Caffeinated Clint
By Clint Morris
About two years ago, at an after party for a film, I spent an hour or so talking to Chris Lilley – and what a frustrating, drunken conversation that would’ve been between us – if only because I’d never seen the poor guy in anything he’d done.
If only I watched a little more ABC-TV, hey?
Chris proceeded to talk to me about the success of his comedy series “We Can Be Heroesâ€, a satire on a bunch of characters all vying to be ‘Australian of the Year’, and how he planned on follow it up with a similar series, again filmed in that mockumentary style, that’d probably feature some of the same characters.
It all sounded rather fun.
After I sobered up, I checked out “We Can Be Heroes†(Could’ve sworn it had a guy in it who to save a Cheerleader to save the world; my bad!) and have to admit, I was a dunce for not setting the timer record on my DVD recorder when it initially aired. What a fantastic series! But why did the star and creator of it have to be the first person to tell me about it!? Where was my ABC-loving mother the night this played? I can usually rely on a SMS text message from her whenever something about child-rearing or dodgy journalists is airing on the channel!
Absurd, but oh-so-clever, the series is a real showcase for Mr. Lilley – who plays every main character in it! Not many actors will put on a dress, or wear some lippy, for a role – but Chris Lilley is no Jack Thompson; he’s brave!
Granted, the follow-up series “Summer Heights High†is the real winner (and the one America has picked up to air!). If “We Can Be Heroes†is the entrée, then “Heights†is the main meal. And tonight, Mum’s letting us eat sweets WITH our sausages!
This tasty and strangely realistic satire centres on the students – and a teacher, Mr G, the flamboyant drama coach Lilley’s played since TVs “Big Bite†– of a suburban highschool. There’s Ja’mie King, a bitchy private schoolgirl on a student exchange, set to make her mark; and Jonah Takalua, a mischievous schoolboy from Tonga with the odds stacked against him. Again, they’re all played by Lilley – but he does such a good job that by the second or third episode in you’ll forget these aren’t real people!
More so, by the end of the eps, you’ll be creamin’ for more! (or at least hoping Lilley’s planning a spin-off featuring the gut-bustingly hilarious Jonah!)
Extras
What a whopper lot of extras we have here!
In terms of “Summer Heights High†extras there’s 25 behind the scenes featurettes!, 5 Hours (yes, 5 hours!!) of deleted scenes and outtakes, a music video, Mr G’s Logie Awards Performance, a Game, A bit where fans recreate the scenes, and an option to play the show by character – be it Jonah or Mr G, or who-have-you.
“We Can Be Heroes†comes with 2 hours of deleted scenes and outtakes, a lengthy doco, a play-by-character option, cast auditions and Ricky’s side-splittingly hilarious Logie Awards Performance of “Indigeridoo”
