The Great MacArthy

It's been surprising how few sports-related films have been made in Australia considering how obsessed the country is about sport and how it's treated as a major factor in the national mindset.

Therefore it's particularly disappointing that this film about the indigenous sport of Aussie Rules football - centred around country footballer McCarthy kidnapped to play in the big city league - is such a dud. You know it's in trouble in the pre-credits sequence which is full of mindless, inane activity and bad mugging by the actors, resulting in zero entertainment value.

And it never really recovers. The main culprit is the frenetic, tiresome direction by David Baker which never allows anything of promise to develop. And for all the 'anything goes' attitude the film is desperate to portray, the plot is relentlessly obvious and predictable.

One aspect does survive though - the central romance between McCarthy and a teacher played by Judy Morris is quite sweet and even moving at times. Credit for this goes to Morris' genuine and affecting performance, especially impressive in the context of the caricatured hysteria from most of the cast.

Young McCarthy (John Jarret) is a typical country boy with enormous football potential (Aussie Rules). A troupe of rapacious and exploitative big league clubs eagerly chase his signature, to the dismay of the simple-locals with whom he grew up. A light-hearted movie, which was always intended as a spoof of Australia's obsession with sport, and the conflict between the corporate, amoral city and the virtuous, if slightly slow-witted country. Worth a look, but could be a bit too esoterically Australian for some viewers.