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Take Away (2003)
Critical Review by Kyla Jones


Directed by Marc Gracie
Written By Dave O'Neil and Mark O'Toole

Cast
Vince Colosimo- Tony Stilano
Stephen Curry- Trev Spackneys
Rose Byrne- Sonja Stilano
Nathan Phillips- Dave
Matthew Dyktynski- Burgies Manager
John Howard- Burgies CEO
Dave O'Neil- Mal the Butcher
Mark O'Toole- Neighbourhood Waster

Produced by
Jodie Crawford-Fish- Line producer
Marc Gracie- Producer
David Redman- Producer
Bryce Menzies- Executive producer
John Tatoulis- Co-executive producer
Dave O'Neil- Associate producer
Mark O'Toole- Associate producer

Production Company- Macquarie Film Corporation
Distributor- Roadshow Film Distributors

Released in Australian cinemas on the 14th of August, 2003

Box Office
In the first week of the film's release, it was #7 on the Australian box office charts, and had taken in a total of $493,588. That was the highest position Take Away reached. Three weeks into its release, it was at #12, and had made a total of $879,000*. After three weeks it was not amongst the top 25 films in the Australian box office.

*Note: the final total is approximate, as it had to be converted from US dollars.

Details of Interviews

"A steady diet of local comedy: Take Away - Australian Films And Film-Makers", by Brad Lacey, Metro Magazine, Fall 2003, found online at http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m0PAM/138/110472604/p1/article.jhtml

"Two all-grief patties", by Sacha Molitorisz, Sydney Morning Herald, August 8 2003, found at http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/07/1060145796648.html


Details of Reviews

"Take Away" by Clint Morris, Moviehole website, found at http://www.moviehole.net/reviews/890.html

"Take Away" by Sharon Hurst, Cinefile website, found at http://www.cinephilia.net.au/show_detailed_review.php?movieid=1927

"Take Away" by Sacha Molitorisz, Sydney Morning Herald, August 14 2003, found at http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/13/1060588453828.html

"Takeaway" by Philippa Hawker, The Age, August 14 2003, found at http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/08/13/1060588441685.html

"Take Away" by David Stratton, SBS Movie Show website, found at http://www.sbs.com.au/movieshow/reviews.php3?id=1182

"Take Away" by David Stratton, Variety, Oct 6-Oct 12, 2003. Vol. 392, Iss. 8; pg. 84, found online at Proquest

Online Presence
After searching the Internet, I found that most of the information on the film consisted of reviews. A search on Google revealed that many sites were reviewing the DVD, and had it available to buy online. Other articles found included reviews from newspapers such as The Age, Sydney Morning Herald. Other film websites such as the Internet Movie Database, MovieHole and Cinefile had reviews and other information on their sites.

History of Research
The first thing I did in relation to this assignment was to watch the film. I then started to look it up on the Internet. I primarily used the Google search engine, using "Take Away" and "Marc Gracie" as my search terms. I also looked in popular movie databases and websites, such as Internet Movie Database, the Australian Film Commission Site and the Australian Film Institute site. One site I made sure to search was SBS's Movie Show website, which has archives of most films they have reviewed over the years. I also searched the LookSmart website using the FindArticles search, and the Proquest database. The Internet was my main source of information during my research. I found print useful when looking for box office data, finding the first week's takings in Encore Magazine. I found the remaining box office data from Variety's website.

Take Away- The Story

Take Away has an unexpected introduction to the film and storyline. It begins with a small scene set in an old-fashioned inn, and plays out the story of the first take away fish and chips, and the Australian re-invention of dim sims. This is the audience's introduction to the subject of the film. Take Away features two owners of competing take-away shops. Tony Stilano owns Tony's Fish and Chippery, and is intensely methodical and particular about everything in his life, from his daily cleansing routine to the way the drinks fridge is stocked. Trev Spackneys is the owner of Trev's Take Away, and demonstrates a very loose attitude towards cleanliness and hygiene in his home and business. Although complete opposites, Trev and Tony share a history. Their fathers were in the take away business together until they split up over a pineapple dispute. They each opened separate shops on either side of the original store, and have been in competition ever since. They passed their shops onto their sons, who continued the rivalry. Tony and Trev are always trying to outdo each other. Tony invests his energies on more advertising techniques and prides himself on the quality of his food. Trev's business relies on a traditional burger recipe handed down by his father, as well as testing new take away creations, such as dim sim on a stick and beef nuggets.
Although the shops are in competition, they both seem to make enough money to support themselves. That is, until an announcement that a new 'Burgies' fast food outlet will be erected on the empty lot next to Tony's shop. The neighbourhood and Tony and Trev are not happy about the new restaurant and they take up a fight to stop its opening. This involves petitions, protests, and even includes the boys pleading their case to Burgie's CEO, played by John Howard. However, all attempts to stop the opening fail, and Burgies opens, complete with mascots and 10-year-old staff members. This forces Tony and Trev to put aside their rivalry, and they set out to physically remove Burgies from their lives.


