SWINGING SAFARI
Coming from Australia, I attempt to see as many new Australian films
as possible during any given year. The problem is, as a nation it
appears that we are almost embarrassed by the films we make and they
are usually very poorly attended in cinemas. So many times I have
described a film that I may have liked to a friend, but as soon as I
mention the film is Australian, they totally switch off and no longer
have any interest. The fact that our cineplex's are filled with
Hollywood blockbusters, trying to find a cinema that screens the
latest Aussie film often results in having to head out to arthouse
cinemas that normal folk (non-cinephiles) are unaware of. Another
thing working against Australian movies is that the marketing of them
appears to be minimal, which as a result sees these films come and go
in almost no time at all.
It goes without saying that there are a lot of good films totally
missed by the public because of this, and in my opinion Stephan
Elliot's “Swinging Safari” is a perfect example of this. It was
a film that came out in January 2018 and left very quickly, and
critical reviews were middling. Reviews from the public were much
worse though. If you scan through the imdb reviews for “Swinging
Safari” you will see a large number of one star ratings with
scathing comments such as “total embarrassment” or “worst film
ever”. However sprinkled among those reviews there are people
amongst them who “get” the film, or lived through the period
shown in the film and it just hits them as being so truthful and
hilarious.
The film is set in Australia in 1975 (incidentally the year I was
born) and is a look at the parenting styles of those times as well as
growing up within them. It is a comedic coming of age film, that
gets the period details hilariously on point. To be honest, I was
expecting to be embarrassed by this film but I was surprised by just
how much I not only loved it, but laughed out loud with. The reason
I found “Swinging Safari” so funny was because I lived through
these times and remember moments just like the ones presented. This
was a much simpler time when parenting was more lax and the whole
world was nowhere close to being politically correct. I remember
being separated with the other kids while the adults partied, the
Evel Knievel stunts we all dreamed of performing and trying, the fact
that sun care was not even a thing then, and that us kids could seem
to get up to mischief without the parents caring. One aspect where I
just lit up watching the film was when “Cracker Night” appeared
on screen. The memories it evoked: illegal fireworks being shot off
by inexperienced normal folk having the time of their lives, whilst
hearing the following day on the news of the injury toll that took
place from it. And yet every year, we waited for that night to hit
again. Director Stephan Elliot does a fantastic job of just nailing
the time and place of these events perfectly, and thanks to my
nostalgia for my childhood, I found it all incredibly amusing.
I totally understand that the film is not for everyone, and that the
people who lived through this time are more likely to get stuff out
of this film than those that didn't. It is a quick breezy film, and
while not all the jokes hit, it has a significantly high success rate
(in my opinion). Much of the marketing of the film was around the
fact that this is the first time Guy Pearce and Kylie Minogue have
shared the screen together since their “Neighbours” days, and
both of them are very good sports playing up their “Aussie-isms”.
In fact it looks like the whole cast is having a ball with this film
including Jeremy Sims, Asher Keddie, Radha Mitchell and Julian
McMahon, with also a small part going to Jack Thompson. They are all
great. The film is also well shot and gives the appearance of a time
and place that was forever drenched in the hot sun.
I love this film so much; think it is hilarious and really wish that
more people get a chance to see it. My absolute favourite moment in
the film was when Guy Pearce yelled the words “Shit-A-Brick”
whilst running for his life! I was on the floor, tears streaming
down my face from laughter. It is such an Aussie saying and hearing
it come out of the blue was totally brilliant. There is no doubt in
my mind that this is the most under-rated (or misunderstood) film I
saw this year, and it certainly deserves a much bigger audience.
C'mon Aussies! Get out there and watch “Swinging Safari”!
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