Welcome to Woop Woop (1997)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Stephan Elliott

Writers:

Douglas Kennedy (novel)
Michael Thomas (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 November 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

The hills are alive...

Plot:

A con artist escapes a deal gone wrong in New York and winds up in the Aussie outback in a strange town...

Plot Keywords:

Australian Outback | Female Nudity | Didgeridoo | Con Artist | Dog Food

Cast

Johnathon Schaech	...	Teddy
Rod Taylor	...	Daddy-O
Susie Porter	...	Angie
Dee Smart	...	Krystal
Richard Moir	...	Reggie
Maggie Kirkpatrick	...	Ginger
Barry Humphries	...	Blind Wally
Mark Wilson	...	Duffy
Paul Mercurio	...	Midget
Stan Yarramunua	...	Young Lionel
Bob Oxenbould	...	Moose
Daniel Rigney	...	Small Kenny
David Hoey	...	Dirty Dean
Sarah Osmo	...	Laverne
Con Demetriou	...	Darren

Also Known As:

The Big Red (Australia) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality and language, and for some drug content.

Runtime:

Argentina:97 min | France:106 min (Cannes Film Festival) | UK:97 min

Country:

Australia | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Chile:14 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia

Company:

Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC)

Trivia:

One of the few times in movies when an actor or actress makes their first appearance in the movie after their name is listed in the end credits. Shane Paxton as Sonny and Bindi Paxton as Cher don't appear in the movie until a scene after the credits are done rolling, which takes place 15 years later.

Quotes:

Reggie: Happy as a bastard on Father's Day.

Movie Connections:

References Razorback (1984)

Soundtrack:

I got you babe

Lively, but Over the Top Australian Parody

A rather clumsy con man from New York tries to escape a murder rap by going to the most remote place possible, the Australian outback. After coming into close contact with the eccentric people and lifestyles, he decides what he really needs is an escape from there!

This is the type of offbeat comedy that should be a bomb and give all other offbeat comedies a bad name. It takes all the same ingredients from all those other offbeat films, meshes them together, and then spits them out in a very mechanical fashion. Unlike director Elliots earlier feature PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT there is nothing deep here to help balance the quirkiness. The film is just made to be silly and at times goes overboard with it. The pace is also too fast. You are never allowed to soak anything in or even take a breath.

Schaech is not very good in the leading role. He gives to much of a breezy performance, acting as if the whole thing is a joke. He never once even for a second displays the angst, anxiety, and basic overall exhaustion that anyone else stuck in the same situation would feel.

The portrayal of the Australian people is terrible. They take all the stereotypes of the down under folks and then squeeze every last drop from it. Here they are not just slightly eccentric people of a rugged and hearty nature. Instead they are complete neanderthals who live like animals and have no level of sophistication. Yes it does try to be somewhat fair by showing that Americans may have some primitive defects as well. Specifically in an opening sequence in New York City where every pedestrian is seen shooting at some birds flying by. Still the Australian segments seems needlessly overdone and even a bit insulting.

The one pleasant surprise is the appearance of Taylor. He plays completely against type here. He's Daddy-O. A self imposed, self styled dictator of the town. His performance is both gruff, campy, energetic, over the top, and hilarious all at the same time. This performance may actually be his pinnacle despite all the other things he has done. It's almost amazing.

Overall the film is very similar in tone to all those bid budgeted Hollywood actioners, except here it's aimed at the offbeat crowd. Everything is perfectly packaged to it's core audience and yet overblown all at the same. It's so forced at points that it almost becomes ridiculous. Yet some of the humor is funny, it has a feel good attitude, and it is without question LIVELY.

Watch for a real fun cameo by Tina Louise at the beginning.

6 out of 10.