User reviews

Australia is lucky enough to call many great comic actors and comedians their own - Gina Riley, Jane Turner, Glenn Robbins, Eric Bana - and has produced such fine comedies like "Kath & Kim", "Big Girl's Blouse", "Fast Forward" and "Full Frontal". Joining the list of greats is Chris Lilley and his terrific 6-part mockumentary "We Can Be Heroes: Finding the Australian of the Year".

In the tradition of "Best in Show" and "Drop Dead Gorgeous", "We Can Be Heroes" follows the lives of several contestants, in this case, for the Australian of the Year award. Lilley plays all of the 5 nominees himself, and does a great job of showcasing his acting abilities, as well as brining life to some memorable characters, most of all school girl Ja'mie who really deserves a show of her own. Each of the nominees that Lilley plays are very different from one another. The outgoing Ricky, the stuck-up Ja'mie, the modest Pat, the arrogant Phil and the hilarious Daniel.

Each of the 5 nominees have all been nominated for various reasons, some more convincing than others, and some totally absurd. But that just adds to the humour of the show. The characters are not all likable, but it's better that way. Lilley is backed-up by a terrific group of supporting cast who play the friends and family of the nominees, and each of them do a great job given the short periods of time they are on screen for. The narration from Jennifer Byrne gives the show an authentic feel. A great show, would be awesome to see a second season with some outrageous new characters, or Ja'mie in her own show!

We don't get to see to many Aussie comedy shows in the U.K. In fact we don't get to see much Aussie TV apart from those bloody awful soaps. So it's refreshing to see something as original and funny We Can Be Heroes. A mockumentry style comedy following several people across Australia all played by Chris Lilley who also writes the show. Lilley has taken bits out of UK shows like the Office and Little Britain with the style of fly on the wall camera work and characterisation. Some characters work better than others the only weak ones for me were the two twins where one is deaf and most of the gags seemed to be based around his brother swearing and abusing him because he can't hear and the brothers only response is to give him the finger. That apart I enjoyed the series and I hope we get to see more of Chris Lilley in the UK.

You know, this actor is frighteningly talented. 'We Can Be Hero's' has the whole package- hysterically funny,horrifically embarrassing ( in the good way, mind you) and quite heartbreaking. Apart from Chris Lilley's stunning performance, I have huge admiration for his co- actors, all of whom are unbelievably true to character. It is so beautifully made. I truly feel that Chris Lilley is a talent, that in years to come, will astonish us all with even greater work. Anyone with this much intelligence and talent is destined for great things. You will find someone you know somewhere in his characters, what ever country you live in. Just watch this series, and be amazed.

We Can Be Heroes is the greatest Australian comedy to be released in the past decade. Many would give Kath and Kim that credit but Chris Lilley truly goes above and beyond in this masterpiece. Every character he plays has the perfect blend of subtlety and caricature. His characterization stays sharp all throughout the series, which is full of hilarious situations and even some sad ones. Every Australian who watches this show will feel as though they have met the characters personally, so astute is Chriss Lilley with his observations and performances. The production values are high throughout with the show looking just like an ABC local interest documentary series. I truly hope that Chris Lilley will go from this project on to many more and keep showing all Australians how funny we really are.

W wicked comedy!

E excellent!

C cracked me up!

A masterpiece!

N not like all the other crap on telly!

B bloody good!

E even better than Kath & Kim!

H hilarious!

E excruciating!

R really, really funny!

O oughta win lots of awards!

E ended too soon!

S sublime!

Run, don't walk to the video store and get your hands on this remarkable comedy! Chris Lilley's "mockumentary" about five people who have been nominated for the award of Australian of the Year, is one of the best comedy shows ever written... and not just in Australia either. Lilley creates characters and situations that are extreme and then underplays them wonderfully. The five nominees are fictional and larger than life... but only just. We all know people like them and some of their actions hit very close to home. We Can Be Heroes is side-splittingly funny but has some wonderful moments of pathos....... such as Pat's fight with cancer, Nathan's poem to his brother and Ricky's relationship with his dad. Don't miss this one!

We can be Heroes:Finding the Australian of the year is without a doubt the funniest,reasonably realistic and best show on Australian Television.

