Strange Bedfellows
Review by Clint Morris
 Having
grown up in the same part of the world as Dean Murphy, I’ve
been keeping a close eye on how things have been progressing
for the young country Victorian filmmaker.
Kicking off his career with a feature called Just Cruising
(though I auditioned for the film, I never actually saw it)
which played in select Country towns, before making the leap
into the big leagues with the ambitious teen comedy Lex
and Rory [1994], one can’t dispute that things haven’t
been unhurriedly happening for the unwavering lenser.
Though Lex and Rory, and later, Muggers [1999]
disappeared pretty much without a trace from the box office,
they proved to those that needed proving to that this was
a lad with aim, coerce and most of all, an eye for what makes
a good movie.
But if nothing in his previous films convinced you (the film
going public) of that, then his latest Strange Bedfellows
will most certainly sway you.
Filmed in the director’s home state and featuring one
of the finest assembled casts for an Aussie film in quite
some time, Bedfellows will almost certainly stir most
of its publicity on the strength of it being Paul Hogan’s
comeback.
Not only is it Hoges first film since the god-awful Crocodile
Dundee in Los Angeles, it’s the first film he’s
had something to do with in quite a while that isn’t
something he either wrote, produced or financed.
It’s Hogan, the actor, in Murphy, the director’s,
film. And frankly, it’s the best move the Aussie comic’s
made in quite some time.
But more to the point, how is Hoges? In short, he’s
fantastic. He doesn’t over-play it (which can’t
be said for the last Crocodile Dundee film), he’s
instantly amiable and most of all, he’s giving life to
a character that fits him like a glove, as odd as that may
sound when you hear the synopsis.
 Hogan
plays Vince, a theatre owner in country Yackandandah, whose
wife’s done a runner and pretty much left him with nothing
but the single-bed he sleeps on in the projection booth.
When he gets a letter from his ex-wife’s accountant
ordering he pay years of back taxes, he turns to his best
friend Ralph (Michael Caton), the town mechanic, for help.
Having heard in the news that the current government, in
a race for electoral votes, is giving gay couples the same
legal rights as married couples including a retrospective
tax law that allows gay couples to claim all the usual tax
rebates for up to 5 years, Vince decides the best thing to
do – is turn gay.
Easier said than done though. A letter arrives stating that
a representative of the tax office is coming to put Vince
and Ralph a visit, to make sure they are definitely a same
sex couple.
So with the help of a seemingly homosexual hairdresser and
later, some new friends in ‘Wild’ Sydney, Vince
and his reluctant fake-boyfriend, Ralph, put on one heck of
a show for the visiting inspector (a very fitting Pete Postlethwaite)
– and not to mention, a probing town populace.
Funny, touching, and just adorable, Strange Bedfellows
is one of the best Australian films in years. What works here
that hasn’t worked for some of the other recent Australian
comedies is the script. It packs a punch. Detailed, effectively
paced, and crammed with characters you’ll feel are old
mates by the time the credits roll, it’s one of the better
penned local productions the genre’s seen in aeons.
Best of all, it’s an ad for the gay community. Sure,
it sounds like it’s a piss-take on homosexuals, but nope;
it’s far from that, as you’ll discover in the film’s
last arc.
The teaming of Hogan – who’s never been better
– and Michael Caton – in what’s his best film
role since The Castle – is just sublime. They
fire off each other as well as any couple of pro’s who’ve
been working together for years and principally, they’re
tailor-made for their roles.
If Strange Bedfellows doesn’t do wonders for
the career of its writer/director, and in the very-least,
semi-resurrect the thought-retired Paul Hogan’s, many
will indisputably be eating their hats.
4 out of 5
Strange Bedfellows
Australian release: Thursday April 22nd
Cast: Paul Hogan, Michael Caton, Pete Postlethwaite, Glynn
Nicholas, Roy Billing, Alan Cassell, Shane Withington, Paula
Duncan, Kestie Morassi.
Director: Dean Murphy.
Website: Click
here.
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