Down Under (2016)
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Critic Reviews for Down Under
All Critics (18) | Fresh (11) | Rotten (7)
Writer/director Abe Forsythe does a fine job balancing his cast of dim-witted racist caricatures with moments of poignancy and some very well-judged laughs.
If this film is anything to go by, [Australians] are living with exactly the same racial tensions and dealing with the same level of ignorance as we are. But it's a lot bloody easier to laugh about it when it's 10,000 miles away.
[M]ocks the hypocrisy of those who decry diversity while enjoying it... and dings the toxic masculinity that drives men to prove themselves with rage and violence. It's all almost too dark to be outright hilarious, but it certainly is bleakly droll.
Complete with a few unexpected soundtrack choices, Down Under packs a strong emotional punch and asks us to take a good, hard look at ourselves.
There's plenty of zesty slapstick, along with a relentless torrent of four-letter words in all cases and conjugations.
Down Under is too ugly to be funny.
Audience Reviews for Down Under
Racial hatred and bigotry down in Australia's most sophisticated center casts shade over the whole country, one would think, but the writer/director here endeavors to put the whole thing under some lighthearted shenanigans of misdirected youth blanket, apologizing for the misogyny. Further, the real bad guy of the film is boorishly gay. I felt as if I were talking to a cracker apologizing for slavery while summing up the legitimacy of the Confederate flag as a symbol of freedom. An opportunity thrown away, and a waste of time.
Super Reviewer
At times this works really great as a satire and a topical subject that most people step around. The quick shift in tone in the final third became a little too much and didn't suit the characters. The bloodbath finale came right out of left field and leaves this in a very dark place, the film didn't know its identity. A very funny film and painting ethnic groups true whether it's right or wrong is very funny. Not for the easily offended and worth checking out for a daring subject matter.
Super Reviewer
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