Trailer Park Boys go back to basics for their final crusade

It may seem hard to believe that it's been 10 years since Ricky, Julian and Bubbles first entered into the zeitgeist as three deadbeat yokels who lived in, wait for it, a trailer park and consistently butted heads with the boozy park supervisor Jim Lahey and of course, the law. Endless rum and cokes, blunts and rescued kittens later and the boys find themselves on the cusp of freedom after serving a stint in jail and thus begins their last hurrah, Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day.

After the rather elaborate and extensive exercise that was the first Trailer Park Boys movie, director Mike Clattenburg was determined to scale down the Nova Scotia boys' next on-screen caper and bring back the grittiness that long-time fans had come to know and love.

"In 2006 I got to work with a Hollywood legend," Clattenburg tells Cineplex, in reference to executive producer Ivan Reitman. "It was wonderful working with him and I learned a lot from him. The first film was shot on film and it was a much bigger crew and that was a different way of making the show for us. And I was somewhat distanced from the actors and with this one, I wanted to have the camera back in my hands."

Touted as a genius by John Paul Tremblay (Julian), Robb Wells (Ricky), Mike Smith (Bubbles) and Jonathan Torrens (J-Roc), Clattenburg decided to use the film as a way to give the fans and the characters a proper sendoff. And this one - involving a bank heist, a urine-soaked car chase, a pants-less Mr. Lahey (John Dunsworth) and new haircuts for Randy (Patrick Roach) and Bubbles - likely won't disappoint.

"This film is a return to form," offers Torrens, while in Toronto talking about the movie. "The first movie was like, ' We made a movie' and it was nicely lit and it looked good and it looked like a movie. But if ever there was a show that should look cheap and down and dirty and have that kind of texture to it, it's this one. I think to some people, and to us maybe, [the first film] didn't totally ring true. Whereas this one it is jarring in how down and dirty it is and it looks like a documentary."

Watch the trailer

And truth mirrors fiction when the genuine affection between the the three boys, not to mention friendly ribbing, comes out in person. While snacking on a decidedly trailer-park-appropriate bag of Ruffles® in a Toronto hotel, it becomes clear that the surrogate family hinted at on-screen also bleeds into real life.

"They say never go into business with your friends or you'll end up hating each other but it's been 10 years and we don't," says Wells. "If we don't at this point, I don't know what the hell would happen to cause us to hate each other. But ironically, like Ricky, Julian and Bubbles we almost are like family now, instead of just friends. It's bizarre."

And the boys reveal that while bittersweet, saying goodbye to the Trailer Park Boys has allowed them the chance to work on something altogether different.

"We're working together on a new show that's in development," shares Tremblay. "The three of us are doing it and we play about six or seven different characters, there's prosthetics and yeah, it's pretty crazy."

"It's sad but it's also an opportunity to move on and do other things," says Wells. "We want to show everybody we're capable of a lot more."

As for why now was the right time to say goodbye to the lovably lowbrow residents of Sunnyvale Trailer Park, Clattenburg is quick to explain.

"It's been a decade. We've done seven seasons [of the TV show and] two specials. But there's been tremendous fan demand and support and you know, it was fun to keep it going for a long time but there comes a time, and I think now is the right time, to do the final chapter and for all of us to move on."

And Wells hopes that this madcap adieu makes fans laugh - a lot - since they've always been the most important critics.

"I hope they embrace it. It's for them. It was made for them and not for anybody else. We want to go out on a high note."

No pun intended, right Ricky?

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Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day opens in Cineplex Theatres September 25.