Critical
Review and Bibliography
By Ronan O'Connell
Part 1: Film Information
Running
Time: 92 minutes
Cast:
Mick Molloy:
Jack Simpson
Samuel Johnson: Dave Jackson
Bill Hunter:
Stan Coombs
Monica Maughan: Eileen Musgrove
Frank Wilson: Len Johnson
John Clarke: Bernie Fowler
Judith Lucy:
Nance Brown
Lois Ramsey: Gwen Penny
Cliff Ellen:
Norm Templeton
Esme Melville: Mrs Jenkins
Peter Aanensen: Edgar Sewell
Bob Hornery: Ron Marsh
John Flaus: Cliff Carew
Credits:
PRODUCER: Stephen Luby, Mick Molloy
DIRECTOR: Paul Moloney
SCRIPT: Mick Molloy, Richard Molloy
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Brent Crockett
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Molloy Boy Productions
Reviews:
'Crackerjack', Jonathon Dawson, ABC Radio Hobart, November 7, 2002.
'Crackerjack', Paul Byrnes, Sydney Morning Herald, November 7, 2002.
'A Crackerjack Game', Suzanne Carbone, The Age, November 7, 2002.
'Crackerjack', Graham Reid, New Zealand Herald, March 3, 2002.
'Crackerjack',
David Stratton, Variety, November
18-24, 2002.
'Crackerjack',
Evan Williams, The Australian, November
9, 2002.
'Bias Binding', Shannon Harvey, The Sunday Times, November 3, 2002.
Interviews:
Interviews
with the makers of Crackerjack were
surprisingly hard to come by. Not surprising, however was that they all focused
around co-scriptwriter and co-producer Mick Molloy, who was the 'face of the
film'. With a fair bit of searching, I managed to find a number of interviews
with Mick Molloy about Crackerjack:
Mick
Molloy, Samuel Johnson + Judith Lucy - Interview with
Moviehole.net
Mick
Molloy - Interview
with Steve Jones for dB Magazine
Mick Molloy - Interview with Dominic Corry from nzoom.com
Mick Molloy + Judith Lucy - Interview on MMM Radio Melbourne: Part 1, Part 2, Part3
Mick Molloy - Interview on FoxFM Radio: Part 1, Part 2
Box Office Information and Release Dates:
- Crackerjack
was released on 204 screens nationwide in Australia on November 7, 2002.
- It was the second most successful movie at the
Australian box-office in its first weekend earning $1,365,950.
- In its first week at the Australian box-office it earned $1,996,977, again the second most successful movie.
- It was the most successful Australian film in 2002,
grossing $7.6 million at the Australian box-office to just pip the
highly-acclaimed Rabbit Proof Fence
($7.5 million).
- All up Crackerjack earned in excess of $8 million at the Australian box office.
Its U.S. premiere was on April 5, 2003 at the
Minneapolis International Film Festival.
On-line Presence:
From
searching extensively on the web I found the following sites contained
literature on Crackerjack:
Research Methods:
My
dominant source of information was the internet. I searched a number of movie
sites such as The Internet Movie Database (imdb.com), urbancinefile.com.au and
cinephilia.net.au. All of these sites were quite helpful. I also used the links
provided on the MCC Ozfilm website and on other websites such as The Australian
Film Commission's website (www.afc.gov.au)
and the Australian Film Institute's website (www.afi.org.au).
They provided access to quite a good deal of information about Crackerjack.
I spent
quite a bit of time searching the university's databases for journal and
articles on Crackerjack but could only
find one: David Stratton's review for Variety. The most effective method I found for gaining information
on Crackerjack was through the use of Internet search engines AltaVista and
Google. These not only allowed me to find a great deal of information on Crackerjack but made my search more refined and direct. By combining
terms such as 'Crackerjack', 'Mick Molloy', 'review', 'interview', 'Australian'
and 'movie' in different ways I was able to avoid being confronted with a glut
of largely unrelated information.
