I have to thank the folks at LateNighter for a cool assignment — explaining and providing a Canadian point of view on the impact of Mike Myers’ “elbow’s up” rallying cry on Saturday Night Live.
You can read the full story here.
As the credits started to roll, Myers flashed the double-secret “elbows-to-action” signal at the end of two consecutive weekly appearances from the SNL stage. It was a brilliant ploy, an example of how television is still the fastest and most effective way to spark a viral moment on multiple Internet platforms.
Since then, the Scarborough, Ont., native, famed for hit movie franchises “Wayne’s World,” “Shrek” and “Austin Powers,” has skated directly into a bench-clearing Canadian election. He pulled on a red-and-white hockey sweater and appeared with new Prime Minister Mark Carney in two morale-boosting videos that have gone viral. On the back of his sweater: “NEVER 51.”
In the video, Carney gives Myers, who has lived in the States for years, a quick Canadian quiz. He aces questions such as the names of the puppets on Mr. Dressup (A: Casey and Finnigan) and what a hockey defenceman should do when defending a two-on-one (A: take away the pass).
Myers question for Carney: “Will there always be a Canada?”
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Carney: “There will always be a Canada.”
The videos were shot right before the newly-elected Liberal leader called a snap election last Sunday. Carney will face Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre and other party leaders April 28 in a federal election. That election, long considered an in-the-bag landslide for the Trudeau-hating Tories, is now seen as a toss-up.
Myers, white-haired at 61, has both a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is a officer of the Order of Canada.