Ja'mie King was so hilarious and even my favourite character because some of her opinions about everything makes you think about what it can really be inside the surface.The skateboarder blond twins were funny,the Chinese man(played by Chris Lilley)wasn't an exaggerated stereotype,he was accurately natural and also pretty hilarious,and the guide to Ja'mie's bedroom,school,house and lifestyle was amusing to watch.And the part where Ja'mie has a meltdown when she hears the African people she sponsored in Africa were 90% killed by a flood was funny as hell and even true to how a teenage girl would act if she was upset.

We can be heroes will always be my favourite show to enjoy when there's nothing else to find on TV anymore,except for Summer Heights High. Really hilarious show.

We can be heroes is one of the funniest shows of all time. the show is about six people(played by Chris Lilley)who have been nominated for Australian of the year award. One of the characters are two outback teenages, Daniel and Nathan Sims who are my favorite but they are all still very funny. i also thought it was really cool that Chris Lilley could played all the characters so well. I rated it ten because i think it's so well done and incredibly funny i would give it one hundred. Chris Lilley comes up with great ideas like a 47 year old woman rolling from Perth to Uluru and a Chinese 23 year man who has a PHD in physics and loves acting and spells fun with a ph(phun),a teenage boy going to give his deaf brother one of his ear drums so he can hear again,a teenage girl who has 87 sponsor kids and the most popular girl in school and a man who saved nine kids fro a flying jumping castle.

We Can Be Heroes is the 2005 comedy hit that goes for 6 episodes which stars Chris Lilley as six characters. The show revolves around 6 people who are Ricky Wong who is a striving Chinese actor, Ja'mie a private school stuck up bitch, Pat Mullins a women who got famous for getting over her problem with having a club foot to becoming a champion roller, Daniel who is a country boy about to give his earlobe to his brother so he can hear again, his brother who does not say much but is hilarious all the same and last up is Phil Olivetti an Australian hero who saved kids life in a flying air castle. The show is definitely a classic and will never ever be beaten. It shows that good comedy is not dead it was just trying to get out of the way of teen movies. Overall this is a must watch for fans of Chris Lilley in Hamish and Andy and The Big Bite. I rate this comedic masterpiece 98%. GO CHRIS LILLEY KEEP IT UP. Also watch Summer Heights High.

This is a great show. I just laugh and laugh each episode i watch.

Then I laugh and laugh when trying to relate to to others who haven't watched it before.

And the thing about it is, you can't helping finding a bit of truth in every character. It's such a good take on Australian society and the kinds of people we choose to honour.

It's fantastic to see that, where everything else being produced in Australia is garbage, there are still occasional gems such as this and Kath and Kim.

I hope this is a sign of even better things to come.

Chris Lilly is a legend

With the local content down to a depressing 20% on our TV screens, finally an Australian comedy has been produced that can enjoy a well deserved cult following, and fill the void of Australian comedy to stand up next to Kath & Kim. We Can Be Heroes is a true blue satirical look at the search for the Australian of the year with six contenders all played by the ever observant Chris Lilley. The detail and subtlety Lilley puts into each character's language and social interactions is truly astounding. Most people would have gone to school with their own Ja'mie or have an Aunty reminiscent of Pat Mullins or experienced the vocal styling's of Daniel with his deaf twin brother Nathan. In the tradition of the mocumentary brought to us by previous comedy's the Office and Kath & Kim, We Can Be Heroes raises the bar of observational humour to another level never seen in this country before. A truly phenomenal achievement in Australian comedy in 2005. God bless the ABC.

What a great show this is, a real surprise, but not to fans of Chris Lilley who have known his comic genius for a while. Five nominees for Australian of the Year, and every one of them undeserving of any such accolade! He makes us cringe at the self-absorbed Phil Olivetti, he makes us laugh at his Chinese PhD-cum-musical performer Ricky Wong, and he makes us ashamed of being an Australian when ignorant Ja'mie King graces the screen. Despite the many positive reviews in most of the newspapers around the country, people are unaware of this show and the fact it's a mockumentary. Some people have complained on radio about each of the nominee's behaviour on the show, thinking it's a genuine documentary, despite the fact Chris Lilley plays all five nominees! I think that's the ultimate testament to his talents as a comic. Well done.