Idiot Box

1997
6.4| 1h25m| en
Details

Mick and Kev – bored, unemployed and aimless in the western suburbs of Sydney – decide to rob a bank, more or less for the fun of it.

Director

Producted By

Australian Film Finance Corporation

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Reviews

Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Libramedi Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant
Helloturia I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.
pointyfilippa The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.
Red_Lightning_19 A realistic and stark view of life in the western suburbs of Sydney seen through the eyes of two testosterone filled young men Kev and Mick and the people they come across. From their boredom and lack of direction in life they plan an audacious bank robbery to solve their financial situation.Unfortunately for me the plot didn't flow all that well despite being a good concept, it seems to rely too much on violence and excessive swearing,and in some cases corny dialogue as filler for the most part.By leaving out the drug dealing husband and his heroin addict wife I believe the story might have been a lot better and more consistently. The characters themselves are either poorly fleshed out or stereotyped. One example of this is the 'Anyone comes near me and I'll knock their $%#!ing head off', personality of Kev will grind after a while,as does Mick's attempts to seduce the girl working at the bottle shop(which does work in the end).All in all 'Idiot Box' is a total and utter piece of 90's rubbish and should only be viewed in the genre it is classified as,dark comedy.
lefteyeblinking What is needed for this film is a cultural reference point, that is some sort of experience/insight to suburban Australian life.As anyone who has ever lived or spent time in the western suburbs of Sydney will no doubt know, the options for fun and excitement are, to say the least, somewhat limited. All that exists is a cycle of bad straight tovideo movies, longnecks in the park, and conversations with a selection of dodgy blokes in pubs... Now with that background in place, we come to idiot box. The film, although a comedy, is no satire. It is more an accurate representation of the pointlessness and utter boredom of the Sydney suburbs an draws its humor from such. A feeling of subdued frustration prevails in this film, in fact it is the general theme of it. The characters plan to rob a bank, however woefully conceived, is an extension on this, a philosophy that it does not matter whether they succeed, fail or even try, it matters only that they have done SOMETHING. Idiot Box resonates with Sydneysiders, with Australians, it is an extremely relevant and poignant representation of a culture of boredom and frustration,a culture that lays its blame for this othersat the feet of others. It is not a film that translates well to other cultures.
Nick Dets David Caesar was obviously fueled by the energetic 90's film revolution of films like "Pulp Fiction" and "Trainspotting" to make an Aussie crime story/satire. Unfortunately, "Idiot Box" does not even deserve the mention of those two films in my review. The film's plot is awkward and unfocused. It chronicles the adventures of two hopeless losers Kev and Mick as they party and rebel against society. They seem to be always watching some kind of violent material on TV (hence the title), that leads to their decision to rob a bank. The events following are muddled and contrived. The dialogue is absolutely embarrassing. There is a scene where Mick makes his way home from getting some brew, when he sees an attractive, but lonely liquor shop owner waiting for business. He is somewhat familiar with her, but not enough to start conversation with her by saying "What's poetry?". Why Caesar felt the need to open the scene like that is beyond me. Was he trying to give Mick depth? Does he honestly think someone has ever initiated a relationship by asking "What's poetry?". What's worse than this touch is her reaction. A completely normal, unquestioning response! They call TV the idiot box because some believe watching enough of it leads to feeble-mindedness. Watching an hour and a half of this movie will do the same thing to you, so I would strongly recommend TV instead.
mifunesamurai Life in western Sydney as depicted by director Caesar with two nothing-to-do down and outs who plan to rob a bank. A few interesting touches in the visual department but the script lacked a certain bite to match the brilliant performance of the two leads.