddy films and crime films with plots involving two men of very different and conflicting personalities who are forced to work together to solve a crime and/or defeat criminals, sometimes learning from each other in the process...

 about an Ontarian and a Québécois
French-speaking Quebecer
French-speaking Quebecers are francophone residents of the Canadian province of Quebec....

 police officer who reluctantly join forces. The dialogue is a mixture of English and French. The title is a translation word play
Word play
Word play or wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement...

 on the phrase "Good cop/Bad cop
Good cop/Bad cop
Good cop/bad cop, known in British military circles as Mutt and Jeff and also called joint questioning and friend and foe, is a psychological tactic used for interrogation....

".

Plot

When a body is found hanging on top of the sign demarcating the Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

-Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 border, police officers from both Canadian provinces must join forces to solve the murder. David Bouchard (Patrick Huard
Patrick Huard
Patrick Huard is a Quebecer actor and comedian.-Feature films:* 1997: J’en suis* 1997: Les Boys* 1998: Les Boys II* 2000: La vie après l’amour* 2000: Stardom* 2001: Les Boys III...

) is a rule-bending, francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....

 detective for the Sûreté du Québec
Sûreté du Québec
Sûreté du Québec or SQ is the provincial police force for the Canadian province of Québec...

, while Martin Ward (Colm Feore
Colm Feore
Colm Feore is an American-born Canadian stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Feore was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Irish parents who lived in Ireland for several years during Feore's early life. The family subsequently moved to Windsor, Ontario, where Feore grew up.After graduating...

) is a by-the-book anglophone
English Canadian
An English Canadian is a Canadian of English ancestry; it is used primarily in contrast with French Canadian. Canada is an officially bilingual state, with English and French official language communities. Immigrant cultural groups ostensibly integrate into one or both of these communities, but...

 Ontario Provincial Police
Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...

 detective. The bilingual detectives must resolve their professional and cultural differences as well as their bigotry and prejudices.

The body is identified as Benoit Brisset, a hockey executive. The clues lead the pair to Luc Therrien (Sylvain Marcel
Sylvain Marcel
Sylvain Marcel is a Canadian actor. Marcel is best known in French Canada for appearing in Familiprix television commercials since 2003, and in English Canada for his role in the hit film Bon Cop, Bad Cop as Luc Therrien. He has also appeared in various other films and television shows.-External...

) at a roadside bar. After a fight in the bar, they imprison him in the trunk of Bouchard's car. Bouchard has promised to watch his daughter's ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

 recital, so he drives to the recital and parks the car in front with Therrien still locked in the trunk. When they emerge, they find the car being towed from the no-parking zone, and as they try to chase down the truck driver, the car explodes.

With their prime witness dead, they decide to search Therrien's house where they find a large marijuana grow-op in the basement. They also discover another body, a former hockey team owner. A laser tripwire is activated by Bouchard, which sets the house on fire, destroying the house and causing the two cops to get high on the fumes of the burning marijuana. When they are disciplined by Bouchard's police chief shortly afterwards, he angrily removes them from the case after they start laughing hysterically because they're still high.

The next victim is discovered in Toronto. They realize that the killer has a pattern of tattooing his victims, with each tattoo providing a clue to the next murder victim. Each murder is in some way connected to major league hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

. (The film uses thinly disguised parodies
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...

 of National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 teams, owners and players, however, rather than the real league.) The pair anticipate the next victim, but he goes missing before they reach him. He was about to appear on a hockey talk show, and the two cops chase him off.

Ward is attacked in his home by a masked assailant whom he discovers is Therrien. Meanwhile, Bouchard has sex with Ward's sister.

The "Tattoo Killer" kidnaps Bouchard's daughter, leading to the final confrontation with the two policemen. It is ultimately revealed that the murders are being committed by a bilingual portly hockey fan as revenge against the hockey league for desecrating the game by moving Canadian teams such as the "Quebec Fleur de Lys" to the United States. They try to reason with him that hockey is just a game, but this only angers him. Ward distracts the man while Bouchard unties his daughter. After a fight, the killer is blown up by one of his own explosives. During the credits, a news report is shown, revealing that the hockey teams will not be moved.

