Cosy Cool

I am the only person in the world who has seen this movie?? 'Cosy Cool' is one of the most obscure movies to be released in Australia. It's a low budget biker movie inspired by 'Easy Rider'. When I say low budget I mean LOW BUDGET - it makes 'Stone' look like 'Spartacus'!

Unlike 'Stone' this movie isn't about biker clubs (though the Commancheros do appear towards the end). The two protagonists, Cosy Cool and Gracious Grytt, are disenfranchised "space cadets" (their description) who don't fit in with either the biker scene or the straight world. Cosy packs in his job pumping gas, reunites with his old mate Grytt, and the pair hit the road heading for a car/bike show. After they win some prize money there they decide to continue on in search of kicks. Along the way they run across bigoted country folk, "friendly" girls, and other freaks. What they don't realise is that some sinister rednecks are keeping track of them, and are planning on ruining their good time.

This movie is obviously a labour of love for director/star Gary Young. The movie is far from sophisticated (in Australia we'd call it "rough as guts"), technically shaky, unevenly acted, and with many unintentional laughs, but even so, it has a raw unbridled energy and enthusiasm very rarely seen. Cosy and Grytt are uncliched Aussie characters that ring true. You wonder if Young and Wilson aren't just basically playing themselves. Wilson in particular as Gracious Grytt is one of the most memorable screen bikers. Hopper or Fonda he isn't, but his catchprase "negative waves, negative waves" will hopefully one day ensure him of undying cult status!

You're right, it was a pathetic movie as far as acting, actors, script, dialogue, continuity, direction, plot, characters, editing, camera work, outdated slang, embarrassing moments and just full-on cringe, but, you know, I love the bloody thing and would watch it again, anytime, anywhere. Made on a tiny budget, by virtual amateurs, it could rate right down there with the worst movie ever made, but it really is a fantastic snapshot of Sydney in the seventies, and it's a blast to see the locations and how much they've changed over the last 3 decades. The bikes, one an oil-in-frame Triumph done up as a Six-Dollar Chopper, and the other an Iron Sporster with seriously narrow pull-backs, were fairly representative of custom bikes back then. They were built at M&F Choppers and painted by Dave Hart. The Sporty ended up on the Northern beaches and was owned by a mate, while the Trump just disappeared (even though it was a "Really spoofy chopper" according to a line from the movie). The Trump stars in an unscripted crash on the Great Western Highway at Wentworthville. It was meant to be a wheelstand, but it went horribly wrong; it ended up as the best footage in the whole shoot, so they used it. The mutant wheelie was staged in normal, everyday traffic and when the alleged stunt rider finally said: "err, oh-oh!", it's an absolute classic! Another interesting thing was the appearance of most of the Comanchero MC members at the end of the movie, and quite a a few of those blokes aren't around anymore. However, if anyone tries to infer that there's any relationship between final scene in this movie and very real and nasty events of the Milperra Massacre some seven years later, tell'em they're dreamin' — it was nothing more than a spooky coincidence. There was a raffle at the movie's premiere, the prize being the Triumph hero bike. At the end of the show, a lot of bikers not only wanted their money back, but after seeing what the first prize was subjected to during the shoot, they also wanted their raffle ticket stubs removed from the barrel, in case they won! Two things about the movie I really liked were the things that upset most of the reviewers: the first was the sub plot of wandering around the Hot Rod Show at Bankstown Square shopping mall. I went to most of the shows around that time, so I was probably there when they filmed. It's fascinating to think that most of the fine hotrods on show are still around in either exactly the same condition or in some form in 2006. Also the sub plot of the drag racing at Castlereagh Dragstrip was pretty cool, as it featured some of the wild wheelstanders and rails that formed one of the American dragracer tours that hit Australia from the late 1960s on. Yep, it works well as a time capsule,and if you remade the movie with real actors, real scripts and real cinematography, but just kept the basic plot line and reworked the title, it could almost make it as a good movie.

I saw the two reviews for this movie and because the PTB guy was so emphatic in his dislike for it I just had to see it. I had to shop around a few video stores but it wasn't real hard to find and the images and sound were just fine on my copy [maybe just differences between copies] I have to say I probably agree more with the guy from Perth "Infofreako" then the "PTB" guy from Sydney. no question that the picture is low budget but it does hold you nevertheless.....Its a capsule of life in 1975 in fringe Sydney Australia. I'm into hot cars and bikes etc so I was more than just a little fascinated to see the bikes and cars. The red Harley is drop dead gorgeous...I want one the acting does get a little patchy here and there but [guessing] its probably a reflection of the budget with limited takes more than anything else. Overall the picture does get its hooks into you...and a re-watching does help to get another perspective on it [seeing it a second time highlighted some things I missed the first time] The story is a bit patchy but it all came together in the end and something else came to mind on the second watching... Aren't the Commenchero bikers the ones who shot each other up in that massacre??..the last scene of this movie is an implied massacre so maybe this was a "dress rehearsal" for real life I liked the picture..its definitely not a 10 but it does have "something" and it does hold you...I voted 6 for it...

The only way I can describe this movie is totally random. It's like a porn movie without the porn, but with the same standards of acting and production.

Apparently based on real events, the plot line is almost non-existent and the acting is as wooden as you can get. Direction is patchy, and there are long "filler" scenes showing hot rods racing, people doing motorbike tricks and the like. Numerous scenes left me wondering why they were there, and what the characters were doing, as no explanations at all were provided in the movie.

Personally, I would expect better from a trainee production company, trainee actors and directors - even for 1978, which is when this was made.

"Negative waves, negative waves" How could someone dislike this movie? It's like disliking the next door neighbor's lovable scruffy old mutt. Rough around the edges but loyal and true blue mate. This is vintage 70s diy film-making. Even some of the mistakes are left in for a great laugh. So crack open a tinnie and let yourself be entertained by two mugs indulging in an Easy Rider ripoff that lets the flares fly in the wind. Great use of music too, especially the song "too much going on here" when Cosy and his pal are trying to crack onto two chicks definitely in their league. Awesome avant garde editing and acting thrown at you from all over the place. Give it a fair go cobbers.