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Sunday 25 November 2012

Review - Housos Vs Authority (2012)


Seeing a television show transcend to the big screen can be a scary thing, it can be so horrifyingly bad that it can cause a negative reaction to the show and do more damage than good. Strangers With Candy suffered from an amazing television series but the movie was such a horrific departure it damaged the series.

Housos Vs Authority is not in this category, it is a fantastic adaption of the television series it enhances the larger than life characters and brings them to a whole new audience on the big screen, and if you haven't seen the show, you don't have to, to get something from this.

The movie follows Sunnyvale, the local housing commission suburb that is scattered with bogans, sheilas and bikies. Littered with extremely foul language, high levels of drug references and use and enough thong slaps to make the local cops quiver.


Paul Fenech plays Frankie, the leader of the Housos, the Jack Daniel's drinking, footy short wearing loud-mouth with his friends Dazza (Jason 'Jabba' Davis) who claims a disability and his girlfriend Shazza (Elle Dawe). When Shazza discovers that her real mum is sick and wants to see her on her death-bed in Alice Springs, she borrows a van from local bikie Angry Anderson (playing himself) with the gang to see her before her death. Her last wishes are that Shazza spread her ashes on Ayers Rock, wanting to grant her mother's dying wish they travel to Uluru where they discover they have to pay $25 per person to get into the park. Being broke and Housos, they find another way into the park where they conduct an orgy, get high with Aboriginies, have a shopping trolley barbecue and graffiti the rock with "Sunnyvale Rules."

Being caught by local police on their way out of the park, they are taken to jail and then a supreme court ruling attempts to lock them up and make a national example of these Houso's complaining about paying for entry to a national park. It is here that Fenech does an amazing job of highlighting political and social issues in Australia. A Current Affair, Julia Gillard and the government get a real good racking here and this is where all of the story comes together and make a lot of sense.


Acting wise all of the performances are solid, and build on that of the television show. The scary thing is when you realise at some stage of your life you have met one or possibly all of these characters who seem larger than life but relateable.

While this may not win any artistic awards or be popular with indie viewers, it is definitely worth a look. This is one of the best Aussie films of 2012 and worth your cinema dollars. Head out now to your local cinema, this film is playing nationally across Australia.

Review by Alaisdair Dewar





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