From ocker blokes to a dunny attendant via drag queens and an endearing dork, the zany characters in Australian films reflect evolving notions of national identity
- Guardian Australia film club screens Kenny on 23 August at Cinema Nova, Melbourne with a panel on Australian comedy – book your place
Was Barry McKenzie the greatest comedy trailblazer in the history of Australian cinema? The film that bears his name, director Bruce Beresford’s vulgar 1972 classic The Adventures of Barry McKenzie, didn’t so much pave the way as – to paraphrase Marge Simpson – throw up on it.
Accompanied by his beloved Aunt Edna (Barry Humphries), the beer-guzzling yahoo (played by Barry Crocker) travelled to England and tested cinema patrons with unprecedented gross-outs, like hot beef curry as an aphrodisiac and songs about one-eyed trouser snakes. Audiences responded with two thumbs up and Bazza became one of Australian film’s most notorious comedy heroes. He was also at the forefront of the 1970s ocker film movement.
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