Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972)

In a sentence:

Young Aussie bloke Barry McKenzie, along with his aunt Edna, have an action-packed visit to London, meeting many interesting “poms” (English people) along the way.

The Principals:

Director: Bruce Beresford

Writers: Barry Humphries and Bruce Beresford

Producer: Phillip Adam

Main Cast:

Barry McKenzie: Barry Crocker

Edna Everage: Barry Humphries


Full Cast and Crew

About the film:

There is very little plot to speak of in this film. The inciting incident is that Barry McKenzie receives an inheritance from his father. He can only get the money after he’s visited England and fulfilled the “cultural education of the McKenzie family.” Barry dutifully goes on the trip with his aunt Edna. When they land they encounter the many strange inhabitants of the “old country”.

The film is quite episodic, due to the lack of narrative drive. The idea of his cultural education is never really addressed after the inciting incident leads him to England. Barry does a cigarette advert, goes to a Young Conservatives mixer, records a song with some hippies, gets sent to an insane asylum, and winds up showing his penis on BBC chat show. What propels the action forward is Barry’s desire for Foster’s beer. Barry is always thinking about where and when he can get another “tube of the amber fluid”.

The other thing that motivates Barry is sex. Barry is eager to have sex with any (and all) available women. In classic comedic fashion, he never achieves his goal because of a character flaw: he is searching for sexual adventures, yet afraid of them.

The jokes in the film come fast and hard and you have to pay close attention to pick up on all the Australianisms peppered throughout. The humour is crude, racist, perverted, demented and utterly funny. There are also brilliant cameos from Peter Cook and Spike Milligan.

My personal take:

I laugh out loud throughout this film. It's a film that can be watched several times as there are so many jokes that you can easily miss them on the first viewing.

I admit that the film is a bit clunky at times. The weakness is mainly in the razor-thin plot, but I think comedies are rarely served by having complex storylines. Like Citizen Kane, I feel the strengths of Barry McKenzie outshine the weaknesses. This film is pure stupid fun and it’s meant to invoke laughter. I particularly enjoy that everyone is a target - this film takes no prisoners as it mocks everything that it sets its sights on.

This is Bruce Beresford’s directorial debut. He would later direct Driving Miss Daisy, Tender Mercies and other great films. This is almost like looking at Peter Jackson’s filmography and realizing that the man who would directed the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit cut his teeth by making splatter/zombie and puppet porno films.

Commentary

Barry McKenzie doesn’t grow as a character. Nothing in the film indicates that he has any deep problems which block his happiness. In fact all the Australian men in the film are portrayed as blissfully happy to drink and carry on as they are.

There is also a strong sense of cultural antagonism. The Poms and Aussies don’t like each other and never hide their feelings on the matter. Barry even goes so far as to wear a “Pommy Bastards” t-shirt for part of the film.

Genre: Comedy

This film could be considered the benchmark for ocker comedy. For those of you non-Aussies reading this, “ocker” [pronounced okka] is simply low-brow, or broad, Australian comedy. The film is rife with Aussie slang, has more euphemisms for peeing than you’d hear at a urology convention, and attacks Poms and their culture at every opportunity.

Things to watch out for:

• John (Fred Dagg) Clarke appears in this film in a small role
• Barry Humphries plays three different roles in this film (making him the Peter Sellers of Ozploitation)

Watch this movie if:

• You like broad comedy
• You like ocker stereotypes 
• You enjoy the satire of Barry Humphries
• You want to hear as much Australian slang as humanly possible in an hour and forty minute period

Avoid this movie if:

• You need a strong narrative to enjoy a film
• You are an English person who is easily offended
• You are disgusted by vomiting on screen
• You cringe at portrayals of Australians overseas