Ned

I just seen Ned for the first time. Ned is a spoof on the famous outlaw Ned Kelly. I found it to be a very funny film. The sets look amazing considering the film was made for such a small budget and such a young director. The acting is also great Felix Williamson stole the show. The montage where he meets Ned is just fantastic. I wish people would give small Aussie films more of a chance. This film was never meant to be Lantana. It didn't have any star power either, like Ned Kelly with Heath Ledger in it. I will watch Ned maybe 20 times in my life. I won't ever watch Ned Kelly again. So if you haven't seen Ned check it out its great for a laugh.

This is NOT the Ned Kelly movie released in April of this same year (the one with Heath Ledger in the lead). This is the low-budget, low-brow, Ned Kelly spoof written and directed by, (and starring), Abe Forsythe. Ned 'takes the piss' out of every aspect of the nation's favourite outlaw making some very droll comments about legends and myths along the way. For the first 15 to 20 minutes it is actually quite consistently funny, and there is a handling of the comic material which has a distinctly and delightfully Australian character. Among the co-stars are many familiar faces of Australian TV and theatre, Jason Donovan for instance as Father Thompson and do have a squint at the 'Çock-sucking Cowboy' when Ned orders a drink at a bar in the town of Glenrowan. Felix Williamson stands out in his role as Kelly's arch nemesis, Governor Sinclair, which he plays with energy. Seasoned Aussie Thespian Drew Forsythe (Abe Forsythe's Dad) is hilarious as the crusty old waffler narrating the story to a sneering and disinterested youngster. Unfortunately it just all too quickly runs out of breath and sinks slowly, but irretrievably into a quagmire of fart and poo jokes. Perhaps, instead of a 90-minute movie Ned would have been better off as a series of skits on something like Fast Forward. There is a lot of good skit material here in fact. Touted as 'Pythonesque', or as 'Monty Python meets South Park', I personally would have to stress the 'esque' in the Python and add 'ísh' to that. The humour is certainly daffy enough to be likened to Monty Python and crude enough to be likened to South Park but lacks the wit and inspiration of either.There is one shoot 'em up scene in which Donovan as Father Thompson resembles for a moment that Knight from Search for the Holy Grail, defiant despite the loss of all his limbs. More examples of the Pythoonesque (ish) humour are Mr Kelly (Ned's syphlitic father) and his rubber farm and Ned himself robbing banks upon the back of a Shetland pony, (which he insists is a horse). The funny moments like these are unfortunately saddled with a lot of repetitive bowel movements and a heavy handedness that is left flogging a dead horse. I was gratified to find the seats at the Wallis Academy cinema, Hindmarsh Square, comfortable enough in which to pass the last hour of Ned in a state of semi-consciousness.

If you are familiar with Abe and his work such as 'liquid blue' and his brilliant satire on the matrix 'computer boy', then you'll know what you're getting yourself into when you sit down to watch 'Ned'. A funny spin on the outlaw who Australia has always considered a hero and placed upon a pedestal, Abe flushes the legend down the toilet and does it his way, making Ned Kelly into a pony-riding, girly-running, frigid dork who just wants to save his families rubber plant farm. Yes, there are alot of fart jokes. A few controversial gay jokes and a lot of good old slap stick humor. But Nudge from 'hey dad' makes an appearance... and that's good enough for me!

I like Abe. I hope he continues to make movies, because he's young, fresh, funny and seems motivated and passionate about his career. Give him, and 'Ned' a chance... cause this is about as true blue as Ned Kelly is ever going to get!

p.s- listen to the feature commentary if you hire this on dvd.

With rich source material, Ned should be hilarious, but unfortunately distinct lack of belly laughs and wafer thin story ensure this falls into the mediocre comedy category-it's simply no where near funny enough. The cast is certainly energetic, particularly Felix Williamson, but biggest liability is Ned himself. Abe Forsythe is hammy,unfunny and not particularly ingratiating in the lead. Ned has some good production values from an obviously low budget- at least it didn't cost as much as 'Reckless Kelly' but even at a lean 90 mins it feels like a lot longer.

Rating: 4 out of 10

One of our absolute favourites with one-liners and inappropriate quotes that my friends and I have been using for 18 years!

"Look at the c__t on the pony.." "it's a horse.."

I even named my Mustang 'Muffy' as a tribute to the prettiest Pony in a movie!