MALAYSIANS are not internationally famous for their stand-up comedians. As we waited it became clear that 99% of the audience (who were mainly Malaysian) were getting seriously excited about seeing their local legends performing in Australia.
Righteously funny from the get-go, Wilmot strolls down the aisle to the stage, three beers in hand. He prefaces the evening by letting us know this isn’t a play, we will not learn anything, we will merely witness the breaking down of a middle-aged man.
An amusing satirical take on the health, beauty and “wellness” industries, this is not a stand up act, it is an entire performance! Complete with a plethora of interactive characters as well as powerpoint presentations and visual aids (such as rocks that are hand sourced by underweight Javanese orphans, available to purchase – of course!).
Our compare was the incomparable Adam Richards, who got more and more outlandish as the night progressed, perhaps due to his self proclaimed love of alcohol and the inability to say no to people, once even coming on stage shirtless to announce the next act!
Much like the other films we’ve seen at this year’s AF French Film Festival, this film has no qualms with it’s slow pace and uncertain message. For most of the film, you’re left wondering whether there is actually a point to the loose story or whether it’s just a collection of well scripted scenes that don’t necessarily lend to each other. Fortunately, the script does tie up everything towards the end (don’t worry, we won’t tell you what happens).
Blocked investigative crime writer, David Rousseau (Jean-Paul Rouve), visits small town Mouthe and finds inspiration in local star Candice Lecoeur’s (Sophie Quinton) apparent suicide. Rousseau suspects foul play and sets out on an investigation along with an unlikely ally in local gay cop Bruno Leloup (Guillaume Gouix).
EVERY once in a while you come across a movie that will actually challenge your knowledge about a common issue. In the case of Ismaël Ferroukhi’s Free Men, the subject matter is one that had been portrayed in countless screen renditions – the Holocaust. Most of us think that we know a lot about the tragic historic event, but did you know that there very many Muslims in North Africa who helped save hundreds of thousand of Jews from extermination by the Nazi’s?
I wasn’t sure what to expect from East End Cabaret – was it meant to be set in East Germany, some kind of black comedy play within a play that would end up annoying me and making me feel dumb?
Benoît Poelvoorde gives us the hilarious Ruben Vandavoorde, a Belgium customs officer who’s disdain for the French is probably only matched by his hatred of drug smugglers. As comic-fate would have it, the newly formed Eurozone needs a unified customs team and Vandavoorde has to team up with Mathais Ducatel (played by Dany Boon himself), who, to add to the hilarity, also happens to be his brother-in-law.
This movie is essentially a rom-com. Fans of the genre will definitely find it a really enjoyable flick. But I feel like even critics of the genre will find that the movie deserves more merit than it’s IMDb rating.
While to some in the audience it may seem that the show itself is wanky, those audience members are clearly missing the point and should go watch something simpler, like standup comedy. Fät Wânk, with all its umlauts and accents, is primarily a show about how much superfluos rubbish passes for art these days.
Perhaps it was early-in-the-season jitters, but Anne’s timing was slightly off at times during this, her
second 2012 Adelaide Fringe performance.
SORT of like a Chaplian-esque silent movie on stage, Kaput is a rollicking hour of slapstick brilliance
complete with ladders, buckets and plank gags.
Picture this: you’re at the local on a Sunday night and the old guy who’s been propped up against the bar since Thursday is regaling you with tall tales of love, boyhood, and his travels to “all five corners of the world”.
Ross Noble has been lauded as one of the best current stand-up comedians – and this is no overstatement.
What the masses said