The Very Excellent Mr Dundee (Dean Murphy, 2020) wr. Robert Mond, Dean Murphy; Chevy Chase, Olivia Newton-John, Reginald VelJohnson, Luke Hemsworth, Paul Hogan; released 1 March
Paul Hogan is reluctantly thrust back into the spotlight as he desperately attempts to restore his sullied reputation on the eve of being knighted.
Luke Buckmaster:
Hogan is the aquatic craniate and the passing of time the rocky seas on which he has been tossed and flailed, washing up on the beach of a modern, culturally conscientious world. ... In a year of surprises, here’s another to add to the tally: the new Dundee is a social and political commentary, with a core message that the modern world can no longer see the forest of good old-fashioned comedy for the trees of political correctness. ... Some jokes feel like witnessing a slo-mo train crash but the humour at least has awareness: of itself; of the society to which it belongs; of a world that has (whether Hogan et al like it or not) moved on from the crudeness of its antecedents. Compare that to Hogan inspecting a hotel bidet and grabbing the groin area of a trans woman in the original movie and you get a more interesting (certainly less offensive) perspective. You wouldn’t want to overstate the film’s achievements, given that a lot of it comes across as weird, self-pitying flapdoodle. But this is, as they say, progress of a kind. The Guardian.
Paul Byrnes:
Hogan tries to remain unruffled, but appears bemused and somewhat confused as his world crumbles. That might be what Paul Hogan is really like but he plays himself rather badly here, more self-aware than self-confident. The satire is as laboured as his nonchalance. Sydney Morning Telegraph.
Garry Gillard | New: 25 December, 2019 | Now: 7 August, 2020