Review of Crocodile Dundee (1986) by Gavin S — 23 Nov 2008

The little movie that could. I remember when Hoges placed ads in the local Aussie papers asking the public for investment that he couldn't get from the government. If they (and we) knew then, what we know now.

This movie is an eternal Aussie classic - deservedly referenced in this year's "Tropic Thunder". Unapologetically Australian, hopelessly corny, deceptively deep. Sure, it's dated a little in places - thankfully dated actually, because those places are a few bits of misogynistic, homophobic bullshit - but that cultural cringe is not unwarranted, because those nasty bits are very representative of Oz-yob culture at the time. Like the entire, mostly harmless film is a great representation of Oz's place in the world back then - and that's something I'm very proud of. Hoges tones down the caricatures from his TV show and perfectly channels the Aussie everybloke into Mick Dundee - laconically laidback, cockily confident, whimsically wise. His almost superhuman efficiency and affinity in the outback is brilliantly contrasted with the even better second half of the film - a "fish out of water" tale both absurd and real. Mick's tendency to introduce himself to everyone in the Big Apple (born from years in the bush of hardly encountering ANYONE) is endearingly genuine, as is his immediate response when Sue explains psychiatry to him as the process of paying someone to listen to your problems: "Doesn't she have any mates?".

The film's final shot, is you look closely, isn't about resolving the love affair between Sue and Mick, but is a shot of Mick bonding with a typical urban American dude, and is all about solidifying the mateship between two countries. And that's the REAL love story of Crocodile Dundee.