Cast

  • Patrick Huard
    Patrick Huard
    Patrick Huard is a Quebecer actor and comedian.-Feature films:* 1997: J’en suis* 1997: Les Boys* 1998: Les Boys II* 2000: La vie après l’amour* 2000: Stardom* 2001: Les Boys III...

     : David Bouchard
  • Colm Feore
    Colm Feore
    Colm Feore is an American-born Canadian stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Feore was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Irish parents who lived in Ireland for several years during Feore's early life. The family subsequently moved to Windsor, Ontario, where Feore grew up.After graduating...

     : Martin Ward
  • Lucie Laurier
    Lucie Laurier
    Lucie Laurier is a Québécoise actress. She has a sister named Charlotte Laurier. She has one son, Tim.- Filmography :* 1985 : Le Vieillard et l'enfant* 1986 : Henri : Liliane...

     : Suzie
  • Sylvain Marcel
    Sylvain Marcel
    Sylvain Marcel is a Canadian actor. Marcel is best known in French Canada for appearing in Familiprix television commercials since 2003, and in English Canada for his role in the hit film Bon Cop, Bad Cop as Luc Therrien. He has also appeared in various other films and television shows.-External...

     : Luc Therrien
  • Pierre Lebeau
    Pierre Lebeau
    Pierre Lebeau is a Quebec actor. He is best known for major roles in Quebec big-box movies such as Séraphin: un homme et son péché and the four-part Les Boys series.-Acting background:...

     : Capt. Leboeuf
  • Ron Lea
    Ron Lea
    Ron Lea is a Canadian actor.Lea was born in Montreal and attended Concordia University before moving on to take acting training at the National Theatre School. His career took off after appearing in various local theatre productions. Lea can be seen in many movies on television, but may be most...

     : Capt. Brian MacDuff
  • Sarain Boylan : Iris
  • Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse
    Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse
    Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse is a Canadian actress.- Filmographie :* 1997 : Le Volcan tranquille * 2003 : Summer with the Ghosts : Caroline* 2004 : 15/Love : Sunny Capuduca...

     : Gabrielle
  • Louis-José Houde
    Louis-José Houde
    Louis-José Houde is a French-Canadian comedian, who mostly does stand-up comedy and also has his own TV show. Recently Houde has broken into acting in feature films, such as the 2006 hit movie, Bon Cop, Bad Cop and the 2009 hit movie De père en flic...

     : Jeff
  • Patrice Bélanger : Tattoo Killer
  • Rick Mercer
    Rick Mercer
    Richard Vincent "Rick" Mercer is a Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and blogger.Mercer first came to national attention in 1990, when he premiered his one man show Show Me the Button, I'll Push It, or Charles Lynch Must Die at the Great Canadian Theatre Company in...

     : Tom Berry
  • Erik Knudsen
    Erik Knudsen
    Erik Kenneth William Knudsen is a Canadian actor. He is known for playing Daniel Matthews in Saw II and Robbie Mercer in Scream 4 and played Dale Turner in the CBS series Jericho.-Life and career:...

     : Jonathan
  • Rick Howland
    Rick Howland
    Rick Howland is a Canadian actor best known for his role as Trick on Lost Girl and Harry Buttman in Bon Cop, Bad Cop.- Career :Howland began with improvisation and an excellent acting teacher. He then spent a few years at a few universities before landing his first gig in a feature film. While at...

     : Buttman
  • André Robitaille : Benoit Brisset
  • Hugolin Chevrette : Stef
  • Gilles Renaud : Grossbut

Bilingualism

Bon Cop, Bad Cop claimed to be Canada's first bilingual feature film, although that accomplishment in fact belongs to Amanita Pestilens
Amanita Pestilens
Amanita Pestilens is a 1963 Canadian film produced by F. R. Crawley, directed by René Bonnière. It was "the first Canadian feature film to be shot in both English and French with the same set of actors" and which included an early career performance by Geneviève Bujold along with performances by...

