Genre: Crime/Comedy/Drama
Director: Jason Reitman
Writer: Harry Wright
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Steve Buscemi, William Fichtner, Sienna Miller, Nathan Fillion, Donal Sutherland, Tatiana Maslany, Ellen Page
Plot: It’s 1987, a young Paul Garber (Billy Bob Thornton), Jeff Kieslowski (Steve Buscemi) and Will Haggis (William Fichtner) are crossing the border between Canada and the United States illegally, with quads. They have illegal cigarettes in a trailer. The Canadian government has put a high tax on the cigarettes, so many are opting for illegal cigarettes smuggled in Canada by opportunists Americans, like Garber, Kieslowski and Haggis. They trade their cigarettes for cash in a small town in Quebec, always at night and they leave without leaving a trace, like they always do. A couple of days later, they do another run and once again cross the border illegally, only this time, they trade their cigarettes to an undercover cop. He arrests them and seizes their cigarettes. They’re ultimately thrown in a Canadian jail and serve a grand total of 13 years in jail.
After being released in 2000, the three friends returned to their native village in the state of New York, where they got a job at a local grocery store to pay the bills, as they lost everything they had. We’re now in the winter of 2010 and they’ve been working together for 10 years. Haggis works as a cashier, Kieslowski as a packer and Garber, the smartest of the three has been promoted to manager. Garber has been living with his daughter, Ellie (Sienna Miller) since he got out of prison. She’s doing relatively well by herself and can afford things Paul can’t, for example, a Canadian delicacy, maple syrup and I’m not talking about corn syrup, real 100% maple syrup, straight from Canada. Paul tastes it for the first time and can’t believe how good it is. He puts a little drop in a cup and goes off to work.
Paul is going on his break, along with Jeff and Will. He opens his lunchbox and hypes the maple syrup has the best thing he’s ever tasted and keep them waiting to taste it. Jeff gets annoyed and wants to taste it right away. He opens the can and tastes the sweet substance. He ends up eating all of it and Will is angry that he didn’t get to taste it, but Jeff and Paul make sure to tell him how good it is. This is where Will comes up with a plan. He tells them how bored he is working as a cashier and wants to live his life how he used to live before he went in jail. The others don’t really understand where he’s going with this. He says he wants to steal maple syrup in Canada and sell it in the United States. Paul isn’t so sure about it, but Jeff says he could use a little more money.
It is the end of their shift and Ellie arrives at the grocery store to pick them all up, she’s the only one who can afford a car. On their way home, Jeff mentions the plan Will had to Ellie, while Paul urges him to shut up. Ellie says it’s a bad idea and they shouldn’t do it. She drops them off at their apartment and she’s silent on the way home with her father. When they get there, Paul finally talks and tells her that they really want to do it. Ellie interrupts him and says that he shouldn’t do it, it’s just another stupid plan to go back to jail. He says they’re going to do it with or without him and he can’t let them do it alone, I mean look at them, they can’t pull it off by themselves, they need help and they’re going to get caught if they do it alone and Paul can’t live knowing he could have helped his friends and he didn’t. Ellie is now really mad at her father and says that he either don’t do it, or he steals maple syrup to sell it illegally in the States and she doesn’t want him to live with her anymore. She doesn’t want to get in the mess he’s going to create. She gets inside, and he stands outside. He tells her that he loves her, but he can’t let his friends do it without him, they don’t deserve to get caught for something he planted in their minds. She slams the door and Paul walks back to his friend’s apartment.
Will and Jeff are busy on planning their illegal trip to Canada when Paul comes knocking at their door. They answer, and Paul looks at their plan, which is bad, to be polite. He suggests that they should go in Ontario this time, they got caught by those pesky Quebecers the last time and he doesn’t want to get caught by them this time either. He also suggests that they should go with their snowmobiles, through the woods, just like the old times. They all say it’s a good idea and they want to do it as soon as possible. The following day, Paul goes to his boss at the grocery store to ask for a day off for him and his friends, but they can’t have one for at least three days. Paul is mad and the others are sad.
John Benson (Donald Sutherland) the head of the Maple Syrup Syndicate, the MSS for short, is looking at this year’s stat for the maple syrup production. He says to his assistant, Vicky Smith (Tatiana Maslany) that it looks like it’s going to be a record year. He says he has to visit a man who reported numbers way higher than the others. They get in their SUV and leave to meet the man. They arrive at the field of Daniel Carson, the man who Benson thinks is intentionally reporting higher numbers to be paid better by the MSS. Carson says he doesn’t understand how the MSS works and why it is necessary. Benson says that all the maple syrup producers are all put together in a same group and that the MSS takes with them all the maple syrup produced to store it in a warehouse. They sell it elsewhere, in stores or to other countries (like the one Paul tasted and found so delicious). Depending on how much maple syrup someone gave the MSS, they give them money accordingly. Benson thinks Carson is reporting high numbers to get paid more, but he vehemently denies these claims. Benson says to Smith that he’s had enough and she changes the numbers Carson sent, just so he would get less money. He protests, but Benson remembers him that no one argues with the MSS and if he tries to sell it to others illegally, he may not like what’s going to happen to him. They leave as Carson is left speechless, he just got bullied by a woman and an old man.
Two weeks later, the three friends are gearing up for their trip to Canada. They put on their snow pants and leave on their snowmobiles. They follow each other through the woods and finally stop after an hour or so, when they see a village not far away. They hide their snowmobiles not to arise suspicions. Their plan is to act like total tourists and they should easily blend in. The problem is, they reached a small locality with fewer than two hundred people and tourists don’t come in this town, ever, but they didn’t know that. They enter the first store they can find, which also serves as the police center. Officer Mara Lambert (Ellen Page) greets them. They ask her where they could have some maple syrup, the classic question of tourists. Although she almost never sees tourists in her village, she’s able to recognize them as tourists and shows them the finest bottle of maple syrup she has in the store. Jeff wants to buy it, but Paul says they would rather go directly to the source, so he asks her where the nearest maple syrup farm is. She points out Daniel Carson’s just a few miles down the road. They thank her and leave the store. Jeff is sad that they didn’t buy the bottle and Will tells him that they won’t make money like that.
