Arriving 22 years after its forefather Gettin Square, Spit has become one of the most unlikeliest of sequels to one of Australian cinemas most underrated classics, reuniting its star David Wenham, its director Jonathan Teplitzky and its screenwriter Chris Nyst for a new Queensland set adventure.
It'd be wrong to say the 2003 crime comedy Gettin Square was crying out for a sequel, it was a nicely contained slice of criminal pie in its own right but the proposition of getting to witness Wenham slip into a pair of thongs, a tight pair of blue jeans and sport a world-class mullet is an appealing proposition to anyone that enjoyed Teplitzky's first go-around and while Wenham's John "Spit" Spitieri was but a scene-stealing side character in 2003, here he is front and centre to a mid-tier yet undeniably better than it should be follow-up.
Following the exploits of Spitieri as he attempts to re-enter Australia after spending 20 years abroad and for all intents and purposes having been dead and buried to anyone concerned, there's not a whole lot going on here in regards to a notable plot that centres around a bunch of Spitieri's old criminal acquittances trying to get to him before the police get incriminating evidence from him but there's a fairly high strike rate of laughs (especially early on when Spitieri finds himself in a detention centre full of refugees) and even when the plot flounders and story stalls, Wenham truly is a sight to behold.
One of Australia's great acting exports that has continued to be a major part of both Hollywood products and quality home grown content across the last few decades, Wenham has admitted that the role he gets asked about most is that of ex-smack addict and court troublemaker Spitieri and it's clear that the esteemed performer relishes the chances to don the attire and morph into the petty criminal with a heart of gold routine.
While his surrounded by some of Australia's most notable acting veterans such as Gary Sweet as criminal kingpin Charles "Chika" Martin and David Field as corrupt cop Arne Deviers, Spit has been smartly built around Wenham's craftsmanship and when the film struggles to balance out its heart with its silliness, particularly some fairly soft family drama with Spitieri's bloodline and some undercooked side stories pertaining to Arlo Green's refugee Jihad Kalif, Wenham is always having a blast and bringing us along for the ride.
There's nothing within Spit that would make one think its going to have the same long-lasting impact of Gettin Square or have scenes such as the iconic court room back and forward or thong-clad foot chase from the original that fans will love to reminisce about, even if both those scenes get some tributes and follow-ups here, but there's fun to be had from this unexpected return to the world of one of Australian cinemas most iconic characters.
Enough reason then to support the floundering local feature film industry that is in dire need of crowd-pleasing films such as Spit.
Final Say -
After a hot start Spit does at times falter along its way to its credits and doesn't always manage to balance the weighty with the goofy but with Wenham on top form getting to bring back his beloved character, Spit offers up a lot of joy and laughs that are sure too please all those that enjoyed the 2003 precursor.
3 1/2 questionable English language lessons out of 5
Jordan and Eddie (The Movie Guys)
