BoyTown

I waited a long time to watch this film. I did sit though it in one go without losing interest, but it wasn't nearly as enjoyable as I had hoped. Here in the UK I've have been hearing Molloy, Robbins & co on streamed radio for years. They are grossly funny, but this film didn't match up to that level. The funniest part was Molloy's real-life banter with his young 'double' in the extras. And what a waste of Tony Martin. On the other hand, the songs were clever and memorable, Sally Phillips is always super, and I was impressed with Mick's penduluming.

I got along to a sneak "mystery" preview screening at Village in Sth Yarra, and almost contemplated leaving when I found out it was a Mick Molloy Australian comedy movie. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised though! If you like The Castle, The Dish or any American MTV rockumentary/music based movies, I'd think you'll enjoy this. Glenn Robbins was great in the lead I thought, in fact all 5 of the boy band were very good. Three bad bits- I thought the closing 3 minutes were among the worst ever seen in Cinema, and really destroyed the enjoyment of the rest of the flick. It was Aussie commercial-TV sketch show bad. (and THAT'S BAD!). The same goes for the ridiculous scene of one of the guys dancing in his underwear... BAD! And one of the songs they sing will probably be offensive to some people.

So, those 3 cringe-worthy moments aside, I think these guys have done a fantastic job.

I left the cinema laughing and enjoyed telling others about the movie, something I haven't done for an Aussie movie in many years (since The Castle, probably!).

When it comes out, check it out and hopefully these flicks will keep improving :)

Back in the late eighties, before New Kids on the Block graced our ears, there was the boy band that started it all; BoyTown. Their stardom didn't last long, but paved way for every other boy band that follow. Since then, each member; Benny G, Tommy Boy, Bobby Mac, Carl and Corey split ways, with many stuck in ruts and jobs they loath. Benny G though has been stuck in the past, constantly thinking of his fame he once had. To relive these days, Benny wants to regroup the band to reclaim their title of the best boy band.

Australia has been expanding it's range of films being produced the past few years. Hard hitting dramas and stepping into the horror/thriller genre, yet a corner stone of the Australian film industry has been the under dog tale; the little guy taking on the big man. The Castle is a great example of this, but this constant retelling grew very thin. While time has past since a good under dog tale, does BoyTown turn the tide; no.

Mick Molloy struck a vein of freshness with Crackerjack; an under dog tale itself, yet mixed great comedy while nicely taking a stab at lawn bowls. Molloy slipped slightly with Bad Eggs, but slips even further here. That freshness he brought too Crackerjack has gone stale. Molloy, and his brother Richard, bring nothing new to the proceedings for a formulaic film; much too how they say boy bands are tired and repetitive.

BoyTown taps into the sexual innuendo created in mock-doc This is Spinal Tap. Dancing around singing about women's "Special time of the month" and "Pussywhipped" lack the laughs it aims. Spinal Tap had a knowing naivety, pelting out "Big Bottom", but McKean and Guest brought an innocence of 'we're just making music'. BoyTown miss the mirth and zeal, with songs that sound so meticulously made, just for a cheap laugh; manufactured to the last note.

The Molloy brothers don't delve deep into to bring some true great satire. The material was all there, boy bands are such easy targets, ripping out song after song of lost love and crooning over some woman, but drop the ball early on. Wayne Hope's play on the 'gay is he straight' member is boring for the get go, he should have injected more play and taken a cue from Bruce James's steward in Snakes on a Plane.

There is heart and a sweetness to BoyTown, but with every sentimental moment wrung to its extreme and nothing new brought, BoyTown will fade away like so many boy bands.

This movie is probably too subtle for its own good. Firstly it satirises boy-band/pop music, which is a fairly easy target, but it also satirises the very genre of 'getting the band back together' type films. Because it plays the cliches it satirises completely straight, at times it appears exactly like the bad movies it parodies. The performances are generally good and, given so earnestly in the face of deliberately cringeworthy dialogue and songs, are a subtle highlight. The predictable and extremely fantastic course the film takes sat somewhere between brilliant satire and mediocre plot development. Still, an enjoyable film with a little more going on than first appears.

Being a fan of Mick Molloy I was looking forward to seeing his new movie. Whilst is was good it is not a side splitting fun-fest as expected. There were no snappy lines or any snappy dialogue. I think Mick may have been to busy sharing the writing around to all characters to worry about giving himself (or others) enough funny material. The songs are mildly amusing in an obvious way not in a subtle way ie "Cellulite lady" or "Dishpan hands". "I cry" is more of the subtle variety I expected where you have to listed to the words to get a laugh. There were too many periods of the movie where there were no laughs at all.

Anyway it's certainly not a dud but like so many movies nowadays could have been a lot better. Do we now have to wait another 4 years for his next effort?