Love him or hate him, Pierre Elliot Trudeau's presence could not be ignored. He dreamed of a united Canada and boldly challenged those who would stand in the way with media worthy quips like, "Just watch me." His national dream forced at least two generations of children to spit and swear their way through either French or English, with the ultimate goal of uniting both Anglophones and Francophones to create a new Canadian identity. "Just Watch Me" is a film about eight people who grew up in the 1970s and how the bilingualism policies of Pierre Trudeau and the political events of the period from 1980-1995. Pierre Elliott Trudeau was Canada's Prime Minister from 1968-79, 1980-84, and he had a dream for the country's future: "The future was bilingualism." Fluently and expressively bilingual, Trudeau aggressively pursued a policy of redefining the relationship between Canada's two founding European nations. He dreamed of uniting the country through federal promotion of bilingualism and biculturalism. The eight Canadians profiled in this documentary grew up during the Trudeau era; some had parents who placed them in immersion programs, some went to "summer institutes" in another part of Canada to live and experience the other official language, and all have a strong sense of Canadian identity, culture, and nationalism. Interestingly, except for a Coast Salish Native Canadian, all are either English or French Canadian background - no "ethnic" Canadians tell their stories. All are seemingly middle-class, well educated, hip, attractive young professionals with interesting jobs. We learn about their families, their schooling, their travels, their love lives, their kids, and yes, their politics.
             It's certainly not about Trudeau, but about these eight cool thirty-something Canadians. However, things get serious during the discussion of the 1995 Referendum vote; for all Canadians, the event was a turning point and, for this group, a watershed...