If there was ever a movie that best summarizes what Australia is all about, this is it. Even those who live there seem to agree since Crocodile Dundee is the most profitable movie Australia has ever made, as well as being the most well known movie there. In any case, the movie is not really what I expected. With such a vague title, I didn't really know what to expect, but only around half the movie is set in australia. As you might be able to figure out, the movie is about Michael "Crocodile" Dundee, a bushman from australia who is a master at living in any type of brutal environment his country could throw at him, from the scorching heat of the outback to the thick rainforests of the coasts. The movie is not initially about him though. It starts off in New York where a reporter called Sue (Linda Kozlowski) is working for her father's newspaper company. She is sent to the northern reaches of australia to meet Dundee (Paul Hogan), who has amassed something of a Chuck Norris reputation. He was attacked by a crocodile once and has lived to tell about it, kills snakes with his bare hands, and carries a bowie knife about as big as his forearms. Upon seeing and spending time with him for the first time, Sue is pretty disappointed, but after an encounter with some poachers who kill innocent kangaroos for fun (in which Dundee shoots back at the men), she gains respect for him. Shortly after, Sue tries to venture into the outback by herself, which turns out to be a terrible mistake. She is ambushed by a crocodile resting in a shallow swamp and has to be rescued by Dundee, who kills it with his knife. Sue now feels she owes him something special for saving her, and invites him to america. Upon arriving, Dundee finds the customs of this new land take some getting used to. He's unable to understand american slang and customs, but has been made into an overnight celebrity because of his tough guy status. After some thugs attempt to rob him and Sue, they take one look at his enormous knife and flee. Meanwhile, a guy named Richard asks Sue to marry him during a party at her father's house. Sitting at the dinner table with many others is Dundee, and although he claps when Richard announces his proposal, he is clearly hurt by this. He decides to leave Sue and walk aimlessly around the US, but Sue changes her mind about Rich and follows Dundee to a subway platform. It is swarming with people (even back then) and so numerous people have to repeat Sue's message of "I love you" to Dundee before he leaves. Upon hearing that she loves him instead, they make their way through the crowd toward each other, as everyone around them cheers. As stated previously, this movie, while pretty weak in the storyline department, has become something of an australian icon. It was a good thing they got an actual resident of the country to play one, since it makes the movie feel more authentic. Hogan accurately depicts what many people would think of as the typical australian; an extremely masculine outdoorsman who has been hardened by years of enduring one of the most inhospitable places on earth. Anyone who's been to that country knows how full of venomous and deadly animals it is. He has been made remarkably strong because of his environment, just like the creatures there who have to fight to survive. It's also funny how later in the movie (when he gets to New York), he turns on a television to see I Love Lucy playing. Probably one of the last things I expected in a film like this. What the movie does especially well is showcase how different the cultures of america and australia are, despite both being anglo. Australians can barely understand the way americans speak to each other, and this also works the other way around. Even though Dundee does get into various fights during his time in america, he seems to relish in the thrill of violence. This doesn't make him a psychopath in the eyes of Sue, though. From her point of view, it takes a real lunatic to attack a snake with your bare fists, and an even bigger lunatic to eat one. Dundee does both. The negative aspects of this movie primarily stem from it's lack of a compelling story. While Paul Hogan and his antics are enjoyable to watch, the film is very barebones for the most part. You can summarize the whole thing by saying an australian is invited to america by a reporter. Towards the end, when Sue learns Dundee has left her because he feels hurt by her engagement to Richard, she breaks off her engagement to him for seemingly no reason. When I was watching this, I felt like the writers wrote themselves into a corner since they give no explanation as to why she no longer likes Rich. He works at the same newspaper company as her, so she knows him more intimately. It just doesn't make much sense to me and they tried to close the story as fast as possible. Despite its rather weak storytelling, Crocodile Dundee manages to be a both enjoyable and convincing portrayal of a man who is able to survive basically anywhere on earth.
Review of Crocodile Dundee
