User Reviews

This is one of the biggest laughs I had at the movies last year. Like one of the other comments, I can't believe the low score. It's a classic Aussie comedy, with one scene in particular (the Shaun Micallef and Prime Minister ad) that's got to be one of the funniest things in any Australian movie.

Performances are all great, especially Micallef, Kevin Harrington as Wally, HG Nelson, and Tom Budge as Wally's son Normie.

For readers in Australia, the commentary on the DVD is a must: hilarious comments from the director, as well as Micallef, Kevin Harrington and the writers.

See it, and you won't be disappointed.

A film that sets out to make fun of the politicians should be number one at the Australian box office but this really fails- it just isn't funny. The problem lies with the huge number of main characters. It has absolutely no focus and fails to generate the laughs.

The promotional trailer had been promising, but unfortunately all of the amusing bits of the film were in that trailer.

Consequently all I got out of the rest of Wally Norman was one snicker and a smirk (and I had to wait 30 minutes for the snicker).

The film is incredibly bland, and for a comedy that's pretty disastrous. There was a good sized crowd in our session, but very little real laughter - and several people, like myself, were clearly unimpressed.

It's got a fairly crappy script, old jokes, nothing more than predictability in its plot and some pretty shabby editing.

I would have walked out after 30 minutes, but there was a slight suggestion that Wally Norman's son might be gay, so I stayed on to see where they went with that. The son smiles whimsically on two occasions when he's looking at another young male character. The smile was obviously taken by some of the audience (who guffawed briefly) as meaning that Wally's son had as much interest in this man as did his daughter. However the son's sexuality is never even alluded to in the rest of the film, and the son doesn't look sideways at the other character again - proving that this was merely a directorial blunder.

It'll be interesting to see what the "Kath & Kim" devotees make of it (that's a popular current Australian TV series by the same director) - perhaps you require a special bent to see this film as being truly funny, rather than merely pleasant.

Glad to see this very witty political satire finally beginning to improve its scores on this site. It's overall shape is definitely familiar, but to see it as just another 'Castle' knockoff totally underestimates it. It's by far the cleverest of all the recent 'Aussie battler' comedies, as a few critics pointed out, and it's by far the best performed, with a great appearance by Kevin Harrington (who I see scored an AFI nomination for Best Actor for this, which is pretty unusual for an Aussie comedy), and Shaun Micallef (who should have won an AFI for his performance). 'The Castle' is funnier overall, but the Micallef political ad is by far the funniest thing in any Australian comedy I can think of. Also, this is the most honestly touching of any Australian comedy I can think of, except perhaps 'The Big Steal' or 'Malcolm', and the scenes between Harrington and his wife, played by Ros Hammond, are lovely. In time, this will be regarded as an Australian classic. It's a bit slow moving in parts, and it could have been funnier, but corrupt Aussie politics has never been taken apart better by an Australian movie, and this is a movie I can watch again and again, just for the great one liners and moments.

Something about this apparently "too good to be true, victory for the battlers" made me realize how much I hate the cynical reviewer who might deny us its brilliance and good humored trip to the public bar. Its not "the Castle" but its deeper and more deadly in its comedic twists .Our 18 YO loved it. Comments from the participants (on the DVD) tell it all- an opportunity to say a lot of things and say them well .Its a classic in the funny serious Aussie tradition of great films. Sure the elements are understated( and the frame a bit small) but this is us ; If it doesn't bring us all back to where we found home,anyone of three fair go blokes show us how it can happen. Can't recommend it highly enough. Mate ship is not only in the script, its in the actors and the stage atmosphere as they work to make this more than the many trite "shy bloke does good " stories we have seen .Its almost like some of these people are playing themselves . Kevin Harrington is brilliant and Ted Emery's flair adds spades to a great rural story (That deserves wide appeal) our 1

This is a very funny movie, with hilarious performances from a host of famous Australian comedians, especially Kevin Harrington, HG Nelson, Micallef and Brian Dawe (of the Clarke-Dawe interviews series on '7.30 Report). I'm very surprised by the film's low score on IMDB. As some critics pointed out at the time of the film's release, the scene between Micallef and John Singleton (Micallef's fake political ad) is just about the funniest thing I can remember seeing in an Australian comedy. The film copped some flack when it came out, but I think most of that was tied up with the very bad rap most Australian comedies got in 2003. There was also a bit of controversy when the film was chosen to open the Sydney Film Festival (a pretty snooty affair usually reserved for 'arthouse movies'). Over time, I really hope this one will be up there, with 'The Castle', 'Big Steal' and a few others, as a classic example of laid-back, Aussie comedy. If you get a chance, don't miss it! Ted Emery (Fast Forward, Kath and Kim) has done it again.

I've seen some less than flattering reviews of this film. I have to say that anyone with an understanding and/or experience of politics in Australia will appreciate the intelligent humour and satire. I've also seen other comments that say there is nothing funny about this film. That's complete garbage. The Ken Oats political advertisement is the wittiest and sharpest piece of satire that has appeared in an Australian film in a long time. I give this five out of five.

I loved this film, and can't believe the low score it has on this website.

You don't need to be a Kath and Kim fan to enjoy this film, which has a few of the funniest scenes in it that I can remember from an Australian film since 'The Castle'. I saw it with a bunch of people recently, and we were all laughing hysterically.

See it, and you won't be disappointed.

The scene with Sean Micallef as a soldier is worth seeing the film for all on its own.

This is a highly enjoyable funny film. The mix-ups and the sight gags and the jokes that just keep on rolling. Right from the beginning there were hints that something was going to happen but they kept you right in there. You wanted to cheer and root for Wally Norman as he was manipulated and taken advantage of and it supported all your beliefs about crooked politicians and their backdoor dealings. A kind of Mr Smith goes to Washington or Full Monty, small people taking on the system and working it to their advantage after many stumbling blocks.

Saw this with a group of friends on DVD and thought it was great. I was quite sorry I didn't get to see it on the big screen, because most of the Australian movies I saw last year were pretty crappy. This is the funniest one from 2003 by a long way. I agree with some other comments about the scene with Micalef in his political ad. Absolutely classic stuff. Its a bit similar to some other Aussie comedies, like Castle and Crackerjack, but just as good. How has it got such a bad rating on this website? Must be a lot of people with bad taste in movies. But then again a lot of people watch Rove, so go figure. I can really recommend this film.

I wish I hadn't wasted my $2.99 in the bargain bin at Harvey Norman. I couldn't even finish it. I really wanted to like this film, but it was embarrassingly awful. Sorry. I felt like I had seen it all before - it was like the writers had just taken every old joke they knew out of a book of old and hackneyed jokes and tried to tie them into a script - who were they kidding. The most remarkable thing about this film is that someone actually funded it! And that actors of the calibre of Shaun Micallef and Roy and HG actually agreed to take part. And how on earth did it get to open the Sydney Film Festival?!? Avoid this film at all costs.

I played a small part in 'Wally Norman" as the bookmaker.

Had a blast doing the role and meeting the rest of the cast.

As time goes by this comedy gets better.....each time i watch it i see something new.

The cast and crew worked so hard on this flick and the movie deserved better at the box office.

Seems like the average movie goer here is more interested in the Hollywood blockbuster than the subtle film.

This comedy was very well written but not everyones cup of tea.

The pub scene when Wally comes back after the goat race was a hoot to shoot with free beer flowing all day.

The goat ate the wreath of flowers round it's neck but luckily the cameraman got a shot of it and it was used in the movie.

Anyway have a great life everyone.

Cheers Paul Makin.

ps Singo for PM.