Some
information was easy to find while some wasn't. Information on cast, crew,
release dates and general literature on the film was quite easy to locate. But
finding the box-office information and interviews was much tougher. Though it
took a while, all in all I managed to put together quite a bit of pertinent
information relating to Crackerjack.
Part 2: Critical
Review of Film and its Literature
Synopsis:
Crackerjack is the story of Jack Simpson
(Mic Molloy), a young bloke who is a bit of a lost soul. He works in an
inner-Melbourne office and has a scam running, of which he is quite proud. You
see, Jack joined the Cityside lawn-bowling club, opposite his office, several
years ago in order to get the benefit of a free parking spot in the city close
to work. He has since joined up in three different names and hires out the
parking spots allocated to these pseudo-members at a premium price to
colleagues and friends who need parking in the city.
However the scam backfires on
him when the Cityside lawn bowling club encounters financial difficulties which
threaten its survival. The club needs quick money to fight off unscrupulous
local businessman Ernie Fowler (John Clarke), who wants to buy the club and change
it drastically, filling it with poker machines - a prospect that appalls
Cityside's elderly members. The club decides the best way to do this is to
enter a men's fours bowling tournament (which happens to be run by ErnieFowler)
and win the cash prize on offer. However, the club is one player short of a
team and on scanning their membership list stumble upon the unknown Jack
Simpson. They contact Jack, assuming he is an old bloke living in the area only
to discover that he is a young fellow who works across the street and has
little interest in bowling. He is not keen on playing so they threaten to
revoke his membership.
Desperate not to lose his
important scam he gives in to their demands to play. He then also becomes
involved in the obligatory off-field chores and socializing of the club, joined
enthusiastically in this regard by his young room-mate and best friend Dave
Jackson. Jack is surprised to find that he is not bad at bowling at that he
actually enjoys his involvement with the club and its members, particularly
club captain Stan Coombs with whom he forms a strong bond. He becomes
increasingly caught up in the fortunes of the club, finding himself in a battle
against the ruthless businessman Ernie Fowler who is intent on stopping
Cityside winning by rigging the tournament.
Cityside progesses through to the final where their captain Stan Coombs, upon delivering the winning bowl, collapses and is rushed off in an ambulance. Ernie Fowler has the shot disqualified and it is up to Jack to re-take the final shot. His shot is perfect and Cityside wins the tournament, the prize-money and the chance to keep their club as it is.
Personal Commentary:
I found this ending, though somewhat clichŽd, nicely finished off a funny, quite heart-warming movie. I thought Crackerjack was a very good effort from the Molloy Brothers with their first feature film. It's an uncomplicated comedy and though some of the humour was slightly obvious or crude, there were enough genuinely funny moments to negate these, particularly the fancy-dress party with Mick Molloy looking incredibly alike Saddam Hussein. Crackerjack's story is quite good - it has vibrant characters and a very original setting. Overall the scripting is of a high quality, with both the comedic talents of the Molloy Brothers and the acerbic wit of script supervisor John Clarke shining through.
The script is brought to life by fine performances from the ensemble cast whose combined acting experience adds up to over 500 years. Australian cinema stalwart Bill Hunter is terrific as Cityside club captain Stan Coombs while the equally experienced Monica Maughan, Lois Ramsay, Frank Wilson and Esme Melville are also brilliant as Cityside members. Australian comedy legend John Clarke is suitably slimy as unscrupulous businessman Frank Fowler and up and coming actor Samuel Johnson plays Molloy's sidekick Dave Jackson very well. Despite lacking acting experience and ability, Mick Molloy and Judith Lucy are both quite good in the film, with their comic timing coming to the fore. Molloy suits the coarse young Jack Simpson character to a tee.
The fish out of water scenario, with Molloy as the uncouth youth amongst straight-laced oldie's, works well providing many funny moments. His chaotic introduction into the demure, somewhat eccentric world of lawn bowls is hilarious. However more than just providing humour, the scenario creates some interesting viewing. I found the way in which the relations between Molloy's character (and his room-mate Dave), and the elderly members develops throughout the film intriguing and at times heart-warming. Despite satirising the vast differences betweens today's youth and the elderly, Crackerjack also illustrates, through Molloy's growing acceptance within the club and the friendship he builds with captain Stan Coombs in particular, how easily these differences can be overcome and the age-gap can be bridged. The film is thus addressing the problematic relationship between the youth and the elderly prominent in modern Australian society.
