Not The Bill Collins Blog No.2: The Adventures of Barry McKenzie

There was a time when Australian film wasn't available in the cinemas. Almost every flick you saw at the movies or the drive in were imported from the US or the UK. Even Australian stories like "Eureka Stockade" or "Summer of the Seventeenth Doll" were filtered through the myopic vision of Pommy or Yank directors, producers, actors, screenwriters. The cultural cringe in film making after World War II in australia was alive and well, up until the late 60s, early 70s. And then...well a broad-brimmed hat wearing, foul-mouthed, Fosters swilling virgin on the look out for some furburger in Earl's Court hit our screens. That film was "The Adventures of Barry McKenzie".



First off, I am both proud to say yet ashamed to admit that this movie is not what you call high art. No one would accuse the genuises behind "Bazza.." of trying to remake a Fellini or Eisenstein masterpice. After all, one of the pivotal scenes has Barry Crocker (who won the part of Bazza because of his big chin) parking a tiger or chundering on the head of a Jewish psychologist. Then there is the musical moment when Bazza sings a refined melody to the "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" woman, Julie Covington, about his one eyed trouser snake. Finally, the climax to the movie is set in a BBC TV studio where Bazza and his Aussie expat mates douse a fire by pissing on it. Let's just say this is a fairly broad Rabelaisian comedy.

The big issue that must be remembered though was in 1972 not only did Australians see an Australian film made for them, they saw it in droves and the movie made quite a deal of money. In these days when there are all sorts of governmental supports and a far more traditional view that Australians can make movies, very very few far more artistically worthy films turn a profit. At the beginning of the 70s it was imperative that Aussie features spoke to us and actually turned a profit. If it wasn't for "The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (alongside "Alvin Purple" and "Stork") then no one would have risked the investment in later Aussie classics. Hell, the same guy who directed "Driving Miss Daisy" was before that great Hollywood film the man who told Barry Crocker to put a tin of curry down his underpants in "Bazza..." (i.e. Bruce Beresford).

But enough of a semi-serious defence of the rather rude and crude legacy of "Bazza...". Whilst it is wildly uneven, there are few Australian comedies that make you laugh as much as this film (so long as you can forget the definite non-politically correct humour of Barry Humphries). There are some great cameos from the likes of Spike Milligan, Dennis Price and Peter Cook, whilst Humphries himself appears as the now universally successful megastar Edna Everidge (no Damehood yet...that comes in the sequel). Watching "Bazza..." is also like seeing Australian social history, from the importance placed on making sure you have clean undies in case you have an accident, through the then iconic Qantas bag and the very desirable Qantas hosties, to seeing Australians actually enjoying Fosters beer (in a real steel can). If you can laugh at yourself being an Aussie, then you can porbably laugh at this film. Unless your a blue nosed stuck up Pommy wanker that is.

I guess what really appeals to me about this film, from a nostalgic point of view if not an artistic one, is that "The Adventures of Barry McKenzie" was previously available as a rather naughty comic book, which my father had lying around our home at the time and which (if I was sneaky enough) I could cop a few peeks at and get all giggly over the use of 'bloody' and 'bastard' by the eponymous hero. Obviously I was too young to get the satire (if indeed "Bazza..." is a satire). It was just rude and funny, hence quite interesting for a 7 year old boy. And them, growing up in the 70s and 80s I got to grips with the more adult messages of the movie, whilst still laughing pretty bloody hard.

Now the question is, can "The Adventures of Barry McKenzie" be recommended to the viewing public of early 21st Century Australia (if not the world)? Maybe not...the humour can be lewd, definitely politically incorrect and rather simplistic at times. Even the use of Aussie slang at a time where the word 'cobber' was barely mentioned in Australian conversation means much may mystify the modern and/or foreign viewer. But deep down, below the filth and prurience of a rather naughty comedy, is a classic Aussie movie. You need to see this just so you can understand where Australian film and other forms of culture came from to be where they are now. And if that isn't a sufficent recommendation then go stick your head up a dead bear's bum!

Rating: 2.5 Bills