As a piece of film backed on a national and state level, this show has arrived suspiciously quietly. In fact, aside from general announcement and a bit of discussion from people directly connected to the production, there is scant press about 'All My Friends are Racist' at all.
One promo article on the Daily Mail (of all places) which seems almost calculated to drum up non-existent controversy focusses on the first episode's anilingus scene. This seems a good place to start, as by both creator and commentator, this has been singled out as one of the more noteworthy inclusions. As puerile and taboo breaking as the show tries to be, the cumulative effect of all the jokes in this vein is simply unimaginative and boring. A very well known television comedy ran almost the exact same rimming joke a few weeks ago, where I would contend it was similarly unfunny and un-shocking. 'All My Friends Are Racist' was shot before this particular airing; it isn't an issue of plagiarism, rather an issue of generic, lowest common denominator pop culture tropes, something the crew behind the show have described as being offensive and shocking.
A few rude remarks aside on the comment section, the show's chances of stoking this controversy seem impossible, although the pre-release Daily Mail press almost seems like a planted attempt at doing so. Middle aged conservative voters who already feel aggrieved by the ABC being funded will not enjoy - but this was never the audience for this show. I don't think even minor scale backlash is a reasonable description for some angry facebook comments in the single digits.
The show supplants its location to the COVID free state of Queensland. It even invents a 'New Farm Yacht Club', to substitute for what was clearly a Sydney Eastern Suburbs conceived scene. Even with a short run time and ample lead up to attune the script to the new environment, the show can't think on its feet. The influencer main characters would surely have their equivalents outside of Sydney, but ring immensely untrue in the context of the shooting location. I also believe Elite high schools play a lesser role in the city's social makeup, compared to their palpable influence in Sydney. Brisbane has its own flavour and social issues, why not respond to these instead? The issue regarding the location's social makeup is in itself not the problem, it is the irony considering the show's themes of authenticity of identity, and lack of self-awareness.
I sympathise with the creators in the sense that, whilst funded, in all probability did not have an enormous budget, something the handful of, series unseen, negative commenters probably don't appreciate. Some of this money would have hired local film workers - which is a good thing. However, whilst it may not have been the costliest undertaking, I think this is a shocking piece of funded film, a very unimpressive just-over-an-hour of television. There are so many more interesting filmmaking voices, First Nations voices that could be picked up. Filled with buzzwords, and post-colonial terminology, the show ultimately has nothing to say.
2 stars, is generous, and really an attempt to beat the algorithm. This is as dreary a project as you are likely to see come out of Australian film and television this, or any other year.
