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The newspaper writer Sue Charlton flies
To try an Australian report on for size:
The tale of a man who had finished a croc
After losing his leg, so that he didn’t walk
But crawled on for miles, at last reaching aid
Before going back to the bush, unafraid.
 
She finds, in a rough Outback hole-in-the-wall,
The great Mick Dundee, who is still standing tall.
Sue’s meeting this bloke makes her more undeterred
In wanting to see where this story occurred.
Alone in the Outback, Sue watches Dundee,
Admiring his wilderness powers with glee.
 
However, when Sue tries to show that she’s tough,
A croc proves that pride and resolve aren’t enough.
Though Mick’s jaunty lack of opinions may chafe,
Sue loves that this man always makes her feel safe.
At last, Sue’s return she can no more defer,
So she offers that Mick come to New York with her.
 
The Big Apple’s disregard stands in contrast
To Mick’s friendly manner, indifferent to caste.
Sue’s rich fiancé condescends to the Aussie,
Who hits him, as well as an angry pimp’s posse.
Once Dundee’s endeared himself ‘most everywhere,
Sue gets a proposal, which brings Mick despair.
 
He plans to leave town to traverse the U.S.
And leaves for the subway, to flee his distress.
When Sue finds him gone, she runs to proclaim
She really loves Mick, not her snooty old flame.
When they can’t reach each other in such a packed place,
Mick walks on the crowd into Sue’s warm embrace.
______________________
 

“Crocodile” Dundee is one of those 1980s films that created an iconic role that came to define the actor that filled it. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the Terminator, Harrison Ford is Indiana Jones, and Paul Hogan most definitely is Mick Dundee. I bet that this film, more than any other, has shaped Americans’ views about Australia and the Outback, and Hogan himself wanted to make the film to give Australia an original folk hero of sorts, almost like Davy Crockett or Paul Bunyan.

The film has a loose plot and casual pacing to mirror Dundee’s laid-back way of life. Unlike the two lesser sequels, there is no villain per se, considering Sue’s fiancé and the vengeful pimp are only in a few scenes. The growing romance between Dundee and Sue is the main driving force of the movie, and their admission of love is the only real climax. The majority of the film is dedicated to funny character moments, first showing Dundee in his element in the wild and then revealing his naiveté about the big bad city. Despite all the drugs, prostitutes, and hostility he encounters in New York, he remains chivalrous, capable, and completely likable, and those he comes in contact with cannot help but be fond of him. Hogan’s unrestrained likability is what made “Crocodile” Dundee the huge success it was and the best role of Hogan’s career.

There is, of course, some profanity and even a surprising F-bomb, along with a few crudities, but the film remains a classic of the ‘80s and a lighthearted comedy that almost everyone should enjoy.

Best line: (Dundee, intimidating a punk and his tiny dagger) “That’s not a knife. THAT’S a knife.”

 
Artistry: 6
Characters/Actors: 7
Entertainment: 8
Visual Effects: N/A
Originality: 7
Watchability: 8
Other (language): -4
 
TOTAL: 32 out of 60
 

Next: #285: Stuart Little 2

© 2014 S. G. Liput