 (1963). Since the film revolves around the concept of mixed cultures and languages, most scenes include a mixture of French
Canadian French
Canadian French is an umbrella term referring to the varieties of French spoken in Canada. French is the mother tongue of nearly seven million Canadians, a figure constituting roughly 22% of the national population. At the federal level it has co-official status alongside English...

 and English
Canadian English
Canadian English is the variety of English spoken in Canada. English is the first language, or "mother tongue", of approximately 24 million Canadians , and more than 28 million are fluent in the language...

 dialogue, with characters switching language rapidly. The entire movie was filmed using both a French and an English script, and the language used at each moment was finalized only later, during editing. The film was then released in two official versions, one for Anglophones and one for Francophones, which differ only in their subtitles and in a few spoken lines. The DVD also includes an option for bilingual viewers to switch off all subtitles.

Francophone humour

  • In the first scene in which we meet David Bouchard, his ex-wife walks into his apartment and Bouchard says "Bon matin...tout le monde." This means "Good morning...everyone," a reference to his ex-wife's breasts.
  • The Québécois stand up comic Louis-José Houde
    Louis-José Houde
    Louis-José Houde is a French-Canadian comedian, who mostly does stand-up comedy and also has his own TV show. Recently Houde has broken into acting in feature films, such as the 2006 hit movie, Bon Cop, Bad Cop and the 2009 hit movie De père en flic...

     has a minor supporting role in the film, playing Jeff, the coroner in charge of explaining the causes of the death of the first victim. In a truculent monologue very typical of his type of swift verbal humour, Houde delivers his diagnosis. Martin Ward understands only half of this verbal logorrhea
    Verbosity
    Verbosity in language refers to speech or writing which is deemed to use an excess of words. Adjectival forms are verbose, wordy, prolix and garrulous.-History:...

    , partly delivered in joual
    Joual
    Joual is the common name for the linguistic features of basilectal Quebec French that are associated with the French-speaking working class in Montreal which has become a symbol of national identity for a large number of artists from that area...

    , but is reassured when Bouchard tells him that he too understood only half of it (due in his case to the technical jargon) and that hopefully their halves are not the same half.
  • When Jeff is updating the cops on Rita's autopsy, he mentions that Rita spelled backwards is "atir", which in French sounds like the present tense for 'attract'. It is an instance of double entendre, however, as the word also sounds like the Joual pronunciation of "elle tire" ("she pulls"; in Joual elle is often contracted to a), implying masturbation.
  • When Luc Therrien, played by Sylvain Marcel
    Sylvain Marcel
    Sylvain Marcel is a Canadian actor. Marcel is best known in French Canada for appearing in Familiprix television commercials since 2003, and in English Canada for his role in the hit film Bon Cop, Bad Cop as Luc Therrien. He has also appeared in various other films and television shows.-External...

    , puts on the mascot outfit in the washroom, he poses in front of a mirror and utters the line "Are you talkin' to me?", a parody of a similar scene in Taxi Driver
    Taxi Driver
    Taxi Driver is a 1976 American drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. The film is set in New York City, soon after the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro and features Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, and Cybill Shepherd. The film was nominated for four Academy...

    . However, he also says "Ah-ha!", a reference to Marcel's tagline in the popular commercials for the Familiprix
    Familiprix
    Familiprix is a Canadian group of independent pharmacists.-History:Médico-Prix started in 1977 in Eastern Quebec. It was renamed Familiprix on 17 October 1979. In the mid-1990s, it expanded into Montreal. Today, Familiprix has more than 250 locations in Quebec and New Brunswick...

     chain of drugstores.
  • The line "Vive le Québec libre" uttered during the sex scene between David and Iris is an allusion to an encouragement to Quebec sovereigntist
    Sovereigntist
    Sovereigntism may refer to:*Souverainism, a doctrine which supports acquiring or preserving political independence of a nation or a region*Quebec sovereignty movement...

    s made by French President Charles de Gaulle
    Charles de Gaulle
    Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....

