Four out of
Five stars
Running time:
103 mins
Hugely enjoyable, fast-paced and frequently hilarious documentary that will leave you desperate to see the Ozploitation films in question.
What's it all about?
Directed by Mark Hartley, Not Quite Hollywood traces the rise and fall of Australian exploitation cinema (or Ozploitation), beginning in the early ‘70s, when censorship laws were relaxed and the Australian film industry received a financial shot in the arm. The film is divided into three parts: Ockers, Knockers, Pubes And Tubes, which deals with Australian sex comedies (including The Adventures of Barry McKenzie); Comatose Killers and Outback Chillers, which looks at trashy horror movies containing everything from killer crocodiles to werewolves and ice cream van murderers; and High Octane Disasters and Kung Fu Masters, which examines several examples of where it all began to go horribly wrong.
The Good
Ozploitation fanatic Hartley has assembled some terrific clips that are guaranteed to send you out of the cinema and straight onto the internet to see how many of them are available on DVD – in fact, you may want to bring a notepad so you can write down some of the titles, as they come thick and fast. Hartley has also rounded up an impressive number of talking heads, including one Quentin Tarantino, who, unsurprisingly, turns out to be a huge Ozploitation fan and more knowledgeable on the subject than several of the featured Australians.
The film is often extremely funny, whether it's Australian critics offering their opinions on some of the films on offer, the filmmakers dishing the dirt with colourful behind-the-scenes stories or Barry Humphries gleefully sharing his recipe for perfect onscreen vomit (a mix of corn soup, pea soup, fruit salad, potato salad and a couple of shreds of tomato, since you asked).
The Bad
The only problem with the film is that Hartley refuses to slow down and ends up allowing each talking head only one or two sentences before cutting to the next one, which is often frustrating.
Worth seeing?
Not Quite Hollywood is a hugely enjoyable, frequently hilarious documentary that's a must-see for genre fans. Highly recommended.