Matt Johnson’s BlackBerry is deeply Canadian, despite starring distinctly American Glenn Howerton (in a possibly career-best role). The Juilliard-trained actor plays the corporate bully Jim Balsillie, who helped Mike Lazaridis (played by Jay Baruchel) and Douglas Fregin (Johnson) take their company, Research In Motion Ltd., to the next level with the BlackBerry personal device. This would be the first cellular phone capable of sending and receiving emails — a huge innovation that changed the way people use their phones.
Howerton is a clear standout in BlackBerry. His performance as Jim is stunning, and totally unlike anything we’ve seen from him before. The man’s unhinged charisma is breathtaking — and exactly the kind of character work that is destined to spawn many a meme. One such moment comes near the end of BlackBerry: having tried, and failed, to buy an American hockey team and move to Canada (he wasn’t exactly subtle about his intentions). He’s outvoted (obviously) and denied the sale. What follows is a hilarious, profanity-laced freak-out rant that features a fantastic line. And the best part is, it’s already famous in Canada.
“I’m going back to Waterloo, where the vampires hang out”
Between threats of a hostile takeover of the NHL (which is already wild, to be honest) and other vague promises that the hockey team owners’ are “f***ed,” Jim roars “I’M FROM WATERLOO — WHERE THE VAMPIRES HANG OUT.” The line is intense, and Howerton commits with full ferocity. It’s a real testament to the man’s acting chops that the line feels like a completely natural, normal thing for a CEO in his 50s to yell at a boardroom of professionals. But what the heck does it actually mean?
No, the city of Waterloo, Ontario is not known for its vampires. Well actually, it sort of is — just indirectly. About 10 years ago, a Canadian on-the-street interview became a viral video, thanks to the deeply weird statements of its subject. The video, appropriately titled “Man Goes Crazy Rips off Shirt During Street Interview,” popularized the line “I’m going back to Waterloo, where the vampires hang out.”
Other gems from the video include, “I’m a nobody, and you can’t kill a person with no body,” “talk to the Pope, he knows everything,” and “I’m not gonna raise my voice because I’m committed to the Lord.” Predictably, the snippets of the video have found new life on TikTok.
Matt Johnson’s BlackBerry Celebrates Canadian Culture
At the risk of being a wet blanket, the man in the video, Steve Spiros, may be having some sort of mental health crisis or manic episode, and it would be unethical (not to mention unkind) to mock him for it. Having said that, many of the comments are pretty positive, and in a weird way, Spiros is a bit of a Canadian icon. Likely, it’s in that spirit that Johnson includes the reference in Howerton’s rant. BlackBerry is all about celebrating Canadian culture, and Johnson, who was born and raised in Toronto where the interview was filmed, seems to be including the Waterloo vampires in-joke as a wink to his fellow Canadians.