The Adventures of Barry McKenzie

I saw this at the flicks when it was first shown in the UK. I think I was about 16 - I recall thinking that it was totally hilarious, but seeing it recently on TV just made me squirm with embarrassment. I suppose seeing people "chunder" and hearing adults swear a bit must have seemed a bit special. Spike Milligan was funny as the landlord and Dennis Price was a good sport to send his "class" up. Dumb, devoid of any real intelligence and juvenile. That goes for me and the film ;-) I will now waffle a bit to fill up the required 10 lines of review. What happened to the Aussie film scene ? You guys threatened to take over the world at one point.

It's a crying shame that this film is unavailable on video.

It really is a great film, crude yes, broad yes, but really very funny. There's a whole new generation of film goers (admittedly British and Australian, I can't see this garnering a wide US audience) who think Bad taste comedy started with 'There's something about Mary' and it's ilk. This is so much better yet it's being hidden. *sigh*

A hit at the time but now better categorised as an Australian cult film. The humour is broad, unsubtle and, in the final scene where a BBC studio fire is extinguished by urinating on it, crude. Contains just about every cliche about the traditional Australian pilgrimage to 'the old country', and every cliche about those rapacious, stuck up, whinging, Tory Brits. Would be acceptable to the British because of its strong cast of well known actors, and to Australians of that generation, who can 'get' the humour. Americans -- forget it. The language and jokes are in the Australian dialect of English and as such will be unintelligible.

Yes, this is a movie, I would think, that only Australians can fully understand and probably only Australians that have been to England. But even Australians might not fully appreciate the depths of Humphrey's genius that is on display here. To make off with the idea that it is just a coarse movie about a drunken Australian virgin, albeit with some considerable charm, armed with a bookcase full of Australianisms to stick it up the Poms is to miss the gold that is really on offer. Look deeply enough and you can see what Barry Humphries was really thinking about Australia and England at the time, as well as a lot of other matters such as the entertainment industry, the police and Asian immigrants. It is very dated now, so people not born til the 80s will be struggling to understand the subtle references. Look past the obvious if you can. This is a rare gem, made for the few. Enjoy!

I have fond memories of this gloriously non-PC comedy from my teenage years and while its power to shock has long since diminished, it's still an enjoyable fish out of water romp. As long as sexual and national stereotypes don't upset you! Some beautiful turns of phrase from the pen of Barry Humphries still bring a smile - "dry as a dead dingo's donger" is a particular favourite. Now streaming for UK viewers on Amazon Prime in a clean, if soft SD 1.166:1 transfer.