Crackerjack could also nearly be seen as a sort of coming of age film. Molloy's character Jack enters the film as a brash, crude, disrespectful and immoral young man. Upon his first attempt at bowling, club captain Stan Coombs tells him Òbowling is a great test of characterÓ. Jack then proceeds to put his first bowl into the ditch. However, Stan begins to sense that Jack is better than that indicating to him that he has much more talent (read character) than he is demonstrating. Therefore while Jack is helping Cityside to battle against the looming threat of the invasion of 'pokie' machines into the club, and the evils of big business and gambling this represents, he is also battling with his own character.
As the film progresses he is increasingly influenced by the morals and character of his elderly clubmates with his bowling ability improving concurrently. By the film's end he has changed significantly and although you know he's still slightly brash and crude at heart his disrespectful, immoral nature has vanished. This metamorphosis is symbolised by his perfect bowl which wins the tournament - illustrating that he has past the test of character lawn bowls represents with flying colours. Not only then does this bowl imply that he has saved Cityside bowling club from the evils of big business and gambling but that he has saved himself from the evils that had plagued his character.
Stylistically, Crackerjack is quite understated and I think its naturalist filmmaking style suits the topic (O'Regan,1996, pg. 202). It portrays the lawn bowling world in quite a simple, realistic manner allowing the film's content to take centre stage. Thus, it provides a relatively natural and undistracting background against which the relationships between the younger and older characters can develop and their differences and similarities can be highlighted.
Production:
In 1999, Mick Molloy had essentially run out of options. Radio and stand-up comedy were in his past and The Mick Molloy Show had just been quickly dumped by Channel Nine. Mick, his brother Richard who had been a writer on the show, and the show's producer Stephen Luby, were left to contemplate their next move. The group, who comprise Molloy Boy productions, decided that film was a definite avenue. Their Richmond production office just happened to be very near the Richmond Union Bowling Club and out of curiosity Mick and Richard wandered down to check it out. They found that not only were the mostly much older people very friendly but had some fantastic, funny stories to tell.
This visit sparked a film idea -
a comedy set in the world of lawn-bowling which would have as one of its main
themes the relationship between older and younger people. Mick and Richard
spent months researching the validity of the idea. A large part of the research
involved a two-month trip visiting the bowling clubs of rural Victoria to build
their knowledge on the sport and further hone ideas and character development.
They came across some fascinating
characters who told them a lot about the goings-on of the world of lawn-bowls
and it became apparent that their idea was indeed valid.
Equipped
with mountains of research material and interviews, the Molloy brothers began
constructing Crackerjack's narrative. The thorough process of
writing treatments, altering the treatment and writing the initial draft took
most of 2000. They then drafted in the renowned Australian comedy veteran John
Clarke to help develop the script, before offering him the role of the ruthless
local businessman Ernie Fowler, which he accepted.
Once the script was finished the next step for
Molloy Boy productions was to find locations appropriate for the film. Of
particular importance was the setting for The Cityside Bowling Club which was
the major setting in the script. After searching extensively the Melbourne
Bowling Club was chosen because it best suited the needs of the film and most
importantly, was willing to accommodate the 18 days of filming that was
required. The other locations were pretty straightforward and the Molloy
Brothers had already decided on the location for the grand final setting (the
Corrowa bowling club in North-East Victoria) which they had come across on
their 8-week research trip.
With the script and locations set, Molloy Boy
Productions went about casting the film. They were delighted and amazed at
being able to realise their Òcast wish listÓ as Producer Stephen Luby pointed
out: ÒA lot of these guys were on our wish list originally. We didn't expect to
get them but they all loved the scriptÓ. The ensemble cast they put together
was predominantly made up of older Australian actors and had a combined acting
experience of over 500 years.
