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Strange Bedfellows

Strange Bedfellows (2004)

April. 22,2004
|
6.2
|
R
| Comedy

Two 'very straight' old timers have to learn how to pass as a loving gay couple after falsely claiming same-sex status to take advantage of newly legislated tax laws.

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Reviews

Console
2004/04/22

best movie i've ever seen.

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TrueHello
2004/04/23

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

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Invaderbank
2004/04/24

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

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Bob
2004/04/25

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

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tastyhotdogs
2004/04/26

Simply one of the worst Aussie movies ever, and that's saying something.Paul Hogan and Michael Caton star as a couple of mens men who stumble across a wacky idea. Vince (Hogan) is facing some business tax problems. One day he discovers there are some great tax cuts for gay couples. Desperate, he asks his buddy Ralph (Caton) to pretend they are living together and are gay so they can get the required tax relief. Sounds funny right? Wrong. You'd think these two Aussie comedy legends could pull this off with ease, but working with a pathetic script some homophobe probably wrote in 1962 made it tough. There were plenty of unbelievable scenarios thrown in eg Ralph's visiting daughter, a community dance, all of which fell flat on their face. I know of a few older people who appreciated it, but anyone under 39 who sees this will probably start giving themselves paper cuts just to break the boredom.

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gradyharp
2004/04/27

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS is one of those films that plays like a TV sitcom without the canned laughter - especially now that gay themed shows have made it big on television. This film's main charm is its Aussie flavor and that forgives a lot of the shortcomings of a fluffy idea of a script.Essentially, two men (Paul Hogan and Michael Caton) decide to avoid back taxes and take advantage of a new law that allows same sex partners to gain the rights of married couples by passing as a gay married couple. How they go about convincing each other that they can pass as gay in order to convince the authorities and then how they can learn to act gay and live a gay life to back up their story is the action of the movie. Many stereotypes are included but somehow the Aussies know how to pull this off with minimal offense.The overall theme, after the story is all said and done, is one of tolerance and compassion for people who are in different societal climes. Hogan and Caton pull this off well, showing how really everyone they meet in their charade is just a 'regular guy' - and for that reason the film becomes more tolerable than the usual farces that deal with 'passing'. Not a great movie, but one with a wink! Grady Harp

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dcs84
2004/04/28

I couldn't believe what I was reading about this film and decided that I would have to set the record straight somewhat, or at the very least add a little bit of balance to the comments index. "Strange Bedfellows" is symptomatic of what is currently ailing the Australian film industry at the moment. It is a small film (has the feel of a film school assignment), with underdone production values, and a severely undercooked script. It's a raw, still bloody and pulpy, carrion of a script. The writer, excuse me, writers of this 'piece' would have done well to hire a professional to completely overhaul their basic concept paying special attention to the dialogue, as well as ramping up the joke to minute ratio (which was dire).The film is a throwback to the 1950's, I have no problem with the use of stereotypes, but those pressed into service for this film were retired elsewhere on this planet approximately 40 years ago. I suppose the film was about two elderly gents who were masquerading as homosexual lovers so their innocence could, potentially have been genuine. But the stereotypes 'dug up' for this film lacked any form of comedic, or creative interest. The lack of a creditable script and the uninspired use of stereotypes aside, this film could have been worthwhile had it been ripsnortingly funny, but alas, it was found lacking it that department also.I have heard it before about a lot of Australian film and television product relating to the comedy genre. It is said by those in the industry that almost all Australian film and television comedies have one thing in common, "they're just not funny". "Strange Bedfellows" falls into that category, it just isn't funny.....enough. There are, admittedly a couple of funny happenings (the opening sequence when the mailman spins around and throws the mail sack at a newsagents was mildly amusing). It was not a complete train wreck of an exercise (although it was pretty close), unlike a couple of other people, I actually thought Paul Hogan was one of the few protagonists who looked comfortable in his role. Glynn Nicholas, is also quite good as the towns hairdresser, in fact, as much as he could, I thought he stole the film.As a long suffering Australian, please, in 2005 could we perhaps, instead of making five half-baked, insipid, quirky sleepers, could we pool the funds and make one decent tear-you-from-your-seat blockbuster.

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hallmitchell
2004/04/29

This is the funniest movie I've seen come out of Australia. It has a laid back sense of humour that you don't see too often. It's got a great location. Funny jokes without being in bad taste. The two leads Paul Hogan and Michael Caton are a great pairing. The support cast does the job well.The movies has great scenery and the movie flows well, not one scene is wasted. The humour flows throughout and it's not a one joke movie. Accessable to all ages. This is the best work Paul Hogan has done since Crocodile Dundee and is ironic that this famous Australian seems to do his best work when he makes Australian films in Australia.

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