On the surface it doesn’t look like much.DeadpoolandDetective Pikachustar Ryan Reynolds invites a short, soft spoken man to join him in the latest commercial forMint Mobile, the mobile phone carrier part owned by Reynolds. But what makes this 43 second clip so significant is that it’s the first onscreen appearance of Rick Moranis in 13 years. It’s a cute commercial, sure but why has it gained almost a million views in less than a day and prompted so many joyful tweets from the likes of Josh Gad, James Marsden and Monty Python’s Eric Idle? Because people love Rick Moranis, that’s why. But people under a certain age may find themselves wondering who the heck he is.
Back in a little known decade called the 1980s, Rick Moranis was a Big Deal. Getting his start as a radio DJ in the mid 70’s, Moranis began performing comedy in 1977. He was regularly recording specials for radio, appearing on talk shows and writing and performing sketches for two pilot shows Midweek and 1980.
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In 1980 Moranis joined the regular cast ofSCTV, a legendary Canadian sketch show that also gave other big comedy stars like John Candy (Planes, Trains and Automobiles), Eugene Levy (Schitt’s Creek) and Harold Ramis their big break.
As a sarcastic response to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) request to include 2 minutes of “identifiably Canadian content”, Moranis partnered up with cast member Dave Thomas for theGreat White Northsketches which introduced the world to brothers Bob and Doug McKenzie.
One of the most popular and enduring segments onSCTV, Bob and Doug played up every Canadian stereotype, popularizing the Canadian habit of adding ‘eh’ at the end of every sentence. The brothers blew up into true pop culture icons across Canada and the USA, spinning off into their own feature filmStrange Brewin 1983. And then cameGhostbusters.
Reuniting withSCTValumni Harold Ramis, Moranis would join the supporting cast of legendary action comedyGhostbustersas the unforgettable meek accountant Louis Tully. Soon Moranis was a regular fixture across cinema screens throughout the rest of the decade starring in a string of comedy films. Always playing the lovable underdog, Moranis had dorky charm by the bucketload and instantly endeared himself to audiences.
Even comedy royalty Mel Brook recognized Moranis' talent and cast him asDark Helmet in his brilliant 1987Star Warsparody,Spaceballs. Wearing a dark costume and helmet (natch) that were both several sizes too big, Moranis was ironically a perfect fit for the role and voiced Dark Helmet’s cameo appearance in ABC sitcomThe Goldbergs.
Some other notable films Moranis starred in were 1985’sBrewster’s Millionsalongside stand up hero Richard Pryor andLittle Shop of Horrors, the 1986 adaptation of the off-Broadway musical in turn based on the 1960 horror comedy film directed by Roger Corman. He also reprised his role as Louis Tully forGhostbusters IIin 1989.
It was also 1989 that gave Moranis his biggest role as scientist dad, Wayne Szalinski, inHoney, I Shrunk the Kids. An instant hit, the film would spawn two more sequelsHoney, I Blew Up the Kidin 1992 andHoney, We Shrunk Ourselvesin 1997. The franchise also had its ownDisneypark attraction,Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, a 3D Film experience that transported the audience into the film’s crazy world.
It was around this time that Rick Moranis was now such a recognizable name on screen, he got his own cartoon vehicle,Gravedale High,in 1990. Moranis lent his voice and likeness to the character Maxwell Schneider, a human teacher at a school for teenage monsters.GravedaleHighlasted for one season of 13 episodes on NBC.
However in 1991, tragedy struck as Rick Moranis’ wife of 5 years Ann Belsky passed away due to cancer. Moranis scaled back his work to look after their children, going on an almost complete hiatus from screenwork after 1997, only appearing as Bob McKenzie in Bob and Doug’s Two-Four anniversary TV special in 2007. Moranis also worked with Thomas on both ofDisney’sBrother Bearanimated films as the two moose characters Rutt and Tuke.
So for a while Rick Moranis was one of the most recognizable faces in mainstream US cinema. A reliable supporting actor who due to his classically geeky look often played the underdog, the sidekick or the underdog sidekick. But, a walk-on appearance in a mobile phone carrier commercial won’t be his last screen role. Moranis is set to return to the screen inShrunk, a reboot of theHoney… franchise also starringFrozen’s Josh Gad.Production onShrunkiscurrently halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic but hopefully should start filming next year.
We’ll be seeing more of Rick Moranis onscreen soon, and it’s about time.
