Private Screening of Australia

So, have y’all ever gone to a first run movie and had the theater to yourselves? We did last night. There wasn’t another soul in the theater! Well, except for the waiter who was bringing us food. We went to the Studio Movie Grill in Lewisville, Texas, and I don’t think they intended for us to get that “private showing.”

The secret to getting to view a movie alone, is to go on a Sunday night when the Dallas Cowboys have a football game. I was fortunate enough to find one of the few men in Texas who doesn’t care for football. In fact, here in Texas if a fella would rather spend time with his wife than watch a football game then his manhood is called into question! I’ll vouch for Mr. Tucker’s “manhood.”

Anyway, we went to see “Australia.” You know the movie I’m talking about — the “epic” by director Baz Luhrmann. It stars Hugh Jackman’s pecs smile, that little boy’s eyes, the amazing aboriginal actor David Gulpilil, the Australian scenery, and what’s her name … the one that used to be married to Tom Cruise.

Ooooh. I know her name is Nicole Kidman, but I wasn’t looking at her (you’ll have to ask Mr. Tucker about her role in the film). The little aboriginal boy who stars in it is Brandon Walters, and he has the most amazing beauty! Between the distractions of his angelic face and the “sexiest man alive” (except for Mr. Tucker…did I say that right, Honey?), I couldn’t concentrate on her.

What did I think about the movie? I enjoyed it immensely. It’s set in Australia at the cusp of WWII. An aristocratic Englishwoman (Kidman) has come to the Land Down Under to save her ranch from the bad guys (Brian Brown and David Wenham). To do that, she has to get a herd of cattle across the perilous wild country to Darwin. That’s where The Drover (Jackman) comes into the picture. She forms an unlikely alliance with this rough-hewn man, and with a motley crew of helpers, they drive these cattle across the plains.

There’s action (stampedes…and later bombs exploding when Darwin is bombed by the Japanese). There is suspense. There’s “wrong-side business” — a euphemism for “steamy sex,” but you knew there was going to be some of that. There’s the classic battle of good versus evil. You get to root for the underdog.

But, underlying that is an interesting twist. There is a lot of focus on the racism in Australia at that time. It seems, the government of Australia had this bad habit (which didn’t end until 1973!) of removing “half-breed” children from their families to “breed the black out of them.” That’s where this little boy fits into the puzzle. Much of the film is involved with “saving” him from the authorities.

The cinematography is breathtaking; the story is gripping. And, it had a line in the movie that I’d take as a “life motto”:

This is a good one. I highly recommend seeing it, especially if you can find a time to go to the theater when the Dallas Cowboys are playing, so you can have the place to yourself!

Other posts you might enjoy:

1. Anti Social Network
2. Thirteen Reasons I’m Thankful — Turkey Is Not One Of Them
3. Take A Chance on Mama Mia!
4. Olympic Rant
5. A Dose of Depp

Tagged as: Artsy Fartsy Stuff, Australia, movie review