Easter funnies

Canadian indie comedy Hank and Mike is a
lowbrow take on the eggy holiday

SILLY RABBITS: Thomas Michael and Paolo Mancini

by CHRISTOPHER SYKES

Describing the opening scene of the new Can-com Hank and Mike sounds like the set-up of a really bad joke: the Easter Bunny slouches on the couch trying in vain to watch scrambled porn. Suddenly the screen stops its cascade and clears, providing an inverted black-and-white picture to accompany the moans. Serendipity. Mr. Cottontail reaches for some tissues.

Such is life for chain-smoking Hank (Paolo Mancini). Twist is, he really is the Easter Bunny. Or, more correctly, one of many not-so-gainfully employed Easter bunnies spreading chocolate eggs for Easter Enterprises. His clean-cut roommate Mike (Thomas Michael) has always been more willing to toe the corporate line and bail his bud out of trouble.

That is until the board at Easter Enterprises hires macabre consultant Conrad Hubriss (American Pie’s Chris Klein) to suppress costs. As the aptly named Hubriss sees it, Easter is “a Tier II holiday, like Kwanza or Canada Day” that doesn’t necessitate the fiscal overhead of Tier I holidays like Christmas. His recommendation: downsize the bunnies.

At first, this suits Hank just fine. He’s tired of being Easter’s little bitch. His own colourful rant: “Does the Tooth Fairy leave 12.5 cents? Does a fireman put out half the fire? But we’re only supposed to hide the eggs half-assed? What the fuck is that?” When the BFFs find out the job market for severely under-skilled bunnies is a depressed one, they set about undermining their former employer hoping to restore things to normal.

It might be a bit self-evident, but eventually the pink pals find an unexpected ally in Easter Enterprises’ CEO Mr. Pan (played by Mamet-muse Joe Mantegna). Seems Mantegna disagrees with the board and doesn’t like these cost-cutting measures one bit. He just wants the kids to get their chocolate. Something’s gotta give.

Hank and Mike is no masterpiece. But for a small-budget comedy, you could do a lot worse. Ever the guy-flick (disappointingly, there’s nary a female rabbit to be found, nor mention of Jesus), I nevertheless wouldn’t mind watching it every April in the same way Bad Santa has become my own little Xmas treat. It’s certainly in the same vein: clever, dirty and, above all else, fun.

HANK AND MIKE
OPENS THIS FRIDAY,
MARCH 27