Caffeinated Clint
By Clint Morris
Having grown up in the same part of the world as Dean Murphy, I’ve been keeping a close eye on how things have been progressing for the young country Victorian filmmaker.
Kicking off his career with a feature called ”Just Cruising” (though I auditioned for the film, I never actually saw it) which played in select Country towns, before making the leap into the big leagues with the ambitious teen comedy ”Lex and Rory” (1994), one can’t dispute that things haven’t been unhurriedly happening for the unwavering lenser.
Though ”Lex and Rory”, and later, ”Muggers” (1999) disappeared pretty much without a trace from the box office, they proved to those that needed proving to that this was a lad with aim, coerce and most of all, an eye for what makes a good movie.
But if nothing in his previous films convinced you (the film going public) of that, then his latest ”Strange Bedfellows” will most certainly sway you.
Filmed in the director’s home state and featuring one of the finest assembled casts for an Aussie film in quite some time, Bedfellows will almost certainly stir most of its publicity on the strength of it being Paul Hogan’s comeback.
Not only is it Hoges first film since the god-awful ”Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles”, it’s the first film he’s had something to do with in quite a while that isn’t something he either wrote, produced or financed.
It’s Hogan, the actor, in Murphy, the director’s, film. And frankly, it’s the best move the Aussie comic’s made in quite some time.
But more to the point, how is Hoges? In short, he’s fantastic. He doesn’t over-play it (which can’t be said for the last ”Crocodile Dundee” film), he’s instantly amiable and most of all, he’s giving life to a character that fits him like a glove, as odd as that may sound when you hear the synopsis.
Hogan plays Vince, a theatre owner in country Yackandandah, whose wife’s done a runner and pretty much left him with nothing but the single-bed he sleeps on in the projection booth.
When he gets a letter from his ex-wife’s accountant ordering he pay years of back taxes, he turns to his best friend Ralph (Michael Caton), the town mechanic, for help.
Having heard in the news that the current government, in a race for electoral votes, is giving gay couples the same legal rights as married couples including a retrospective tax law that allows gay couples to claim all the usual tax rebates for up to 5 years, Vince decides the best thing to do – is turn gay.
Easier said than done though. A letter arrives stating that a representative of the tax office is coming to put Vince and Ralph a visit, to make sure they are definitely a same sex couple.
So with the help of a seemingly homosexual hairdresser and later, some new friends in ‘Wild’ Sydney, Vince and his reluctant fake-boyfriend, Ralph, put on one heck of a show for the visiting inspector (a very fitting Pete Postlethwaite) – and not to mention, a probing town populace.
Funny, touching, and just adorable, ”Strange Bedfellows” is one of the best Australian films in years. What works here that hasn’t worked for some of the other recent Australian comedies is the script. It packs a punch. Detailed, effectively paced, and crammed with characters you’ll feel are old mates by the time the credits roll, it’s one of the better penned local productions the genre’s seen in aeons.
Best of all, it’s an ad for the gay community. Sure, it sounds like it’s a piss-take on homosexuals, but nope; it’s far from that, as you’ll discover in the film’s last arc.
The teaming of Hogan – who’s never been better – and Michael Caton – in what’s his best film role since ”The Castle” – is just sublime. They fire off each other as well as any couple of pro’s who’ve been working together for years and principally, they’re tailor-made for their roles.
Blu-Ray Details and Extras
A perfectly acceptable transfer, but it’s a crime that the distributor hasn’t included any extra special features on this disc!
