When one of Canada’s top comedy troupes took a pot shot at Flin Flon to close out 2016, it marked the latest in a long line of pop-culture references the northern Manitoba city has garnered.
The Royal Canadian Air Farce’s New Year’s Eve special, which aired on CBC-TV, featured a sketch involving a census taker and a prisoner he is interviewing.
“Where were you born,” asks the census taker through a thick Newfoundlander accent.
“In a hospital,” replies the prisoner.
“No, what city?”
“Oh. Flin Flon, Manitoba.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Flin Flon, Manitoba.”
“No, I heard you, I’m just sorry.”
While some proud Flin Flonners may not find humour in the jest, they are used to their community’s name being mentioned in various forms of media.
Film
“I will leave this sorry berg and embark on a journey of self-actualization. My physical destination is Flin Flon, Manitoba, where I plan to join the Avituk Institute for the Advance-ment of the Inuit Peoples.”
Those are the words of Joe Kasko, lead character in a low budget, direct- to-video 1995 comedy, The Road to Flin Flon.
It’s quite entertaining to hear an American production, or any production, reference our little town. And references are all the film contains. Because of the miniscule $250,000 budget, the actual Flin Flon is not seen, though the conclusion features the lead character supposedly here (it’s actually a bushy part of California).
The Road to Flin Flon tells the story of Kasko and his search for a simpler life. He makes the life-altering choice to travel north to conduct social work with Inuit people at the aforementioned (and, of course, fictitious) Avituk Institute.
Among Kasko’s more memorable quotes about Flin Flon: “Well, it’s about as far away from L.A. as you can get where they still speak English” and “Of course they have telephones.”
Meanwhile, Canadian comedian Mike Myers portrayed Donnie Shulzhoffer, a sports correspondent from Flin Flon, in the 1999 Hollywood Pictures film Mystery, Alaska.
Coincidentally enough, Snow Lake native and former Flin Flon Bomber Brent Stait had a role in the movie. In a Reminder interview, Stait spoke on Myers and the Flin Flon reference.
“Mike just liked the name and he knew who Bobby Clarke was,” Stait said “I was going to lend him my Flin Flon Bomber ring from when we won the junior B championship.”
Unlike The Road to Flin Flon, Mystery, Alaska – the tale of an amateur ice hockey team that plays an exhibition game against
the NHL’s New York Rangers – received a theatrical release.
Flin Flon also garnered a mention in the 1995 CBC film Net Worth, which told the story of the formation of the NHL players union.
Even horror films have gotten into the act. Santa’s Slay, a low-budget, direct-to-DVD effort from 2005, had its protagonist clad in a Flin Flon Bombers jersey.
Television
On Canadian television, Flin Flon is sometimes used as a generic example of small-town Canada, with comments such as, “Is this government program really the responsibility of a taxpayer living in Flin Flon?”
Flin Flon, with its strong link to hockey, has also been mentioned on at least a few occasions, Hockey Night in Canada, that Saturday evening ritual of the nation.
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
is an improvisational television show where performers often had to say the first funny thing that came to mind. And for Canadian-raised cast member Colin Mochrie, the name of Flin Flon became one such thought.
During an episode of the American program, Mochrie, appearing in an infomercial parody, made a nonsensical remark about his supposed childhood in Flin Flon.
“You know, when I was a young black child growing up in Flin Flon...” he said to a fellow actor, drawing laughter from the audience.
The comment, like much of Mochrie’s humour, was meant to induce laughter through sheer bizarreness. Other Mochrie quotes from the Emmy-nominated show included “Salami is the breadth of life” and “Give me liberty or a bran muffin!”
Mochrie made the Flin Flon reference as he and castmate Ryan Stiles promoted a fictitious CD compilation called Greatest Hits: Songs of Hockey.
Of course hockey can be a violent sport. Footage from an intense Bombers game was featured in an episode of Sports Disasters, which used to occasionally air on the cable network TLC.
The footage shows the verbal and physical fights that broke out during a 1999 match-up in which the Bombers hosted the Estevan Bruins.
Other media
Flin Flon has been referenced in books, including local self-published texts along with more broadly available tomes.
Flin Flon: A Sample Study of a Northern Community is a 1968 grade school exercise book that includes photos, articles and questions for students to answer.
In 2013, Flin Flon was mentioned in a nationally syndicated editorial cartoon. It showed Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield using the robotic Canadarm to point a massive camera at Earth.
“Ok, Canada, big smiles! Let’s take this group shot again,” the illustrated Hadfield said through a speech bubble. “Somebody in Flin Flon blinked.”
Later, after being sent a Reminder article about the cartoon, Hadfield tweeted the cartoonist behind the piece, Patrick LaMontagne, from outer space.
– with files from Eric Westhaver
