I enjoyed the movie. I don't see anything wrong with showing the countryside of Australia and I thought it did a better job of that than the film 'Australia' which had CGI images involved, showing landscapes that didn't even exist.
This movie was full of old jokes that we've heard before but put into virtually small skits, the towing scene (We've heard that joke before) and the aviation scenes. Roy Billing was rolling them out one after another. I've heard them all before and even Shane Jacobsen gets in on it after Billing delivers another. We see Shane in the back seat start to smile. He gets it.
The Australian movie scene desperately needs people who can tell a good story (or any story)and use the genuine Australian country side and its characters as a back drop. Enough of the boyfriend girlfriend relationship studies that we get plied with year after year slowly numbing us to death. Thanks Shane and Paul and Co. OK, its not a film masterpiece, but you're starting to head the right way. Middle Australia is starving for stories set in their own country that will entertain. And we can relate to these events. I found it it to be a reasonable study of the relationship between a father and son traveling across the Australian countryside. Recommended.
Charlie & Boots
2009
Action / Adventure / Comedy / Drama
Charlie & Boots
2009
Action / Adventure / Comedy / Drama
Plot summary
Paul Hogan plays Charlie McFarland and Shane Jacobson plays his estranged son, Boots. After a family tragedy Charlie and Boots try and put their differences aside and head off on the road trip of a lifetime - from regional Victoria to the Cape York Peninsula - they overcome many challenges to reach their dream - to fish off the northern most tip of Australia.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
July 13, 2021 at 03:47 PM
Director
Tech specs
720p.BLUMovie Reviews
A good movie about middle Australia
Another Prodigal Son Story, Told Australian Style
I saw this film on a Qantas flight to Sydney last week. It was about a grown-up son's (Shane Jacobson) efforts to re-establish bonds with his dad Charlie (Paul Hogan) after the unexpected death of his mother. To do this, he brings his dad on a long road trip in order to fulfill a long-time promise to fish at the northern tip of Australia's west coast.
We have seen plenty of this prodigal son stories, as well as road trips, so the unique quality here for me is the Australian background and characters. It is only OK for me. The actors are both very good. I have not seen Paul Hogan since "Crocodile Dundee" and here he is as an elderly cantankerous dad. It was just so apparent that the two actors could never be father and son in real life because of they do not look a bit alike.
The best parts of the film were those with young hitch-hiker Jess charmingly played by Morgan Griffin. She is a welcome (and pretty) addition to their road trip. Too bad her screen time is not longer than it was.
Oz road trip
When Charlie's (Paul Hogan) wife dies of a stroke on their 45th wedding anniversary he is consumed by grief. His estranged son, Boots (Shane Jacobson) decides both should go on a cross country fishing trip that might also help them to reconnect.
At first Charlie is not keen on the 3000 miles trip to Cape York, but Boots is persistent and Charlie's grief slowly ebbs away. They meet up with a pretty hitch-hiker with boyfriend trouble, Boots has a wild ride in a rodeo, Charlie attracts the attention of a few older women and they have a dicey plane ride.
Hogan plays it low key however it might just be the botox that has robbed him of his expressions. The film has a leisurely stroll to some picturesque settings, there is some gentle humour but all this Americana influences in the Australian rural setting with rodeos and country music rings hollow.