Save your money for something good and enjoyable

As Good As It Gets

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Firstly, Nathan Phillips and Angus Sampson did a fantastic job-acting wise. They did the best with what lines they were given and honestly made viewers believe they were dole bludgers. While I admit the lame take on Home and Away was a little silly and the writers could have spent just a bit more time coming up with something more creative to motivate the pair of characters I hardly think this movie was made to win an international award. This movie is really very funny and anyone looking for a bit of a laugh will thoroughly enjoy it, it's just another Australian comedy that most of us can have a good time watching. Any fanatical movie critics can keep their far-fetched personally insulting opinions to themselves because this type of movie is truly unique to our country ans sense of humour and I believe it has helped to promote the Australian Film Industry greatly.

The Australian film industry can surely be a hit and miss affair. There have been some rippers, but this ain't one of them. Everything pertaining to this film is embarrassing, particularly the knowledge that my tax went into paying for it. Everything from the comedy...or lack there of, the attempted sentimentality and the redemptive themes only added to make this film a failure from opening to closing credits.Its a shame that this isn't even in the class of awful that would make it legendary for its awfulness. Its just an embarrassment. I hope William McInnes and Rachel Hunter were only in it for the money, cause it didn't do their reputations any favours.Final comment: don't bother. Spend the money on fish and chips instead.

You and Your Stupid Mate revolves around Philip and Jeffery who live in an Australian trailer park, which looks a lot nicer than any American trailer park you see in movies. Neither of the two guys work, one spends all his days running a website about "Son's and Surf" a crappily acted soap (think Home and Away without the dream sequences, ghosts, montages and flashbacks that make it so realistic). The other is a scout and is in the Gang Show - which I am positive only happens once a year, still it gets him through life. However, one day everything comes crashing down - The trailer park is going to be demolished, they have to work for the dole, and "Sons and Surf" is getting cancelled. What follows is rather predictable - will they save the show? Will one hook up with Rachel Hunter their "fertile" neighbour? What about the work for the dole scheme? Goodness! So many issues to sort. There were some very funny moments - one in the opening sequence involving wees and a pool. The soap episodes are also quite amusing (on the DVD you can watch the episode clips all together). The clothes the guys wear are also hilarious - especially when they go clubbing. Quite a funny film, one that I wouldn't have chosen myself (mainly because Australian comedy tends to get tossed into the same "unfunny" boat as NZ comedy but there are, of course, exceptions).

This is one of the freshest, most unpretentious, least self-conscious Australian features of recent memory. It is a lowbrow comedy aimed directly at teenage boys -- that said, its inherent charm also makes it a shrewd bet for any age.Though the opening flashback of our two "heroes" (Jeffrey and Philip as kids) falls a little flat, the strong script (by Dave O'Neil and Mark O'Toole) and uncluttered direction ( by Marc Gracie) combine to birth a very likable comedy.Though YOU AND YOUR STUPID MATE is spawned from the genre that gave us DUDE WHERE'S MY CAR, ROAD TRIP and FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, it is a far less cynical piece than those movies and is populated by characters you might have found in a Bill Forsyth film (from the early 80's) such as GREGORY'S GIRL, THAT SINKING FEELING and LOCAL HERO, or the underrated Aussie gem FAST TALKING.Though the film's trailer promises a movie about the adventures of two obnoxious slackers, the lead characters (played sweetly by Nathan Philips and Angus Sampson) are, in fact, charming innocents, who learn a valuable lesson in friendship.Where MATE shines is in its casting and supporting character roster. William McInnes is superb as the disaffected boss of a government employment agency who endures terrible flashbacks of being mocked by scouts. Rachel Hunter is simply gorgeous as a woman (with five cute daughters) who lives in the same trailer park as Jeffrey and Philip. In one magical scene, one of the boys looks lovingly at her and declares: "Wow, she's so fertile." The reference to "Sailing", a song sung by Rachel's ex- (Rod Stewart), is inspired, too.STUPID MATE is stuffed with charming asides like this and also boasts a few surreal cinematic detours into characters' pasts; one sequence, set in Somalia, is very funny; also worth a mention is a sequence in which Evo, a soap hunk (played by Tayler Kane), flashes back to a lifetime of fans taking the mickey out of his on-screen character.All is resolved in a fashion consistent with the film's tone and general sense of innocence.A very fine effort.