The Adventures of Barry McKenzie [DVD]

Amazing to think how much current British slang was born in the fertile mind of Barry Humphreys. The DVD is exactly as you might expect: a comic strip that is filmed. Don't expect a plot or any continuity! Apart from "Dame Edna" being almost impossible to understand with her (his) high pitched falsetto, the rest of it is pretty funny. Perhaps the best part of this old stuff, is you were allowed to laugh at gags that were politically incorrect even then. Recommended for anyone who was around in those days and who knows what "Private Eye" is. Anyone else is likely to be baffled.

As an Aussie who came over late 60s, got off the boat and never went home, this very Aussie tongue in cheek look at the UK is so true. I was ripped off by unscrupulous taxi drivers and landlords the minute I arrived too but I was not as naive as Barry was. Australians at that time were quite naive most had not left Australia before and coming over here was a huge culture shock. It is an affectionate look at Brits or poms from an Aussie point of view. The attitude of Barry was sadly not unlike the attitude of a lot of Aussie men at that time. It still makes me laugh 40 years later. The differences between Australian life and UK life was so huge you could only know it if you lived it at that time and the film shows it. Coming to UK for most Aussies used to a life lived on the beach and barbies was a horrid shock. Those hideous London flats as shown in the film with brown lino and two bar electric heaters plus a paraffin heater or meters that were skewed by landlords were what most Aussies experienced. It was like moving from the 20th century to the 18th century overnight. But you had culture, we didn't, well ours took longer to emerge. Like Barry most Aussies went around with their mouths open at historic buildings, the world's best art, sculpture, opera, music. Need I go on? Coming to the UK made us realise what a good life we led and that Australia was truly god's own country but the poms had culture which we craved. We loved the UK life though. I still do. My wages were halved overnight doing exactly the same job in Australia. I was also ripped off by Aussies. I rented my first flat from a sweet talking Aussie crook who assured me I could just take over the flat, I moved in to find he had left without paying the rent. I knew others who attached lines to the electric cables thus avoiding paying any electricity bills while they lived here. But that film in a weird way does show a glimpse of the world we inhabited in the late 60s early 70s. It was historic and will never be repeated. I am glad I experienced it.

This film has some really great scenes, e.g. a fantastic cameo by Spike Milligan as a landlord, Barry's encounter with some sinister early 70s hippies, and a few scenes that brilliantly portray the sleazy nature of England's upper classes and the Young Conservatives.

The songs were pretty dreadful though and the finale was ridiculous. Overall, the good just about outweighs the bad and it's worth getting.