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It's a well known fact amongst the comedy circles that Martin has been on a war path trying to get the ABC to release the Bargearse/Olden Days
double up for years now (apparently, the ABC felt that it "didn't have
an audience" despite it being a best seller on the old VHS format
several years earlier).
Well, his persistence has paid off - with
this classic bit of overdubbed comedy finally hitting DVD (although
with the recent news of HD-DVD taking the lead in the format race, this
DVD will probably be incompatible!!).
By re voicing the classic 1976 Crawfords police drama Bluey, the Late Show team (for those who aren't familiar with the early 90's hit - think The Chasers War on Everything...but
original) create an entire new story which has a plot as thin as Filo
Pastry which is used a thinly veiled excuse for a barrage of quality
fart jokes.
The follow up is also included, The Olden Days - in which the Late Show folk tamper with the original ABC series Rush, turning
it into a steamy tale of hope and betrayal....and a thinly veiled excuse
for jokes about mustaches and the unconvincing backdrops of the
Victorian mud-fields.
For fans of The Late Show,
there is really little need for me to try and sell how good this DVD
package is - because you've either already purchased it, or you're on
the way to your local JB HiFi as we speak to get it anyway. It really
is an example of the Working Dog team (yep, they are the same folk
behind TV hits such as Frontline, The Panel and Thank God You're Here) at they're very best.
Very
few people can pass off fart gags, and jokes about "Testicles not being
screwed on" as smart humour - but Tony Martin, Mick Molloy and Santo
Cilaro do it with ease here.
It's hard to choose a favourite. While Bargearse
is the crowd pleaser (it has dated the most dramatically of the two
comic pieces) it seems 1992 references don't fit in the new millennium - but for those who were there, that's what makes The Late Show
work so well in hind sight. Anything that forces us to be reminded of
Sophie Formica, VHS Video Stores or the Chiko Roll is as important to
our Australian history as any document signed in Parliament.
This is a golden piece of Australian comedy, so be sure to grab a copy (along with the Champagne Edition)
while DVDs are still a relevant format - because chances are Tony Martin
will be fighting for another 10 years trying to get this stuff out on
HD DVD or Blu-Ray!
Watch this one with a "packet of dims sims, and a bucket of So-ya Sauce". It'll be the best thing you ever do. EXTRAS
For
the first time, in well, ever - we actually can give a worthwhile
review of the DVD extras. Yep, none of the "Snore-Boring" featurettes
and deleted scenes here, Martin had compiled an A-Grade selection of Late Show footage.
Along with the extremely funny - and informative - DVD Commentaries with Tony and Santo, there are also a bevy of clips from The Late Show - both as accessible clips and Hidden Easter Eggs (there are 17 Hidden Easter Eggs in total).
They range from extremely 90's (a sketch in which Tony Martin explains how to successfully run a Video Shop which references Bikini Shop, K-9, and
Jean Claude Van Damme), to mediocre (a bizarre mock-video clip to the
song "Cop Killer") as well as downright classic (with a superb and long
forgotten installment of Shitscared).
Also included is the mockumentary "The Last Aussie Auteur: A Tribute To Warren Perso" (which also appears on the Bad Eggs DVD...one can't help but think that Martin is proud of that one).
However, the best of the batch is without doubt Pete "Mr Copperart" Smith's rendition of Dude Looks Like A Lady.
This is comedy - and the DVD format - at it's best.
Conclusion:
Movie 80% Extras: 100%
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