They're a Weird Mob

I read the book 20+ years ago, and from memory it was very much like this, but I do think the story works better in book form. It's bizarre that this - of all films - was Powell's and Pressburger's final film. The cameo by Graham Kennedy is odd (although the Sydney/Melbourne 'rivalry is, sadly, something that some people actually care about).

Utterly charming piece of 60s Australiana, a forerunner of the Barry McKenzie style of 70s film-making, with some very rough edges, but much sweeter and more benign. Flimsy, episodic story is really just an excuse to explore (and mostly celebrate) Australian society of the 60s -- with some sly observations of the plight of the outsider, and the effects of casual "harmless" xenophobia present in all walks of life. Chiari conveys the perfect mix of almost Chaplinesque innocence

Some of it was amusing, but mostly it was either really dumb comedy or very bleh. It was surprisingly bland, in a really weird way. The plot was stupid, but brought about a couple of amusing scenes. I couldn't really understand the translation problems because nothing that the Australians said seemed like it wouldn't be understandable by anyone (but that's a problem with me being Australian I guess). Just felt sorta pointless overall.

Everything about this film is terrible, outdated and unfunny