Review of Goodbye Pork Pie (1981) by Kinnon P — 09 Sep 2008

So my usual requests on rainy holiday nights are for a movie the local people reccomend, I've seen a few crackers down through the years since New Zealands 70's upsurge, but an on the ground reccy can be worth it's weight in gold so when I was handed "goodbye Pork Pie" I was a bit hopeful.

It's dated a little bit in some ways but in others most of these places they filmed on location look the same as they do now so it's weirdly up to date as well. What's great fun is that it's a complete low budget gem, the director did most of the car stunts, and the whole cast give the sense that it's a good time making the film, it's rebellious, funny, more than a little crude, and all the better for it, part road movie, part anti-establishment, it's pretty infectious lo-fi fun.

Somehow the end result is like a kiwi answer to easy rider, only with none of the self importance and all of the ability to have a laugh at it's own expense, to be honest, the little mini of the piece goes through the wringer more than the main characters, losing more and more parts in the run from north to south island.

You can see why this film is so beloved, and deserves it's place alongside those early Roger Donaldson gems like Sleeping Dogs, and Smash Palace.Find a copy and have a laugh with some mates, you'll be chortling like "pissed Chucks".