Tuesday 17 January 2012

Crocdile Dundee

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Year:1986
Country of origin:Australia
Director:Peter Faiman
Genre:Outback Mountain
Starring:Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski, John Meillon
Rating:4/5
IMDB link:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090555/
Tagline:He's survived the most hostile and primitive land known to man. Now all he's got to do is make it through a week in New York.
Favourite line:"I don't mean to put down your black widow spider, but the funnelweb spider can kill a man in eight seconds, just by lookin' at him."

Well here's a turn up: a feel good movie that doesn’t make you want to puke.

We all know the plot here:
Paul Hogan plays Michael J. 'Crocodile' Dundee, resident of Walkabout Creek in Australia's Northern Territory, a man who lives off the land, prefers isolation and solitude to crowds and has never been to a city in his life.
Linda Kozlowski plays Sue Charlton, a reporter from New Yoik writing a story about his exploits. When she decides to pay him a visit in The Outback she discovers a man so different to any other person she has met before she can't help but be captivated. She manages to persuade him to return with her to New Yoik, whereupon the classic 'fish out of water' comedy shenanigans ensues before, eventually, their love wins over out all.

It's trite, true enough, but Hogan is so damn likeable in the lead role nothing else really matters.
In truth this is a film where nothing really happens, the focus instead being on the lead man and his interaction with all that is around him, be it the familiar when on his home ground, or the utterly alien when in NYC.
Kozlowski is a great sidekick, too, and their genuine chemistry illuminates the screen, a chemistry so potent that they ended up marrying in real life.
Comedies are not normally my thing, but this is so unrelentingly charming and, crucially, actually funny that it's hard not to find it endearing.
The score msut have a special mention too, a haunting didgreridoo drone that really raises the hairs on the back of the neck.
Warm, witty and a genuine classic, this is way better than its reputation may have you believe.

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