     on the balcony of Montreal City Hall in 1967. The phrase inflamed Quebec separatists at the time.
  • The scenes introducing Ward play on Québécois stereotypes of English Canadians (and Torontonians in particular) as boring or uncool. Examples include Ward ironing his pants in his kitchen while otherwise formally dressed for work, and his desire for a desk job. The film endorses the fanciful stereotype of an English Canadian obsession with the monarchy and Queen Elizabeth II.
  • In an aside, Bouchard makes fun of the anglo name "Ward", which is of course his own name in real life (Huard).
  • When Bouchard's car explodes, (presumably) killing the suspect that was in the trunk, a totally stressed out Ward produces a brief series of joual swear words. The pronunciation of them, in his mix of international French and posh English accent, builds an irresistible comic effect between his classy verbal delivery and the vulgarity of the line.
  • The name of the director of the Sûreté du Québec
    Sûreté du Québec
    Sûreté du Québec or SQ is the provincial police force for the Canadian province of Québec...

     is Capitaine Leboeuf (Literally: "Captain Ox"). Boeuf, pronounced beu ("Ox") is Quebec French
    Quebec French
    Quebec French , or Québécois French, is the predominant variety of the French language in Canada, in its formal and informal registers. Quebec French is used in everyday communication, as well as in education, the media, and government....

     slang for "cop".

Anglophone humour

  • The Canadian stand-up comic Rick Mercer
    Rick Mercer
    Richard Vincent "Rick" Mercer is a Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and blogger.Mercer first came to national attention in 1990, when he premiered his one man show Show Me the Button, I'll Push It, or Charles Lynch Must Die at the Great Canadian Theatre Company in...

     has a minor supporting role in the film as Tom Berry, a loudmouthed, bigoted and racist television sportscaster, who is a parody of real-life Canadian hockey commentator Don Cherry
    Don Cherry
    Don Cherry may refer to:* Don Cherry hockey player, coach, and commentator* Don Cherry , trumpeter* Don Cherry...

    .
  • Similarly, the character of Harry Buttman is a parody of NHL
    National Hockey League
    The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

     commissioner Gary Bettman
    Gary Bettman
    Gary Bruce Bettman is the commissioner of the National Hockey League , a post he has held since February 1, 1993. Previously, Bettman was a senior vice-president and general counsel to the National Basketball Association...

    , and hockey team owners Michel Grossbut and Pickleton are parodies of Marcel Aubut
    Marcel Aubut
    Marcel Aubut, is a Canadian lawyer, president of the Canadian Olympic Committee and former president and Chief Executive Officer of the Quebec Nordiques of the National Hockey League .-Personal life:...

     and Peter Pocklington
    Peter Pocklington
    Peter Hugh Pocklington is a Canadian entrepreneur.He made his initial fortune as the owner of one of the largest auto dealerships in Canada, and later took over a meat packing company involved in a high-profile labour strike....

     respectively.
  • Bouchard's erratic driving is a reference to long-standing Canadian jokes about the dangers of driving in Montreal, and of Quebec drivers in general.
  • When Ward and Bouchard arrive at the heliport, Ward's division of French-English language jurisdictions ("...with the possible exception of some areas in New Brunswick
    New Brunswick
    New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

    ") and the formal language he uses in doing so are allusions to the Canadian Constitution and its official language provisions.
  • When Bouchard and Ward meet in Ontario at the scene of the dead agent of hockey's top draft pick in 1995, Ward says of Bouchard to one of his police officers "He is from Quebec", and the other one has a small "says it all" laugh. The player in question is actually a reference to Eric Lindros
    Eric Lindros
    Eric Bryan Lindros is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. Lindros played junior hockey in the OHL for the Oshawa Generals prior to being selected first overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the Quebec Nordiques...

    , who in fact was the NHL's top draft pick in 1991, not 1995. Lindros was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques, but refused to play for the team and was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers
    Philadelphia Flyers
    The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

    . Ironically enough in a situation similar to Lindros, the top pick in 1995 was Bryan Berard
    Bryan Berard
    Bryan Wallace Berard is a former American professional ice hockey player. He was the first overall pick in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators. He is most noted for a debilitating eye injury he received early in his career...