Thus, The stage was then set for the business end of the filmmaking process. Crackerjack was shot in 2001 in under a month, with a significant amount of night filming. It was made on a modest budget which was built upon financing from private investors who were impressed by the fact that Mick Molloy had personally invested in the project. Because of the film's budget, but also because of the nature of the story itself, Molloy Boy Productions adopted a no-frills approach to Crackerjack's filming and post-production. However, there were some exceptions. Molloy Boy Productions managed to incorporate a couple of Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) shots into the bowling action as well as inventing a remote controlled bowl to use in some of the trickier shots.
A big budget wasn't really necessary for Crackerjack however, and it had
considerable success following its Nov 2002 Australian release. The film opened
on 204 screens nationwide earning close to $1.4 million at the Australian
box-office in its first weekend, second only to the enormously successful
international hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It went on to become the most
successful Australian film of 2002, grossing $7.6 million at the Australian
box-office to just pip the highly-acclaimed Rabbit Proof Fence ($7.5 million). All up it earned in
excess of $8 million at the Australian box office, but this could have been
even higher had it not been released around the same time as international
blockbusters such as The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers, 007: Die Another
Day, and Harry Potter and The
Chamber of Secrets.
Previous Works:
Co-writer and co-producer of Crackerjack Mick
Molloy, is one of
Australia's best known comedians and comedy writers. He been a familiar
presence in Australian media since 1992 as an integral part of popular comedy
television shows The D-generation and The Late Show, and the more recent, but less
successful, The Mick Molloy Show, which he directed, presented and produced
himself. Between 1995 and 1998, he formed half of Australia's highest rating
radio programme, Martin/Molloy, which was broadcast on 54 stations nationwide.
Crackerjack is Mick Molloy's first feature
film, although he directed and produced the feature length documentary film Tackle
Happy in 2000. Crackerjack displays the same Australian humour
that has characterized Molloy and his previous work. Though it on occasions
displays the crude humour found in TackleHappy, Crackerjack's humour is largely inoffensive and
uncomplicated, much like Molloy's work in The D-Generation and The Late Show.
Crackerjack's director Paul Moloney has been involved with the
Australian film and television industry for 28 years. He began directing in
1981 on television programs such as The Sullivans, Carson's Law, The Henderson
Kids and The Flying Doctors. Paul has worked constantly as a
Director
on Australian television productions including SeaChange, Stingers, Dogwoman,
Good Guys, Bad Guys and five of the Halifax f.p. telemovies, and has received
three AFI nominations for Best Director. The influence of his time as a
television director is evident in Crackerjack's fairly televisual style.
Mick's
brother Richard Molloy, who was a co-writer and associate producer of Crackerjack, has been collaborating with Mick
since 1998 as part of Molloy Boys Productions. He was a writer on The Mick
Molloy Show and
helped to create Tackle Happy. Crackerjack is his first feature film also.
Crackerjack's producer Stephen Luby has been a producer of comedy for
film and television for more than 10 years - firstly with Artist Services and
subsequently as an independent
producer. He has produced television shows such as Big Girls Blouse, Full Frontal, Jimeoin as well as working on the Mick Molloy Show. He been part of Molloy Boy Productions since 1998.
Critical Uptake:
Crackerjack's reception was mixed which
is characteristic of the generally polarized critical responses to Australian
Cinema, (O'Regan, 1996, pg. 181). This was particularly clear
in regards to the Molloy brothers' script.
Many film critics were very disparaging of Crackerjack's script. A good number of these felt that Crackerjack's humour was lacking. The film was often criticized for not having enough funny moments while some didn't find it funny at all indicating that the humour seemed to be at the expense of the characters. A number of critics felt Crackerjack's humour was telegraphed and that the jokes were too hard-working with too many of them not very funny. However, other critics found it very humourous. They praised its witty premise, its simple approach to humour and the fact that it didn't overdo its jokes.