They finally arrive at Carson’s farm, where they knock on the door. He answers and asks them why they knocked on his door, people usually just come in, they don’t knock. Jeff immediately ask him if he has maple syrup, while Paul tells him to be politer. In true Canadian fashion, Daniel finds a way to apologize even if it wasn’t necessary. He says he can, in fact, give them a whole barrel of the thing, as the MSS decreased his numbers, which were true, by the way, and they were really clear on the fact that he can’t sell maple syrup, so he may as well give it to people who want it. Paul is pleased that they didn’t even have to steal the thing. They go outside and he gives them a barrel. He says they should bring their car over to move it around, but they don’t have a car. Jeff and Will carry the heavy barrel on their own, while Paul smokes with his other hand in his pocket.
Back in the United States, the three friends sold all their maple syrup. Paul and his friends are at Ellie’s to give her a can. She accepts it and can’t believe they pulled it off. She asks them how they did it and she can’t believe that this is how it went. She says she’ll go with them the next time, as they didn’t do anything illegal (other than crossing the border illegally, but she doesn’t seem to mind…, until Jeff reminds her.) but she doesn’t care about the border thing. Everyone living in this town do it at some point (not really).
John Benson and Vicky Smith are back at Carson’s farm and warn him that they will come to count his barrels at an unspecified time to finally know if he said the truth or not about his numbers. Carson says that there’s no problem, confident that he counted them correctly.
Two days later, the three friends, plus Ellie are back in Canada to get some more maple syrup. They knock at Carson’s door, who makes the same remark about nobody knocking here. They ask them for more maple syrup and he says he can’t give them more maple syrup, the MSS aren’t people you want to mess with. They leave, disappointed. They go to a restaurant to eat and to wait until dark to steal maple syrup from Carson. When they’re all seated, Ellie says to Jeff that she admires him. He doesn’t understand why and she says that she can’t believe a mentally challenged man like him can do all of this, because she sure can’t, only to realize Jeff isn’t mentally retarded. Jeff is really hurt by her comments and Will too, because she just insulted his best friend. Paul ends the little conflict with his wise words, saying she just chose her words poorly. They all say they already turned the page. (although she really meant it and they were still both pissed off.)
They leave the restaurant at dark and move towards Carson’s farm. Paul tells them to stay here for a while, he’ll come back and they do. He walks alone in the unoccupied streets of the small town. He sees a pick-up truck. He picks the lock and starts it. He comes back to his friends with the truck, who can’t believe he just stole a car. Ellie disapproves of her father’s action. They locate the warehouse where he keeps the barrels and Paul, once again, picks the lock. They steal a total of 9 barrels, all they can fit in the truck.
A week later, they all managed to sell their nine barrels of maple syrup and they buy a safe to store their growing pile of cash. They say they want to go back and steal even more maple syrup this time. Ellie bought a new car with her share and says she wants to go again, once she tasted the true power of money, she couldn’t resist earning a quick buck.
John Benson and Vicky Smith are at Carson’s farm and she’s counting the barrels, while Benson is looking at Carson disapprovingly. She’s done and announces that Carson is ten barrels short of the number he previously declared. He says it’s impossible and calls the police to report a theft. He asks the MSS to stay here and Officer Lambert arrives. She says she makes this situation her number one priority and she’ll stay here 24 hours a day, in case the robber, or robbers come back. She tells the MSS that they shouldn’t punish Carson for this and Benson answers that you don’t mess with the MSS, the MSS messes with you.
The three friends and Ellie are back in Ontario, eating in the same restaurant than before, when Benson and Smith arrive. They seat near them and they start talking about maple syrup, which triggers Jeff and Will, who go talk to them. They ask them where the big warehouse full of maple syrup is and Benson rudely answers that it’s confidential and he won’t say it to some retarded tourists. Jeff is angry at Benson and Paul comes and grab them, as they return to their seats.
It’s dark outside, now and the four of them go to steal some more maple syrup. Paul goes to steal the same truck. When they get there, however, they’re surprised by Officer Lambert, who wakes up and arrests them. Carson comes outside and can’t believe that the four tourists were stealing maple syrup from him. Carson calls the MSS. They arrive and Benson says they will take care of it, driving away for four of the first criminals Lambert arrested in her career, to her desolation.
When they arrive at the MSS headquarters, Jeff immediately sees the warehouse where they keep all the maple syrup and he’s delighted. They sit in a dark room with Benson who starts intimidating them. He’s surprised to learn that Paul is the mastermind behind all this so easily. He reminds them that we don’t f*ck around with maple syrup, here in Canada.
Three weeks later, all four of them are in court, awaiting their sentence for theft and couple other accusations. Paul is declared guilty, so are Ellie and Will. Jeff, however, the judge said he managed to prove that he was mentally challenged (Ellie’s idea) and the Canadian penal system, being so forgiving (of course) says they will give a chance to him. He’s released from prison immediately.
Jeff goes back to the United States and he opens the safe. He takes all the cash and spends it all on various stuff. He finally realises that he forgot to keep money to pay the rent and that’s going to be hard to come by, after he lost his job at the supermarket. The film ends with Jeff alone with an empty safe, in his shitty apartment, with human-sized carton bodies with his friends’ faces stick on them.
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