The image that flashes through my mind when I hear the word " Aussies " is of a bunch of butch hard drinkers who enjoy nothing better than waking in a police cell after a drinking session followed by a bar room brawl .... and that`s just the women . According to my mate Dr Sebastian who spends a lot of time down under this is a laughably cliched stereotype and Australians are the nicest friendliest people on Earth . Mind you Seb is a six foot three Scotsman so everyone`s nice to him .
You can see what I`m getting at about stereotypes though ? because strangely BOOTMEN does feature the type of Aussies who take a drink and commit crimes and enjoy the sound of knuckle against cheekbone . Even stranger despite the mythical portrayal of Australians in this movie no one really gives the main protagonist Sean a hard time for wanting to become a dancer even though he works at a steel mill . A worker at an Australian steel mill wants to become a dancer and no one accuses him of being " A bloody wooftah " , now that takes some swallowing and I guess that`s why some people dislike BOOTMEN , it is slightly obvious that the story was written around the dance sequences but it could have been far worse , it could have been a plagaristic cross between THE FULL MONTY and BILLY ELLIOT or a camp Baz Luhrmann type production but at least BOOTMEN has an identity all of its own . BOOTMEN is a simple story of people trying to pursue their dreams , it`s funny , romantic , sometimes gritty and foul mouthed , sometimes violent but always entertaining with an absolutely brilliant dance sequence at the end and is by far the greatest Australian film since ROMPER STOMPER.
If you`ve ever seen the dance troupe Stomp or these idents on BBC1 featuring the dancers and thought " Hmm that lifts the spirits " then you`ll enjoy this movie . I know I certainly did
You can see what I`m getting at about stereotypes though ? because strangely BOOTMEN does feature the type of Aussies who take a drink and commit crimes and enjoy the sound of knuckle against cheekbone . Even stranger despite the mythical portrayal of Australians in this movie no one really gives the main protagonist Sean a hard time for wanting to become a dancer even though he works at a steel mill . A worker at an Australian steel mill wants to become a dancer and no one accuses him of being " A bloody wooftah " , now that takes some swallowing and I guess that`s why some people dislike BOOTMEN , it is slightly obvious that the story was written around the dance sequences but it could have been far worse , it could have been a plagaristic cross between THE FULL MONTY and BILLY ELLIOT or a camp Baz Luhrmann type production but at least BOOTMEN has an identity all of its own . BOOTMEN is a simple story of people trying to pursue their dreams , it`s funny , romantic , sometimes gritty and foul mouthed , sometimes violent but always entertaining with an absolutely brilliant dance sequence at the end and is by far the greatest Australian film since ROMPER STOMPER.
If you`ve ever seen the dance troupe Stomp or these idents on BBC1 featuring the dancers and thought " Hmm that lifts the spirits " then you`ll enjoy this movie . I know I certainly did