There was also considerable
differentiation of opinions in regards to Crackerjack's storyline. On the one
hand, the script was condemned by some for creating one-dimensional characters
and was variously described as thin, clichŽd, and in need of a sharper pace and
less labouring of obvious points. On the other hand, the praise Molloy gained
from others for unearthing a great, heart-warming story from an unlikely source
outweighed these criticisms. They commended his script for having genuine
affection for its characters and for dealing with the elderly and the sport of
lawn bowls in a respectful rather than smug manner. Some thought it very
successfully tapped into a wellspring of character, charm and history in everyday
lawn bowls clubs, while others enjoyed its twists and turns and felt it kept
them guessing before finally tying up all the loose ends.
However, one thing that was
basically roundly agreed upon about Crackerjack was that the acting was of a
high-quality. Though Mick Molloy's acting ability was often called into
question his comic ability and timing were generally commended along with the
performances of the rest of the ensemble cast. The experienced cast, along with
the younger Samuel Johnson and Judith Lucy, were roundly given strong praise
for their performances in bringing to life their vibrant characters.
Little critical attention was paid
to Crackerjack's film-making style, which was very much naturalist and unimportant to
the film. However, some criticized the televisual style which longtime
television director Paul Maloney brought to the film.
All in all Crackerjack was received quite
well, with even those who were critical of aspects of the movie still finding
it had quite a lot to offer. It was generally perceived as a clever, humourous,
warm and good-natured Australian comedy. Australian audiences certainly seemed
to enjoy it and it finished as the highest grossing Australian film of 2002.
Crackerjack
- The Position and Value of Australian Film:
Crackerjack received quite a
positive critical response and though it is yet to be released on video its
success in the domestic market place has been significant as shown by its
successful performance against both Australian and international films at the
box-office in 2002. One thing this illustrates about the position of Australian
film is the way in which over the late '90s and the early 'noughties' Australian
films have gained increasing credibility with local audiences. A number of
Australian films released during this period such as The Castle, Two Hands, Chopper, Lantana and The Wog Boy have been very
successful in the domestic market competing against their bigger budget
international rivals. With this has come a growing confidence in local
audiences towards Australian cinema. As a result, Australian cinema's domestic
position has improved significantly - it has become less 'marginal'
(O'Regan,1996, pg. 109).
However, Australian cinema is still
antipodal in nature and Crackerjack's critical uptake shows that
Australian cinema's international position is still very marginal
(O'Regan,1996, pg. 106). Despite being successful in Australia Crackerjack has received no
international interest. Its only international screening was at the Minneapolis
International Film Festival in April this year and there are no details of its
critical reception. Though the aforementioned Australian films, apart from The
Wog Boy
were all considerably more successful internationally their screenings and
box-office takings have still been limited. Thus, Crackerjack's critical uptake shows
that Australian cinema's international position is very peripheral with its
product still seen as occupying the place of the 'foreign' film in
international markets (O'Regan,1996, pg. 96). This is the legacy of its position as a
medium-sized English-language cinema (O'Regan,1996, pg. 96).
Australian national cinema is
generally considered to be a mundane cinema as opposed opposition to the more
prestigious and distinctive festival and 'Other' cinemas (O'Regan,1996, pg.
121). O'Regan points out that although Australian national cinema also contains
festival and 'Other' cinemas, these form the independent minor stream of
Australian film while mundane cinema forms the mainstream (O'Regan,1996, pg.
127).
Crackerjack and its critical uptake
illustrates the way in which Australian cinema is perceived as mundane
(O'Regan,1996, pg. 121). The critiques of Crackerjack were characteristic of
writings on mundane cinemas. They were basically all authored in its country of
origin (Australia) and in the country's dominant language (English), and were
destined for an audience predominantly made up of people from that country
(O'Regan,1996, pg. 121).
