Charlie & Boots

Aussie comedy legend Paul Hogan teams up with a comedy icon from today for a comedy (?) about and estranged father and son trying to reconnect.
You may notice the question mark I put after ‘comedy’ above in describing this film. That’s because in some ways it could be considered a comedy but the problem is that it is all set up with no punch line. You have two great comedic actors in a film but you don’t make it funny. All the potentially funny moments in the film are set up to be funny but didn’t go anywhere. Instead they cut to the next scene. That’s what made the film so frustrating for me is that you get all excited for a funny moment but then goes no where. There are also characters that come into the film that you expect to bring something to it but don’t. An example is a young hitchhiker the guys pick up. You expect her to do something for the story but doesn’t. She even has an interesting back story that’s not used to its full potential. There is only one truly funny moment which comes after the end credits.
I’ve always been a fan of Paul Hogan. His TV show in the 70’s and ‘Crocodile Dundee’ are some of the funniest things this country has produced. However of late I think he has lost his touch. I don’t know if it is the script, as mentioned above, it is just not very funny but Hogan seems to be on auto-pilot in this film. It might just be his character too. But Shane Jacobson seems to look as if he is trying harder to rise above the mediocre nature of the script and give a great performance. There are a couple of great dramatic moments in the film which I think the two of them handle really well. Its just a shame that in what you expect to be a comedy the best moments are dramatic ones.
I think if you go into this film with low expectations and expecting a drama instead of a comedy you might enjoy it more. After a year of great Aussie films its a shame that the years major mainstream release is such a dud.