Les Patterson Saves the World

I don't know what the problem is with some of IMDb's viewers. Maybe their sense of humor is atrophied, or maybe they're just a bunch of prisses. "Les Patterson" is one of my all-time favorite comedies, and the title character, played by the comic genius Barry Humphries, is earthy, lusty, memorable, and larger than life -- laughing-out-loud funny and raunchy but also endearing and in a certain way almost inspiring, with elements of Rabelais, Falstaff, and R. Crumb. (I'm told, unaccountably, that Humphries himself is none too proud of this film today; if that's the case, I'm mystified. Maybe he hasn't seen it in a while.) Try this movie for around 15 minutes; if that doesn't convince you, well, switch it off and go watch a sitcom.

P. S. Writing this in midsummer 2022, I just watched this film for the third or fourth time. (To my surprise, it's available on YouTube.) Afterward, checking Wiki, I discovered that Humphries is now 88 years old. That's extremely depressing news; he's a unique presence, and I hate to think about losing him. However, it appears that, at least as of last spring, he's still appearing onstage -- which is cheering.

Doctor Sir Leslie Colin Patterson KBE is one of the greatest comedy creations ever. Barry Humphries only rarely gives him an outing so it is a shame that this film is so average (or should that be everage ?). Perhaps he hoped for a greater appeal by including Dame Edna Everage but 'she' gets too much time. Nevertheless, this 'fillum' is still a very funny in places and is a must for all admirers of Sir Les.

Anyone who wants to see this character in full flow should track down the video or soundtrack of "Les Patterson has a stand-up" which was a live show in London in 1997. In 1985 Sir Les also wrote the funniest book ever - it's called "The Traveller's Tool".

Film peaks in first 10 minutes when Sir Les gives UN leaders precisely what they deserve. Overlong action scenes in Middle East seem incongruous and it needed more wit and less budget. Also more screen time to other Australian comedians - Graham Kennedy just has one scene. But still worth watching as the kind of film that wouldn't get past our baby fascist PC mentality in Australia today.

The scene in the revolving restaurant of the Sydney Tower comes a full ten years after The Goodies did it in the "Alternative Roots" episode (1977). Graeme Tim and Bill (in their ancestral guises of Celtic Kilty, County Cutie and Kinda Kinky) have been kidnapped by an unscrupulous tour leader who is taking them on a whirlwind tourist tour of London. He forces them up to the revolving restaurant of the Post Office tower (the same one that Twinkle the giant kitten famously toppled). The restaurant spins faster and faster until all the diners are stuck to the windows via centrifugal force. This scene is of course considerably shorter and less expensive than the one set in the Sydney Tower in Les Patterson Saves the World, but no doubt both sequences derive from a universal and visceral mistrust of revolving restaurants.

Sir Les Patterson as all Brits know represents Australians perfectly, well he did before they all came down with a nasty dose of PC and lost their sense of humour.

A classic movie with Sir Les and Dame Edna at their best.

A very enjoyable watch, brought a smile to my face and made me long for simpler times.