Review of The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972) by Stuart K — 15 Jul 2009

G'Day! Barry Humphries' boorish, loudmouth creation from Private Eye magazine got his own big screen adventure. Nearly 40 years on, it's dated alot, and the humour was quite near-the-knuckle for it's time, but it's a fun timepiece while it lasts.

It begins in Sydney, where Aussie Barry McKenzie (Barry Crocker) receives an inheritance, and is to go to England to further his cultural education, but Barry cannot stand the Pommies. :P He goes with his auntie, Edna Everage (Barry Humphries :P), he ends up living in a sort of ghetto of Aussies in Earl's Court, London.

He gets ripped off by officials, he gets drunk frequently, he gets insulted by the higher classes, and exploited by a couple of hippie rockers who want him for his crass Aussie folk songs, then to top it off, he drops his strides on the BBC!! Alot of the humour doesn't work today, but it does have it's moments, the songs are rude and very funny, and it has a good supporting cast including Peter Cook, Dennis Price, Willie Rushton and Spike Milligan!! It's director was one Bruce Beresford, who later did Driving Miss Daisy (1989), who'd have guessed he'd go all the way from that?? :P.