By Geno McGahee
In 1986, CROCODILE DUNDEE introduced the world to Paul Hogan. On an 8 million dollar budget, it would bring home over 300 million and Hogan was an overnight star. He would follow with two sequels, including the successful entry and the disappointing third film. Lionsgate releases the latest in the series “THE VERY EXCELLENT MR. DUNDEE,” which isn’t necessarily an official sequel, but is connected.
Paul Hogan plays himself and is still recognized as Crocodile Dundee by society, if he’s recognized at all. His agent, Doris (Trudy Ager), is trying her best to rebuild his career and also keep him out of trouble, which seems to be what he’s best at.
He is approached by the Hollywood producers about making another CROCODILE DUNDEE film where Will Smith will play his son. When he objects because having a black son didn’t make sense for the film, he is labeled a racist. When he tries to make things better, he makes them worse. One of the funniest moments of the film is when he teams up with Olivia Newton John and tries to fill the shoes to John Travolta as he sings “You’re the One that I Want.” I was laughing out loud.
The film is co-written by Dean Murphy who co-wrote another Hogan film “STRANGE BEDFELLOWS”, which is one of my favorite comedies. You can see the similar style to this film and the humor works here mostly. The film will be totally different than you expect it to be, probably, but it really works.
The film also has a notable cast including Chevy Chase, John Cleese, Luke Hemsworth and Wayne Knight. THE VERY EXCELLENT MR. DUNDEE is a really good comedy with laugh out loud moments. I highly recommend it.
