REVERSE RUNNER

2012 / Director. Lachlan Ryan & Jarrod Theodore.

It would be wrong of me to criticise REVERSE RUNNER as an entire movie. I hit the eject button 15 minutes into it and so I will only address those minutes. I was in the mood for something stupid and something light. REVERSE RUNNER caught my attention a while ago but I never gave it much consideration. It's an Aussie comedy, more specifically a Melbourne comedy and what intrigued me was the fact that Stephen Herek had produced it. This is the same guy who made Critters, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, The Mighty Ducks and Mr Holland's Opus amongst others. And so I was wondering what could have drawn him to a low budget Aussie flick like this... and I'm still wondering. The story revolves around the competitive sport of reverse running and follows the life long dream of one guy to become #1. The film (at least the first 15 minutes of) was shot in rural Victoria, just outside of Melbourne and the scenery is gorgeous. Actually the rolling green hills and farm animals are about the only thing I found appealing. The script is crap, the performances are crap and the jokes are... um... crap. In fact the first 15 minutes of REVERSE RUNNER makes Yahoo Serious' second two films look like Academy Award winners. It seems that the writers of this movie think that running backwards is hilarious. So hilarious that they have written an entire movie around that one gag. Sadly (well, not really) I don't find much amusement in running backwards...  I shouldn't say much else because I admit that I haven't seen the bulk of the film. For all I know it could be amazing. For all I know it could be one of the best comedies Australia has ever produced. Hell, this IS the movie that broke box office records at the Colac cinema, after all. All I know is that if a movie compels me to seek laughs from Crocodile Dundee 3 or Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course instead... then 'nuff said. 

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