idiotbox

Australian films , with their relatively low budgets, enthusiastic crews , and lack of commercial appeal, are usually cult films by nature. A lot of Australians don't even like them. I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard the phrase "It wasn't too bad...for an Australian movie" as if Hollywood were the centre of the film universe, and can do no wrong.

Idiot Box is a rare look at the life of the Australian dirtbag. Mick ( Jeremy Sims) and Kev ( Ben Mendelson) are two dole bludgers living in the Western Suburbs of Sydney. Mick calls himself a poet. An example of one of his poems is "Every second Tuesday, they pay the dole into my bank account. So I go to the automatic teller, and hope I can remember my pin number". He often gets criticised by whoever he shares his poetry with because it isn't about birds and flowers, and doesn't rhyme. Kev on the other hand , has a different hobby....being mad. He says he enjoys being angry. The two spend their days in front of the t.v. , and trying to scrape enough money together to buy beer. And their beer of choice is V.B. It's refreshing to see a movie where someone actually has a preference, instead of just ordering a beer. This diet of t.v. , V.B, and too much time on their hands leads hem to concoct a hairbrained scheme to rob a bank. Kev's detailed plan consists of "Go in, get the money, piss off. Maximum fear, minimum time". Fortunately Mick is a little brighter, considering things like guards, and security screens. They bring Micks girlfreinds brother, an Islander that they call 'Coconut' in on it to drive the getaway car. Of course with a plan this hastily put together, something has to go wrong.

This movie is a pretty entertaining look at life on welfare. You won't find many movies as Australian as this. It's full of a lot of really funny scenes. My favorite scene is the one where Mick and Kev have hired a video. Kevs girlfriend says "I've seen that! What did you get that for? " to which Mick replies "We knew you'd seen it, so we got it to piss you off". This movie reminds me a lot of when I was on the dole, and of freinds who have been on the dole. Being flat broke, but still being able to scrounge up enough for a beer, hair-brained get rich quick schemes, and sitting around watching absolute garbage on t.v. This movie so accurately portrays the dolie life, that I think writer/director David Caesar must have been on the dole once upon a time himself. There is a t.v in nearly every scene of the movie, so I guess it's a comment that through television we totally detach ourselves from our own reality. A wealthy drug dealer even makes the inane comment that "you don't even need to leave your loungeroom! the whole world is right there in a box in the corner of your room!" while he's watching a documentary. Well worth a look if you want a real slice of Australian life. We don't all get off on mowing our lawns as the 2000 Olympics opening ceremony would have you believe.