The Nugget

So you look at this movie and think - Eric Bana, great, Vince Colosimo, good, that guy from the Castle, yeah, good. You think Australian film set in a country town, plenty of potential here. This has to be great. How wrong could you be ? Characters that could be straight out of a primary school students "composition" book, a story line so projected Blind Freddy could see it coming and so many stereotypes and failed gags you'll be embarrased to watch it. I could only begin to feel the actors pain upon seeing themselves in this absolute flop of a movie.

Lotto (Eric Bana, perhaps the only actor known in the States in this film), and his two buddies Wookie and Sue (yes, a boy named Sue), work for the road department. They live in semi-rural Australia and, while the jobs pay the bills, these guys dream big. To bask in extreme wealth, that's their goals. But, too often, to the chagrin of their wives, they blow money on bets and frivolity. Lotto even uncovers a 100 thousand dollar ticket but, bad luck, the tiny scratch off falls in a drain, never to be seen again. Desperate, the men have heard that "there's gold in them ther hills" nearby. Purchasing an expensive metal detector, they spend every weekend searching for treasure. What a way to make mates happy! Nevertheless, they find a HUGE nugget of gold and, very joyful, bury it. But, someone has watched them. Now, they must resort to trickery to get it back. Can they do it? Oh, and they have already told their boss to take their jobs and shove em! This is a fine Australian comedy with the one and only Eric Bana, made just as he was reaching stardom. He is funny and, along with his two co-horts, form a great new trio of stooges. The rest of the cast is nice, too, as is the scenery, script, and fun-filled direction. You won't be a fool to go for the gold with this little winner!

This new film from Bill Bennett is far better than the critics suggest. Not perfect by any means, but still a real typical Aussie film with a spirit we haven't seen since "The Castle". All actors are good in their roles, and it is especially good to see Eric Bana coming back to Australia to make films even though he is now an international superstar. Occassionally Dave O'Neil does not seem as natural as the two other leads, and the narration is at times a little annoying, but overall I had quite a few laughs with this film. Seven out of ten.

A very enjoyable tale of 3 real Aussie mates and a very unusual circumstance. It's good to see realistic aussie characters for a change as usually we get portrayed as red necks. Anyway the only bad thing about this movie is the length, it went on just a little too long... on the positive side though it had some laugh out loud moments and very impressive performances from the lead actors! Well worth checking out especially for the Aussie audience.

I don't understand how this movie could get some of the bad reviews I've seen. It may not be as good as 'The Castle' but as far as Australian made movies goes this is one of the best of a bad bunch. I could see nothing wrong with acting and the script was not the best, but it wasn't terrible. I think it's an insult to say that Eric Bana only became successful because of 'Chopper' he's a great actor and this film does nothing to take away from that fact. I think all the actors did a good job and to compare the acting of Dave O'Neil to that of a 12 year old is a horrible thing to say and anyone who says so should be ashamed. Every other reviewer that commented badly on this movie should hang their heads, not the actors, and I'd thank you to let the people involved in this movie keep their dignity.