Movie Reviews

Dags

23 Oct 1998

Humour is a very personal thing, as I was reminded when I enjoyed such despised comedies as Mr Magoo and A Little Bit of Soul. Bad jokes? Maybe, but even Chaplin and the Marx Brothers had their critics.

Dags, the latest feature from independent producer-writer-director Murray Fahey, received so little support in its development that Fahey financed it himself with a credit card. It looks and feels cheap, but once you get used with that, it is really rather funny. At least, I thought so.

In fact, the cheapness works in its favour. Fahey depicts an utterly banal, suburban culture, full of tacky people living pointless lives. A more expensive film, with a well-known cast, just wouldn't have done it.

Here is dag culture at its most blatant. The dags in this film are an ensemble of twentysomething friends: far less wholesome relatives of The Castle's slow-witted Kerrigan family. Fortunately, Fahey also gives us a central heroine who is both believable and appealing. Cheryl, played by Tanya Bullmer (perhaps the most lovable regular of Good News Week), is unhappy with her life, her dope-smoking boyfriend and her bitchy friends. Everything changes, however, when she is kidnapped by an armed robber.

It seems fitting that the plot, for all its strange twists, goes nowhere in particular. Along the way, there are a few funny moments. Not all are in good taste, of course, but only one scene (concerning infidelity) is truly disgusting. Another, featuring an argument that erupts into a barrage of swearing, is probably the only time that I have ever laughed at bad language in a film. The crazy thing is, it was probably no more ridiculous than a normal conversation in Sydney's western suburbs.

The film has some amusing performances by a cast of stand-up comics, mostly in their film debuts, including MIX FM announcers Penny Cooper and David Callan. Fahey himself, one of the few experienced actors, steals most of his scenes.

Dags is not to everyone's tastes, but then neither is anything else. Considering the recent success of There's Something about Mary, it seems unlikely that Australians could not support such a gratuitous, grotesque and at times hilarious film.