While The Wayan Brothers soil the cinema screens of the nation with their disgraceful suburban themed Little Man, here in Australia we have the Do Brothers, and their challenging, entertaining new suburban comedy drama FOOTY LEGENDS. These boys are actually 20-something Vietnamese refugee siblings who, with a micro budget and a sharp eye for wanting to create intelligent heartfelt films that resonate and inform are succeeding in Australian cinemas entertaining and delighting Australian audiences..... Their last film was the astonishing FINISHED PEOPLE a 'reality feature' that played like a documentary, about discarded young people living in a depressed suburb in outer western Sydney who felt that a life of success wealth and happiness was not for them, eking out a street existence on social security. Usually films like this are grinding misery but as a debut feature from the 'can Dos' it was a remarkable and applauded experience. FOOTY LEGENDS is about some happier people across the road who want to create a football team and win a prize. No new story platform here, but remember we are in Bowery Boys or FULL MONTY territory on the sports field in Australia instead. Ken Loach makes dramas about these type of people (KES perhaps) but in Oz we make it a heartwarming comedy. In FOOTY LEGENDS, with an oddball group of tubby clumsy boofy and lame pals and with the encouragement of a car as a prize, they get their wobbly act together to focus on winning something for the first time in any of their lives. It is a funny suburban film, modest and almost Ealing in it's lack of pretensions. It isn't crude and offensive (like Little Man) and does not go for violence or humiliation as comedy (like a dumb Sandler farce such as The Waterboy) These guys have had that done to them off-screen and so have progressed to making something of their aimless suburban lives. The Do Boys are on the up and up in Oz and you are easily able to enjoy this new sports film with it's heart and funnybone being shoved and jostled for 90 minutes. Genuine sports stars appear and the drama is anchored by familiar screen actors Peter Phelps and Claudia Carvan. FOOTY LEGENDS is a good new Australian movie that actually hopes and provides you with a good time. After the moronics of the American films mentioned above, and the cretinous skid-marks of some urban Australian films so far this century (You And Your Stupid Mate, Liquid Bridge, The Wannabees and the vile Wolf Creek) it is the ethnic and indigenous members of our community who are making the progress: Ten Canoes and now FOOTY LEGENDS. Go Do Boys!
Review of Footy Legends
