This is NOT the Ned Kelly movie released in April of this same year (the one with Heath Ledger in the lead). This is the low-budget, low-brow, Ned Kelly spoof written and directed by, (and starring), Abe Forsythe. Ned 'takes the piss' out of every aspect of the nation's favourite outlaw making some very droll comments about legends and myths along the way. For the first 15 to 20 minutes it is actually quite consistently funny, and there is a handling of the comic material which has a distinctly and delightfully Australian character. Among the co-stars are many familiar faces of Australian TV and theatre, Jason Donovan for instance as Father Thompson and do have a squint at the 'Çock-sucking Cowboy' when Ned orders a drink at a bar in the town of Glenrowan. Felix Williamson stands out in his role as Kelly's arch nemesis, Governor Sinclair, which he plays with energy. Seasoned Aussie Thespian Drew Forsythe (Abe Forsythe's Dad) is hilarious as the crusty old waffler narrating the story to a sneering and disinterested youngster. Unfortunately it just all too quickly runs out of breath and sinks slowly, but irretrievably into a quagmire of fart and poo jokes. Perhaps, instead of a 90-minute movie Ned would have been better off as a series of skits on something like Fast Forward. There is a lot of good skit material here in fact. Touted as 'Pythonesque', or as 'Monty Python meets South Park', I personally would have to stress the 'esque' in the Python and add 'ísh' to that. The humour is certainly daffy enough to be likened to Monty Python and crude enough to be likened to South Park but lacks the wit and inspiration of either.There is one shoot 'em up scene in which Donovan as Father Thompson resembles for a moment that Knight from Search for the Holy Grail, defiant despite the loss of all his limbs. More examples of the Pythoonesque (ish) humour are Mr Kelly (Ned's syphlitic father) and his rubber farm and Ned himself robbing banks upon the back of a Shetland pony, (which he insists is a horse). The funny moments like these are unfortunately saddled with a lot of repetitive bowel movements and a heavy handedness that is left flogging a dead horse. I was gratified to find the seats at the Wallis Academy cinema, Hindmarsh Square, comfortable enough in which to pass the last hour of Ned in a state of semi-consciousness.
