Swinging Safari
Image: Jo Jones (Radha Mitchell), Rick Jones (Julian McMahon), Kaye Hall (Kylie Minogue), Keith Hall (Guy Pearce), Bob Marsh (Jeremy Sims), Gale Marsh (Asher Keddie)
Destined to be a classic alongside pillars such as The Castle?
No.
Not even close.
How can a movie made by Stephan Elliot (The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of The Desert, 1994) with an elite Australian cast (Guy Pearce, Radha Mitchell, Jeremy Sims, Kylie Minogue, Julian McMahon, Asher Keddie and Jack Thompson) be this incredibly bad?
Delusion, misguided choices, lazy writing… too much turps in the fondue? Who knows?
This is a five minute sketch comedy packed with obvious jokes, heavy handed visual humour and laboured, gratuitous references, repeated with little variation for 96 minutes.
It lacks everything that makes The Castle and similar Aussie classics great: believable, likeable characters; engaging plot (or even a discernible plot!); depth, warmth…intelligence.
This churlish snub to the political correctness of the present day sacrifices its artistic integrity for the sake of easy gags and free licence to be indifferent to taste.
For people of a certain vintage there are enough Polly Waffle easter eggs for some amusing reminiscing. For everyone else, only go if you feel like you could watch the trailer 25 times in a row and still laugh.
★1/2
Reviewed by Rita Bratovich
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