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Must See Movie...

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

When going to their movies, I used to actively search out the Aussie films. These were often low budget wonders with iconoclastic/individualistic qualities. They often had a single uitlander(non Australian) somewhere in the cast ( e.g. MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER with Kirk Douglas, PRISCILLA etc with Terence Stamp) with the up and coming burgeoning talents like Mel Gibson, Russell Crowe and Toni Collette amongst others.) And you were pretty much guaranteed an interesting time.And then they discovered that they weren't actually making bad little movies. And got vain. And instead of careful nurturing we get more randomly thrown together product. Product as opposed to craft. And it ends up looking like this.This started with a cute little idea; It's set in a small town, West Village( a play on Go west and Greenwich Village) somewhere in Oz where the most exciting thing that usually happens is a dog runs away). And then people start being murdered in a style reminiscent of the Village People. Could've been great.And is unremittingly awful. Written by three alleged comedians from somewhere in the comedic basements of Australia, it doesn't know what the hell it is. There's a bit of a Miami Vice pastiche, some line dancing and omni present confusion. Great direction makes you want to know about the characters and where they are going within the story arc. Poor direction makes you wonder why you're there. Thank god popcorn doesn't fly otherwise screens around the country would be saturated.The problem occurs when you get stand-up comedians trying to up their exposure outside of their usual 15 minute routine. It is populated with friends of friends and relatives instead of talent. According to the director, Anthony Mir (not short for Mirth) the original story started as a two minute sketch for TV. Why in god's name did they let it get longer? Should've been stopped at birth.

This was a most excellent Ozzie film that I watched this evening. A delightful comedy. It wasn't that kind to Ozzies, but it was very funny. It was also quite strange in its way, but it was kind enough to give strong hints as to its plot development methods in one of the sub-plots.I hadn't understood what people saw in line-dancing, but I think that I now have an inkling. It was also interesting to see how the yankish idiom appeals to the incoherent everywhere - the film exploited this point to excellent effect if a trifle cruelly, if you have any empathy with the incoherent.It is so good to see the occasional well-made and clever film that turns up. I suppose that their explanation of how the plot was devised might be seen by some as a post-modernist infestation, but I felt that it was a) in good fun and, at worst, b) a good satire of post-modernist triviality taking itself so seriously as to think it is clever.I'm not quite clear why it was showing at the downstairs cinema. There was a little French in it, with sub-titles, but surely not enough to class it as an 'art' film. Have Ster-Kinekor simply decided that Yankish films go upstairs and intelligent ones downstairs? It seems rather sad for the masses who go only to upstairs films to be missing this friendly and good-humoured comedy.It is, I suppose, a little bit of a black comedy, in places, plenty of dismembered limbs, decapitated corpses and crushed dogs. All these are, however, in the best possible taste.It seems strangely short of stock Oz stereotypes. Very little beer is drunk, the macho fellow doesn't do particularly well and the poofdahs generally have a nice time of it. What was the reference to the Frenchman on the beach with the big knife? I thought of Albert Camus' 'The Outsider' (or 'The Stranger') which starts that way. A comment here suggests that it was a particularly Australian reference.

Written by and starring short Tropfest film winner, bald local Sydney comedian Gary Eck, this is a supposed comedy showcase for Mr Himself, for himself and about himself. With the same derivative form of 'satirical' comedy (ie: lifted from other original ideas) just like the notoriously inept 90s comic horror SILENCE OF THE HAMS, or Exorcist farce REPOSSESSED, or Top Gun crap HOT SHOTS. This illconcieved film has a bumpkin hometown Village People serial killer whodunnit theme sliding sideways into some navel gazing about the main character, local cop as played by Mr Eck. Sadly there is not much in the form of originality and like the source of satire, probably 29 years out of date. Released in some local multiplexes for a week or so by Mirimax Australia I am quite sure someone almost lost their job because of this distribution pickup boo-boo. More was spent on the posters and ads than was spent on tickets if you get my drift. I am sure Gary Eck is a funny man at the stand-up club but I am not sure that recycling previously humorous characters or situations and claiming them as new and funnier in his films is the right thing to do. Like his Tropfest win hilariously recognized in all parts of the Oz film distribution network as having been sourced from a better idea, the 1978 musical travesty CAN'T STOP THE MUSIC is a funnier Village People storyline...if that is any indication for the murderous hilarity of this flop. I am sure he is well regarded as a comedian and it would be a happy experience for all concerned if he was attracted to original material only. I guess that is called creativity.

When I first read the name of this film and saw the poster I fully expected this to be utter crap.What a revelation.I don't rate the premise of this film at all highly. It's just a simple device to stage the most well realised, inspired and observed human comedy seen on film in a good while.It also captures small town Australia beautifully. So much comedy in the mundanities of life. Director, Mir, an accomplished stand-up comedian exhibits just the right comedy timing on film too.The Village People are so bad they're..... bad. 15 years ago the slight premise of this film might have seemed funny. I doubt people will rush to see that now... BUT RUSH THEY SHOULD!I urge you to see this film and I'm bewildered by some of the other responses on this site. I'm reminded of how poorly received the first Austen Powers movie was (slowly building an audience on video, after a pretty dismal cinema run, that ensured the success of the sequels).With new styles of film comedy, the bandwagon comes later. Check it out now - I want to see more films from these guys!