As I left the cinema, I commented to my wife: 'Well, that was a waste of time'. This really is proof that Australian movie making is not hitting the mark at all right now. This movie follows the idiom that if you place a character (with a lovable quality) in situational comedy, and let the underdog win, it will be a hit. This time it has failed dismally.
In what is essentially a "romp through 1980's Australian bloke-type culture" the anachronisms are cringable. Stereotypical bent cops, a bad guy moneylender, predictable story line, unexplained plot developments make this a chore to watch. Unfortunately, even with the addition of a pre=op transvestite, a positively unremarkable and generally unlikeable principle character (Blade) and even with the talents of normally reliably funny Rhys Muldoon, this movie fails to make even B Grade status.
I just did not relate to or care about any of the characters. The romance linkages, of which there are two, were just not engaging. I was not drawn into the story and as an indicator; I caught myself looking at my watch, checking the time six times through the movie. (Why did I count that?)
George Elliot who plays Ronnie 'Blade' Gillette, wrote this film 'for people - just ordinary, average Aussie people'. Did I miss the point to this inane story? As an actor he makes a good hotel operator, a jet helicopter pilot and professional Nascar racer, all part of his previous claims to fame. I commend the drive it takes to do this, but it really needs help and direction.
Sadly, there was potential in the plot, and some good work has been wasted, as the production quality was good for me. The sets looked genuine, from what I remember from those times. There is some great characterisation work in the cast, but without the depth in the story to support them, it is wasted.
I suppose the meaning of this movie will strike me in the future as the synapses flash in my non-drug influenced brain in the next few weeks, but for now I have missed the point. Maybe by the time the sequel comes out
4/10
