Robin Hood Junior

I have just watched this movie for the first time. I have long loved Yahoo Serious' first film "Young Einstein" and as such I had high expectations for this picture. The movie does have a few very funny moments but it seems hacked up and undeveloped. The American release is 23 minutes shorter than the Australian version and I'm wondering if many of the unsatisfactory issues in this movie might be resolved in that vast cut. I have no clue why the American version is missing 1/5th of the entire film or what that footage consists of but it lends hope that the entire 103 minute film might prove of more substance. As it stands now I give Reckless Kelly a vote of 7 which is under Young Einstein which I gave a 10.

I turned over to find this showing during the small hours, and started watching it out of curiosity. Young Einstein had a certain amount of wacky charm, whereas Reckless Kelly merely attempts to be wacky and ends up being self-indulgent and painfully dire.

If this was supposed to be a satire on Hollywood and how we should all 'save the animals', Yahoo Serious is about as subtle as a kick in the groin. But that's what you get from a man called Yahoo Serious.

Okay, so the bank shootout was actually quite good fun, but it's all downhill from there. Watch out for Agent Smith himself (Hugo Weaving), starring in yet another awful Aussie film before the Wachowskis gave him the 'Travolta' (read: career resurrection).

In Australia, there is a legendary true Robin Hood like hero named Ned Kelly. His descendants still live on their own special island where the "newest" son is also named Ned (Yahoo Serious). A master of gunshots, Ned can and does shoot down flies if they bother him. He's also into bank robbing, where he meets a beautiful, Shakespeare reading bank clerk (Melora Hardin). She doesn't care for him. In addition, the bank head, Sir John (Hugo Weaving) detests Ned and is out to stop him. Soon, John has located a Japanese firm to buy the Kelly's island out from under them. Since Ned's bank heists in Australia must go to the poor, Ned sets off to rob banks in America. Along the way, he is asked to shoot a movie, using his skills as a shooter and a motorcyclist. Will Ned return in glory to re-buy the lsland with a boatload of money? This funny film is one of the few made by Yahoo Serious and it is highly entertaining. Just as its star, the movie has an offbeat charm and humor that has to be seen to be appreciated. Also fine are the supporting cast (Weaving is hilarious), the exotic scenery, the clever script and the fast-moving direction. What fun it is, seriously, to discover the gems of past movie making, Aussie style.

I thought this was and still is a cool film, I feel it just hangs together so well. You are just carried along on a swift stupid ride through the adventures of an outlaw trying to save his home from an evil corporate banker. The gags are hilarious and Yahoo is just as good as in Young Einstein. My favourite part has to be the bank get away scene, it's just so stylish! I recommend this to anyone who just wants a fun eighty minutes of senseless fun. Great cast, great gags, great film. The only thing I would wish is that they release this on DVD in its original widescreen format with both cuts of the film on it and possibly a directors commentary and music only sound track. That would just make my day I give this 9 out of 10 cause it's just so easy to watch and so much fun.

For surreal Australian silliness you can beat Yahoo Serious' recent film Reckless Kelly (1992). From the opening shot, a high speed helicopter shot heading over the ocean towards the land (a classic film cliché, made interesting by being shot upside down--cause this is the Australian coast, mate!), you know you're in for some inspired silliness. Yahoo plays the grandson of legendary bank robber Ned Kelly (played by Mick Jagger in an earlier film). He lives on an island paradise--a rundown pub in the middle of a national park--with his extended family, and still dabbles in the redistribution of wealth. When a villainous bank president threatens to sell his island to the Japanese, Ned must travel to America to raise the money to pay off the mortgage, and in the process become a low budget film star. With Alexi Sayle (The Young Ones) as Major Wibb and an assortment of Australian character actors and other marsupials doing their own accents.