Fast Talking

I was quite surprised by the quality of this movie. As with another Australian treasure, "The Great McCarthy", I found FAST TALKING quite difficult to classify into any one particular genre. In fact, the more I dig into the surprisingly deep well of Australian cinema, the more I become convinced that this is so for most Australian film: at least in comparison to an international market where more movies than not are marketed expressly at a particular type of movie with a definite audience.

To give some indication of the narrative though, I could relate FAST TALKING as a coming-of-age film, though parts of it are definitely comedic. There is an element of poverty in the up-bringing of the protagonist, 14 year-old Steve Carson, in so far as he has a broken home-life; his mother divorced from his alcoholic father and his old brother a drug-dealer; though the overwhelming dramatic force in FAST TALKING is Steve's often light-hearted relationships with his peers and teachers at school in Sydney's western suburbs. Steve's escapades seem to lighten up the otherwise dreary atmosphere at a school where a high percentage of students are expected to graduate to nothing else after school but the dole.

Steve doesn't seem much interested in school, instead he lives for the weekends when he and his mates can hit the pubs and afterschool when he can undertake work on his motor-bike. While the narrative could be seen as inconsistent or maybe just unappealing because of its subject matter, it is NOT (I think) so erratic as to turn most people from enjoying it. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

FAST TALKING is also an all-star cast of Australian actors, albeit of varying qualities. The old dependable Bisley is there as a junkyard mechanic who takes a liking to our irreverent lead character, Julie McGregor appears briefly as his mother, as does Angelo D'Angelo the "BMX Bandit". Lucky Grills pops in as a police detective, and Antoinette Byron from "Home & Away" and "Melrose Place" has a small cameo as a cashier.

Oh, and cool Rat's Tails and Mullets, almost in pure Aussie Pub Rock style!

Thoroughly wonderful Aussie comedy/drama starring the terrific Rod Zuanic as Steve Carson, a mischievous teenager who forms an unlikely friendship with a hard-nosed mechanic (Steve Bisley). Its magic is that it is so unforced, yet it is rich in character and directed with an intimate, effortless, breezy style. Ken Cameron, who later helmed the excellent miniseries 'Brides of Christ', conveys great affection for his mostly dysfunctional, fascinating characters and offers sharp social commentary that never tramples the story. Underrated and underscreened, it joins ignored classics such as "No Worries", "Shame" and "Summerfield" as another exhibit in the Aussie Hall of Theatrical Shame, a gallery for films given scant theatrical exposure and little critical attention. Every role in "Fast Talking" is beautifully cast. Peter Hehir (who played "Burt" in the great Aussie series 'The Sullivans') is sensational as Steve's alcoholic father who spouts one of the film's best lines: "I taught him everything he knows, and he still doesn't bloody know anything!" Tracy Mann, as a sympathetic schoolteacher, turns in a great performance, as does Peter Collingwood as a school principal who's seen too many boys like Steve Carson in his time. David Gribble's cinematography sparkles, and David Huggett's sharp, intuitive editing is a real plus. The film is hilarious at times and is never less than totally believable.

Director Ken Cameron, a former high school instructor, attempts here to transpose some of his teaching experiences to the screen, apparently conceptually convincing enough to garner guaranteed funding from the Australian Film Commission along with the Merchant/Ivory production team, but any points of interest that may have been persuasive to his financial angels are lost in the completed production. Set and filmed in a cheerless lower class district of Sydney, with its casting auditions held at various schools of that city for many of the younger featured players, the piece won an award at Cannes Junior, yet there is precious little to sustain viewer interest in most sequences, responsibility for this shortcoming falling upon Cameron's disjointed screenplay. The storyline follows the fundamentally aimless and anti-social activities of Steve Carson (a ferret-like Rod Zuanic), who occupies his time by selling drugs, stealing, lying, cheating, etc., for no particular reason, while providing very little of entertainment value for viewers, and even less for the high school teachers and administrators who must have dealings with him. Steve's father is an unemployed sot, his mother has left the home to be with another man, and his older brother utilizes him as a schoolyard dope dealer, plainly a dispiriting background for the youth, but as depicted one feels no sympathy for him, as his deportment appears to stem from stupidity rather than as reaction to socio/economic pressures in this erratically paced work wherein puerile incident assumes precedence above character development. Additionally, young Carson's family members, equally moronic fellow students, and school staff are seldom well-drawn, the only characters of abiding interest being Sharon (Tracey Mann), a new teacher at the high school and, in particular, "Redback" (Steve Bisley), owner of a junkyard for motorcycles, who gives Steve an opportunity to learn a trade (welding) and also to restore a wrecked motorcycle, thereby opening a way for the boy to flee from an uncivil environment. Because Cameron fails to unify his visuals with potential effects that may be felt from the script, a viewer will find it difficult to empathise with Steve, whose general behaviour fails to demonstrate knowledge of possible linkage between causes of his actions (theft, drug sales, et alia) and their consequences, with apparent altruism by Redback being the film's sole strong positive component. Bisley, a top-flight actor, gives his role some depth, but we are too often in the company here of juvenile halfwits, directionless slum based teenagers who fittingly cluster at various trash dumps. The characters actually have no place to go, nor does the episodic plot, and a viewer should care a little about those performers with whom time is shared in a film, but few will be apt to do so in this instance.

Great Aussie cast and presumably a wonderful story and acting and stuff.

I recently watched the Australian film 🇦🇺 Fast Talking (1984) on Tubi. The storyline follows a young boy whose mother has abandoned him, leaving him with a neglectful, alcoholic father. Determined to make money on the streets, he relies on his gift of gab, though it doesn't always work out in his favor.

Written and directed by Ken Cameron (Dangerous Remedy), the film stars Steve Bisley (Mad Max), Tracy Mann (Hard Knocks), Peter Collingwood (Picnic at Hanging Rock), Rod Zuanic (Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome), and Richard Carter (Mad Max: Fury Road).

Fast Talking features a unique and complex main character who is both frustrating and sympathetic. His struggles and poor decisions at such a young age evoke genuine empathy from the audience. The film provides an intriguing glimpse into the Australian school system and lifestyle, portrayed authentically by the talented cast.

In conclusion, Fast Talking is an engaging and distinctive coming-of-age story from Australia that is worth watching. I would give it a score of 5.5/10 and highly recommend it.