Rent Charlie and Boots (2009)

Mild yet charming Aussie comedy - Charlie and Boots review by AER

This very cliched and corny Australian film holds no surprises, yet it has a lot of heart and at times it's very funny. Charlie & Boots is a very mild comedy made for people of a certain age and taste. It's a very simplistic road movie gushing with sentimentality about the importance of family and being there for your loved ones. Paul Hogan has only ever played one character and he's on good form here as the wily old widower with the twinkle in his eye, and Shane Jacobson matches him in the pretty basic cookie-cutter role of hopeless son. The plot sees the two men go on a fishing trip to the top of Australia and their adventures on the way. If this was made in England it would have probably featured actors like David Jason and Peter Kay. Production-wise it looks like it's been made for TV (it could have been), the incidental music never ceases, also at times, the film feels like one long feel-good montage. But the high points see off the low points, and I think that's down to the chemistry between the two leads. Funny, corny, predictable, heartwarming, and infuriating. It's middle-of-the-road stuff - one to watch with your parents. Undemanding stuff but you won't feel bad for watching it.

5 out of 10

Mild Comedy That could've been better - Charlie and Boots review by GI

This comedy drama from Australia and starring Paul Hogan is a mixed bag affair. It has some great funny moments but the episodic structure means the jokes are hit and miss as the various adventures of the two protagonists are sometimes too hurried and opportunities seem to have been missed. Also the main story veers about so that it you soon lose touch with the theme of the film. It's basically a road movie with recently bereaved husband Charlie (Hogan) grieving for his beloved wife is forced out on the road by his partly estranged son Boots (Shane Jacobson). They are heading north for a long promised fishing trip. Charlie goes very reluctantly and Boots hasn't really planned it well. They get in some scrapes and adventures along the way, some are funny, some are not despite trying to be. It all gets a bit too American with country music clubs and rodeos so that the Aussie brand of comedy is given up on. Hogan's character veers from sad widower to prankster at the drop of a hat and you can never quite shed from your mind that's he's Crocodile Dundee. There's a certain charm to the film at odd moments but overall it's clichéd and a lost opportunity.