Take Away

Alright, so not every Australian movie is all that good. Yes, maybe there have actually been very few with much merit. Take Away however is an absolute bomb, qualifying as one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I wanted to like it. I figured I'd give it a fair go. I've even met one of the screen writers Dave O'neil so I feel kind of a traitor giving this movie a bad review, but... The plot is fairly thin (I won't bother relating it... read the synopsis), which I can forgive: there are plenty of movies that can cover that up with a few decent jokes. Unfortunately, Take Away's jokes cover its plot up like a $2 prostitute's skirt. Probably the only laughs that came from the 6 other people in the cinema was at the poor acting and dialogue. Take Away goes down like a week old Dim sim ... You might understand that joke if you see the film but the joke's not worth it.

This film was rubbished by the critics, but, though it's not great, it's not as bad as they make out. The humour is making fun of Aussie stereotypes, in a similar manner to The Castle though in a less sophisticated way.

With Vince Colosimo as Tony, the image-conscious, cleanliness-freak, ethnic food-snob fish-and-chip guy, and Stephen Curry as Trev, the sloppy, old-school Anglo burger bloke, the story motors along rapidly and believably (apart from a silly trip to head office) to a satisfactory conclusion.

If you're not expecting too much, there are a few laughs to be had here. Plus a chance to see Rose Byrne's cheery face as Tony's cousin.

If you ever want to see an example of a film that shoots itself in the foot as it comes to its conclusion, this is it. The set-up is quite funny, but the last 25 minutes (and the guys ultimate solution to fixing their dilemma) is so uninspired and idiotic that you'll be shaking your head is disbelief. The opening is terrific, Vince Colosimo and Stephen Curry are both good sports, and they share a great rapport. Rose Byrne is charismatic and gorgeous as ever, but she's given such a nothing role and all but disappears in the second half. There's a clever opening scenes about the origins of take away shops and a few good gags here and there (Curry's expressions are always good for a laugh), but again, the sheer idiocy of the ending ruins all that comes before it. Not helping matters is the similarities in story to The Castle, and a few gags that don't quite work. Co-writer (and very funny stand-up comedian) Dave O'Neill deserves some credit for coming up with some great gags, but there's not much here to sink your teeth into.

I hadn't planned on seeing this movie, however I wasn't disappointed when a friend dragged me along. Although there are no real surprises here, the guys do reasonably well with their obviously modest budget.

If you've seen the trailer you probably know what to expect from this type of movie and there's a pretty constant stream of jokes here, with a couple of classic moments, with the highpoint probably being an excellent flashback to what the guys were like in the 1980's. Also, I've read elsewhere that the ending was a disappointment, but I found it refreshingly different from what I had expected from this genre.

Overall, this movie wont change your life, but it's got enough laughs there to keep you entertained throughout.

I expected a lot walking into 'take away'. With it's 'Castle-like' plot-line and starring two great comedic actors (Vince Colosimo and Steven Curry), this film barely broke mediocre at the best of times.

However it got worse, as i was watching the film i was praying for a decent ending.. My prayers were not answered however, i left the cinema hoping they'd seen the movie and felt guilty enough to refund the price of admission.

* out of *****