Critical uptake
The opinion of this film seems to be somewhat divided between finding it hilarious and finding it mediocre. The majority of reviews, however, seem to agree that this isn't the best feature film that Australia has produced over the last few years. A review found on MovieHole remarked that it "isn't a film that'll leave a lasting impression". Many compared it to previous hits such as The Castle and discovered that, although along the same lines of the little guys pitted against the big guys, Take Away does not measure up to its predecessor. The SBS Movie Show review diagnosed the problem being with the screenplay "completely lacking in wit" and "the routine TV-style direction by Marc Gracie". Out of the reviews I discovered, The Movie Show gave the worst review, receiving half a star from Margaret Pomeranz and one star from David Stratton. The general public seemed to agree with these opinions, after entering the Australian box office at number 7, interest in the film went down very quickly.

My Opinion
After reading short reviews on the Internet that said Take Away was a very funny Australian film about two bitter enemies uniting to fight a common foe, I was disappointed when I saw the film. What I found most disappointing was that the creators of the film seemed to have the potential make it a clever Australian comedy, but did not develop it further. I was hoping to see more rivalry between Tony and Trev, perhaps involving more sabotage of their businesses in the name of competition. This would have made the reunion between them more significant and satisfying. Instead I saw two friendly rivals who were in a love-hate relationship rather than total hatred. I was also disappointed in the comedy aspect of the film. As I was a fan of Stephen Curry and Vince Colosimo, I was expecting high quality comedy. Although I thought that their performances were very good under the circumstances, I found the jokes were forced and did not make me laugh. I would have to agree with David Stratton of the Movie Show's assessment, in that it was the screenplay's lack of wit that let it down. My only favourite part of the film would be the short story of the very first take-away in Australia, especially the creation of the first Aussie dim sim. I thought that this was one of the few clever moments in the film, and the fact that it was shown at the introduction is perhaps partly responsible for my high expectations, only leaving me more disappointed with the fact that I didn't find it funny.

Circumstances of production
Marc Gracie, Dave O'Neil and Mark O'Toole first came up with the idea of creating a feature film when the TV show they were working on, Totally Full Frontal was axed in 1999. The inspiration of the film came from O'Neil's fear that multi-national fast food corporations would replace the traditional Australian take-away shops. The idea of the film and the script appealed to Gracie, so he set about in making the film happen. They soon got the support of Vince Colosimo, who, according to Sacha Molitorisz's article, was convinced when his wife found the script funny. Soon after came Stephen Curry, Rose Byrne, and Nathan Phillips.
One of the problems encountered in the production of the film was finding a location that suited the community neighbourhood feel that they wanted to send to the audience. Alphington, a suburb in Melbourne was eventually chosen. Another interesting point is that the writers had intended the shops to be next door to each other. The character of Mal the butcher who owned the shop between Tony and Trev was written into the script when they could not find two take-away shops side by side in Alphington.

Prior subsequent work of director/actors
Gracie, O'Neil and O'Toole had previously worked together on other comedy projects, such as the TV series Full Frontal and Jimeoin. They are again working together on another Australian film titled You and your Stupid Mate set to be released in 2005.Dave and Mark have also done various stints as writers, producers and actors (note their small roles in Take Away). One of O'Neil's more recent roles was starring in The Nugget.
Vince Colosimo has starred and guest-starred in many Australian films and television series. His films include a mixture of comedies and dramas, with Lantana, The Wog Boy, The Nugget, Chopper and The Hard Word. His TV credits include a major role in The Secret Life of Us, and minor roles in Something in the Air, The Practice, Without a Trace and Kath and Kim.
Stephen Curry has also had vast experience with Australian comedies and is probably most remembered as Dale Kerrigan in The Castle. Curry also held roles in The Wog Boy and The Nugget. His TV career includes Changi, Frontline and most recently The Secret Life of Us.

Film in relation to Australian cinema
Take Away is classified as a comedy, for the obvious reasons that the entire plot is filled with jokes and amusing situations. The film is satirical, and contains a send-up of almost everything in the film. Tony and Trev are played up to their stereotypes: Tony is the over-neat, work-driven, espresso-drinking Italian with a small business (openly acknowledged at one point) and Trev is the beer-swilling, unhygienic Australian slob complete with rubber thongs and a Vegemite doona cover. The film also takes every opportunity to poke fun at the fast food industry, particularly at multi-national fast food corporations. Examples include the use of children as Burgies staff members, the ridiculous mascots and TV jingles, and even subtle allegations that their promotional competitions are scams.
This film is filled with Australian attributes. The character of Trev alone represents the popular stereotype of the laid-back Aussie bloke. The jokes made in the film often have indecent connotations, which is usually of the Australian sense of humour. Metro Magazine sums up the Australian humour in the film as follows:
"As with other films of this nature, Take Away is predictable, full of over-the-top caricatures and stereotypes, and often reliant on cliched jokes. But rather than discrediting it, these things actually add to the film's unique local charm."

Although I found the humour in Take Away to be unsatisfactory, it is filled with references that make it solely Australian. Therefore, the film itself should be viewed as an example of a uniquely Australian film


Filmography
The Nugget (Bill Bennet, 2002)
Lantana (Ray Lawrence, 2001)
The Wog Boy (Aleksi Vellis, 2000)
Chopper (Andrew Dominik, 2000)
The Hard Word (Scott Roberts, 2002)
The Castle (Rob Sitch, 1997)