Project Grizzly

This documentary follows a Canadian bear researcher who builds a bear-proof suit of armour so he can confront a grizzly bear head on and live to tell the tale. This documentary on Troy Hurtubise is nothing short of hilarious! We follow troy through his building and testing of his 'grizzly-proof' suit to his hunt for the angry bear from donut shops and biker bars to the Rocky Mountains. As it's been said here, you have to love this guy, even though he's a little out there!

'A bear of a movie that had audiences howling with laughter.' - The Toronto Star

Another fine gem from the National Film Board of Canada.

It was many years ago I got to get to know Troy. I met him at Cracker Jacks in Lindsay Ontario. I sat and listened to a ton of stories from this man. Troy had just finished writing a book called. White Tape. Even got him to sign it. Great friend and solid man.

I first became aware of this film and that figure of fun Troy Hurtubise on the hilarious British TV show "In Bed With Me Dinner" with Bob Mills lampooning the film. Although somebody reading this would say "Don't laugh about it, you haven't seen the full film". Well, I bought the full "Project Grizzly" video a while ago from a friend, and I have to say that this is the most unintentionally funny piece of documentary film-making. Troy: What can be said about the man. He just doesn't see the humour that's so clearly visible to the viewers, but you've got to take your hat off to him, purely because he seriously has a screw loose. For any novices out there, root out the scene where one of Troy's buddies is talking about the game for all the family 'Out Run The Hand Grenade', or any scene involving testing the suit. I have to say as well, that I didn't go into viewing the film being snobby about anything, or expecting a marvelous piece of dramatic film. Plus Bob Mills reigned supreme on his show by poking fun at the whole idea of Troy and his little journey. Honestly, I knew that Troy would keep going with the bear business, but I never thought that in Old Blighty, I'd see him poking out of magazines (in that probably unmovable suit to match!), and being lampooned on that old chestnut "Have I Got News For You". What else is there to say, this isn't no Academy Award winning triumph, but it's definitely worth buying or renting if you see it available. In short words: this is excellent, you have to see it.

Project Grizzly (1996)

*** (out of 4)

Documentary on Troy Hurtubise, a Canadian man who was attacked by a grizzly so to get revenge he builds a protective suit and goes out to find another grizzly to fight. If this guy sounds strange then that's because he really is. The ending is a disappointment as the fight never happens but everything that comes before this is pretty entertaining because this guy is just so damn weird. He rambles on about stuff he has no idea about and I can't help but wonder if this guy was the inspiration for all those Holiday Inn commercials that you see all over television. Apparently Quentin Tarantino is a big fan of this movie and I'm sure he could have fun turning this into a movie of his own.

As many have noted, this film is not about a man fighting a grizzly bear, despite what the pitch would seem to promise. It's about a man eccentric enough to build a suit for a rematch against a bear that once pushed him over. In other words, it's about a fricking egotistical moron with too much time and money on his hands and a documentary crew giving us the most boring version. It's Moby Dick for rednecks and this time there is no climax. Troy talks about his knives, his father and rambles almost incoherently about an encounter with a bear. He makes a number of suits and there are some funny Jackass like test runs. Had the documentary explored more of the mans psychosis (like the incredible Grizzly Man) it would be of some interest, instead it pats Troy on the head to elicit cheap laughs. You're better off going elsewhere for more intelligent and well constructed documentaries.