Top 5 Bogan Movies

Uggies, trackies, tribal tattoos and mullets; most of us are familiar with this particular strain of Australiana. Hey, some of us may even be bogans ourselves, or of proud bogan heritage. Yet sadly, boganage is all-too-often disdained, exploited, or camouflaged in filmic depictions of our country. Enough persecution, I say! It’s time to embrace our bogan brethren! The following list is a compilation of films that celebrate, scrutinise and mythologise this uniquely Australian phenomenon. Don’t be un-‘straylian, it’s time ta give ‘em a fair go.
-Getting’ Square (2003)
David Wenham is almost unrecognisable playing the luckless petty-criminal, Johnny “Spit” Spiteri. It is fascinating to watch the esteemed Australian actor with a ratstail, heroin-complexion and an unmistakably bogan intonation. Wenham is flanked by an impressive ensemble cast including Sam Worthington and Timothy Spall(aka Scabbers from Harry Potter). Resembling Guy Ritchie’s kind of Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels filmic crime humour, Gettin’ Square is an apt Australian reprisal. It follows a ring of motley criminals bumbling their way through various schemes upon The Gold Coast. A flailing western-themed restaurant; a Weight-Watchers-obsessed trophy wife; a scene that culminates in the boganised-Wenham running down a suburban road wearing nothing but budgie-smugglers and thongs: there’s enough bogan for everyone.

-Suburban Mayhem (2006)

Hot cars, leopard print mini-dresses, teenage-parenthood…murder. Suburban Mayhem draws us into the life of Katrina: a 19-year-old mother, man-eater and sociopath. Half-shot as an interview-style news report surrounding the murder of Katrina’s father, the film is comprised of highly stylised filmmaking, interesting graphics, and a killer rock and roll soundtrack. There’s something absorbing about a well-drawn psychopathic character, and it’s interesting to see a stereotypically suburban one on screen. An understated sick moment is the way Katrina flippantly tells her beauty therapist about how she tapes the news bulletins and keeps the newspaper clippings of her brother’s blood-curdling murder, revelling in this newfound fame and attention. Suburban Mayhem is blistering, and comes with a sense of humour blacker than the shade of Katrina’s shoplifted nail varnish.

-Snowtown (2011)
When I went to see Snowtown, I had to stumble past two little old ladies to get to my seat, Wow, I thought, they’re brave. For the uninitiated, Snowtown may conjure idyllic scenery and small-town drama; but in fact, it’s one of the most brutal movies I’ve seen in a long time. Based around the horrific murders committed by John Bunting in the late 1990s, it will strain your threshold for graphic and violent themes. Alas, 10 minutes into the screening I was in, one of the little old ladies remarked aghast, What kind of movie is this?! And the pair quickly exited the cinema. If you thought Animal Kingdom was a brutal look at the nasty underbelly of Australian suburbia, wait til you subject yourself to Snowtown. It’s gritty, horrific, and takes place in frighteningly mundane settings. Widely praised for its realism, the film uses almost all non-professional actors, and features such bogan-staples as BMXs, pokie machines, stubbies and 1970s-style kitchenettes. A rather harsh depiction of outer-suburbia, but a truly absorbing film.

-The Castle (1997)
On a lighter note, it would be blasphemous to forget the Grandpappy of all bogan flicks, The Castle. Just as Darryl Kerrigan’s poolroom is crammed with special memories and collectors’ items, this film is loaded with brilliant observational humour; it deftly encapsulates a specifically aussie tone. The heart-warming little guy narrative traces The Kerrigan family’s fight to save their home from proposed compulsory acquisition by government authorities. Along with all the classic adages, sit hilariously telling lines such as, “Can you move the Camera…? I gotta move the Torana out so I can get to the Commodore.” The whole movie is an ode to the cult of bogan, but certain themes to look out for include, the Best of Hey Hey It’s Saturday, Beef Wellington and the way Anne Tenney pronounces “darrrrl”. The most admirable aspect of this film, I believe, lies in the affectionate treatment of its subjects. Heck, let’s just say it: this should be prescribed as compulsory viewing before taking the Australian Citizenship test. If you try to tell me there’s a better, more entertaining film that exemplifies bogan culture, I’ll tell you ya dreamin’.

-Puberty Blues (1981)
Another classic ‘straylian film. Backdropped by the beaches of Sydney in the early 1980s; this was a time when the words Slip Slop Slap and Lung Cancer would have been met with blank stares. Puberty Blues explores the adolescent interplay between brutality and naivety. At this stage the term bogan hadn’t even been invented yet; mainly due to the fact that well, everyone was a bit of a bogan. Sentences were punctuated with the phrases: “Dead set”, “Fish-faced mole”, “Yeahh righto”; and short-shorts, panel vans, Chiko rolls and bad haircuts reigned supreme. However, as the years progressed, a process of natural selection kicked in across our fine nation. The bogan gene is evidently a recessive one, as only a relative minority decided to cling to the crass slang and bad haircuts which once befell us all. Thankfully, these courageous battlers decided to instil such grand traditions in their children, to keep alive the bogan spirit and keep our suburban shopping centres in business.