Film Review – Not Quite Hollywood (2008)
Mark Hartley's Doc Tells a Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation Cinema
Mar 22, 2009
“Culture only grows on decaying things,” says Barry Humphries (aka Dame Edna Everidge) in Not Quite Hollywood, a rather interesting doc about the dark side of the Australian film industry, “because culture is after all cheese.”
Say the words Australian film to the average person and they are likely to think of Paul Hogan in Crocodile Dundee or the output by Baz Luhrmann. What this film - Not Quite Hollywood - aims to do is teach people the alternative of the industry Down Under as it chronicles the heyday of Australian exploitation cinema in the 70s and 80s – dubbed Ozploitation.
Ozploitation Featured Politically Incorrect Humour and Killer Giant Boars
In the opening archive footage of the news from 1967 announces that “We [Australia] rank with Ecuador and Iceland which, like us, are among the great non-film makers”. Then with the creation of the R-rating in 1971 the floodgates opened as the industry covered everything from steamy bums and boobs comedies that have more nudity than most marriages to full on gory horror to knuckle scrapping action where actors were shot at with real bullets.
The film highlights that in order to attract an audience and funding for art house ventures such as Picnic at Hanging Rock the industry needed the politically incorrect humour of Barry McKenzie, the testosterone fuelled Mad Max or the blood soaked Turkey Shoot to gain everyone’s attention. Some even grudgingly admit that the injection of international actors such as Dennis Hopper, Jimmy Wang Yu, Jaime Lee Curtis and Robert Powell helped it gain recognition.
Hartley Mines Gold - Former James Bond George Lazenby Set on Fire
Not Quite Hollywood delves into gruesome B-movies stating that modern genre flicks such as the nasty Wolf Creek, Rogue and the Saw franchise – the original and basis for the series was created by Oz filmmakers James Wan and Leigh Whannell – owe a lot to the 70s and 80s era of Australian horror.
Even if you know nothing about Australian films it’s still an interesting and well edited documentary that chooses its footage wisely. Due to director Mark Hartley’s selection of clips Not Quite Hollywood even becomes more of a barrage of sex and violence than the films it’s documenting. The talking head contributions from actors, directors and indestructible stuntmen are largely engaging and funny – for example writer/director/producer John Lamond reminisces about his sex comedies as a pole dancer cavorts around in the background.
No-one who sees this film will be able to remove the image of a 10-foot killer boar crashing through windows in Razorback, the “chunder” scenes from Barry McKenzie Holds His Own or one-time Bond George Lazenby being set on fire in The Man From Hong Kong.
Let Down by Enthusiastic Fanboy Quentin Tarantino
The only real downside is the input by Quentin Tarantino, who gets tiring very quickly. His fanboy enthusiasm becomes annoying by his second appearance, he never has a negative word to say about anything so it’s all brilliant according to him and he turns up way too often for someone who wasn’t directly involved in the industry (even though he had a hand in getting this film financed). Even dejected critic Bob Ellis is more tolerable in his grumbling disdain of just about everything.
Enthusiastic, big-chinned directors and snobby reviewers aside, Not Quite Hollywood is a fun documentary about a subject that many people aren't familiar with or have limited knowledge about. For the average cinema goer, there’s enough pace, background information and funny quips to keep you entertained. And if you are a fan of exploitation films and B-movies, this is a must watch that will help you discover new additions for your DVD collection.
- Starring Barry Humphries, Quentin Tarantino, Dennis Hopper
- Directed and written by Mark Hartley
- Running time: 100 minutes
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