    , an American defenceman who refused to play for the Ottawa Senators
    Ottawa Senators
    The Ottawa Senators are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

     and was dealt to the New York Islanders
    New York Islanders
    The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

     in a three-team trade in January, 1996. Coincidentially, Lindros won the Hart Trophy in 1995.
  • When in the same scene, Ward explains that the player fell and suffered a concussion. Bouchard says "What, again?" This is a reference to the series of concussions that plagued Lindros's career.

Canada

The film opened in Quebec on August 4, 2006 (and Canada-wide on August 18) and, as of December 17, 2006, had grossed $12,665,721 US$ ($12,578,327 CAD
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...

), making it one of the highest-grossing Canadian films of all time domestically. While the film has only generated only $1.3 million outside of Quebec, its success is significant given the difficulties that Canadian films normally face at the box office in English Canada
English Canada
English Canada is a term used to describe one of the following:# English-speaking Canadians, as opposed to French-speaking Canadians. It is employed when comparing English- and French-language literature, media, or art...

.

In October 2006, Bon Cop, Bad Cops producers claimed that the film had become the highest-grossing Canadian film domestically, surpassing the $11.2 million teen comedy Porky's
Porky's
Porky's is a 1982 comedy film about the escapades of teenagers at the fictional Angel Beach High School in Florida in 1954. It was released in the United States in 1982, and spawned two sequels: Porky's II: The Next Day and Porky's Revenge! and influenced many writers in the teen film genre...

 earned in Canada in 1981. The claim, however, does not take into consideration inflation: Porky's domestic gross in 2006 dollars is approximately $24.2 million, still far ahead of Bon Cop, Bad Cop; the latter is thus likely the third highest-grossing Canadian film domestically after Porky's and 1970s Deux femmes en or.

The film was released on DVD in Canada on December 19, 2006.

International

The film has not been released theatrically outside Canada, although it has been screened at film festivals and other occasions in the United States and France.

Awards and recognition

The film won in two of its ten nominated categories for the 27th Genie Awards
27th Genie Awards
The 27th Genie Awards were held on February 13, 2007 to honour films released in 2006. The ceremony was located at the Carlu theatre in Toronto....

 in 2007:
  • Best motion picture
  • Overall sound


Its other nominated categories were:
  • Best actor: Colm Feore
    Colm Feore
    Colm Feore is an American-born Canadian stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Feore was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Irish parents who lived in Ireland for several years during Feore's early life. The family subsequently moved to Windsor, Ontario, where Feore grew up.After graduating...

  • Best actor: Patrick Huard
    Patrick Huard
    Patrick Huard is a Quebecer actor and comedian.-Feature films:* 1997: J’en suis* 1997: Les Boys* 1998: Les Boys II* 2000: La vie après l’amour* 2000: Stardom* 2001: Les Boys III...

  • Direction: Eric Canuel
    Eric Canuel
    Eric Canuel is a film director and actor from Quebec, Canada.Eric Canuel began his career in the mid-1980s making music videos for such artists as Paul Piché, Sass Jordan, Norman Iceberg, Vilain Pingouin and Sylvain Cossette...

  • Art Direction/Production Design: Jean Bécotte
  • Cinematography: Bruce Chun
    Bruce Chun
    Bruce Chun is a Canadian cinematographer.Chun is born to a Chinese-Mexican family. He won Bruce Chun (born February 6, 1963 in Mexico City, Mexico) is a Canadian cinematographer.Chun is born to a Chinese-Mexican family. He won Bruce Chun (born February 6, 1963 in Mexico City, Mexico) is a Canadian...

  • Editing: Jean-François Bergeron
    Jean-François Bergeron (editor)
    Jean-François Bergeron is a Canadian film editor. He was nominated for a 2008, 28th Genie Awards Genie Award for Best Achievement in Editing for Les 3 P'tits Cochons .- Recognition :...

  • Sound editing
  • Original song: "Tattoo", Éric Lapointe
    Éric Lapointe (singer)
    Éric Lapointe is one of Québec's most popular francophone lead rock singers. His signature sound is characterized by very strong emotional lyrics, a rich, deep gravelly voice and the virtuoso guitar work by Stéphane Dufour...



The film also won the 'billet d'or' (golden ticket) at Quebec's 2007 Jutra Awards. This award is given to the film with the highest box-office success.

External links

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