Many of these writings criticized Crackerjack's naturalism filmmaking
approach for its Tele-visual style, which Adrian Martin argues has become an
aesthetic characteristic of the mundane Australian and British cinemas (O'Regan,1996,
pg. 121). Martin also suggests Òthat the dominance of naturalism in Australian
filmmaking is what marks the yawning stylistic gap between Australian and
Hollywood cinema (O'Regan,1996, pg. 203). He says Òthis owes itself to the
marginalizing of cinephile traditions in Australian filmmaking - whereas such
cinephilia is integral to Hollywood cinemaÓ (O'Regan,1996, pg. 203). The
maligning of this general lack of distinctiveness in Australian filmmaking
evident in critical responses to Crackerjack is very common in writings on
Australian cinema (O'Regan,1996, pg. 203). In this way Crackerjack's critical uptake
illustrates why Australian cinema has been dubbed mundane by many people and
thus often considered to be of less value than Hollywood, the more prestigious
and distinctive national cinemas of Europe, and sometimes even those of South
East Asia, Latin America and Africa (O'Regan,1996, pg. 121).
Australian
National Cinema As a Medium-Sized English Language Cinema:
Australia's national cinema is
described as a medium-sized English-language cinema (O'Regan,1996, pg. 106).
This means that Australian cinema is subordinate to the dominant international
cinema and that in order to compete both at home and abroad it must, as O'Regan
puts it, Òbe similar to, yet different from, the high-budget Hollywood productÓ
(O'Regan,1996, pg. 106).
Crackerjack's performance at the
Australian box-office outlines the extent of Australian cinema's subordination.
Even though Crackerjack was the most successful Australian film of 2002 it
was still not in the top 25 grossing films at the Australian box-office - which
was dominated by Hollywood films. And its $7.5 million takings at the
Australian box-office pales in comparison with the takings of many of these
international films. 5 of them at least doubled Crackerjack's earnings, while another
5 at least tripled it and the international blockbusters Harry Potter 1, Spiderman, Star Wars Episode 2 and The First Lord of
The Rings film grossed between 4 and 6 times as much. This all illustrates the
way in which Australian cinema operates Òin conditions of permanent and unequal
cultural exchange with respect to the international cinemaÓ (O'Regan, 1996, pg.
110).
This antipodal condition is central
to Australian cinemas negotiation of its possibilities and its differentiation
from the product of the international cinema (O'Regan, 1996, pg. 110). This
'Australian difference' has often been often been created through the use of
parody like in Crackerjack which parodies the 'crude' young Australian and the
'unscrupulous' businessman, among other things (O'Regan,1996, pg. 96).Crackerjack's parody, irony and
self-deprecation are part of an antipodal strand of Australian comic cinema
(O'Regan,1996, pg. 234). O'Regan sees this antipodal strand as illustrating one
of the distinctive traits of Australian cinema: Òits unoriginality and cultural
weakness as a medium-sized cinemaÓ (O'Regan,1996, pg. 8).
Because of Australia's small film
exhibition and distribution market, its films have much lower budgets than its
international competitors (O'Regan, 1996, pg. 106). Whereas Hollywood films
have little problem gaining massive private financing Mick Molloy had to partly
finance Crackerjack himself and it was only this personal investment in
the film that actually attracted private investment. Crackerjack was made on a small
budget however, and has a very modest visual style in comparison to its much
slicker and more polished Hollywood produced counterparts. This kind of stylistic
gap is one of the major reasons that Hollywood films are so dominant in the
markets of medium-sized English-language cinemas like Australia's
(O'Regan,1996, pg. 106).
Bibliography:
Byrnes, P. 'Crackerjack', in the Sydney Morning Herald, November, 2002.
Carbone, S. 'A Crackerjack Game', in The Age, November, 2002.
Dawson, J. 'Crackerjack', on ABC Radio Hobart, November, 2002.
Harvey, S. 'Bias Binding', in The Sunday Times, November, 2002.
O'Regan, T. 1996, Australian National Cinema, Routledge, London.
Reid, G. 'Crackerjack', in the New Zealand Herald, March, 2003.
Stratton,
D. 'Crackerjack', in Variety, November,
2002.
Williams
E. 'Crackerjack', in The Australian,
November, 2002.