Welcome to Woop Woop

I know critics, viewers and apparently the remainder of the planet think this is a terrible movie, but I found it hilarious. The portrayal of a bizarre sub-culture living a crude and cult-like existence atop a defunct asbestos mining town just hit the right note with me, particularly the machinations of the town's leader, played to the hilt by Rod Taylor. The plots twists are predictable but still enjoyable. One viewing and musicals will never be the same for you--ditto for tap dancing.

I read Doug Kennedy's The Dead Heart years ago, and in spite of its unbelievable premise, I loved it. It's an intriguing mix of gonzo black humor and suspense. It's pretty hard to mix those two elements and come up with anything legitimately readable, but the talented Kennedy pulled it off.My immediate thought was, "Somebody should made a film from this book." Well, I don't follow cinema much, so I missed the release of Welcome to Woop Woop in 1997 (Actually, I'm not even sure if it was released in America; it's an Australian film). It wasn't until I read an interview with Kennedy in which he complained, "The book was noir, and they made a musical comedy out of it" that I realized there might be a DVD.Always late to the table where films are involved. I finally watched it this week. This film takes the story line of The Dead Heart to gonzo levels hitherto unknown in western cinema. It's probably the most spectacular "bad" movie I've ever seen. The cinematography is stunning; the acting is excellent, considering the absurdity of the script; and the soundtrack.....Suffice it to say that you've never heard the tunes of Rogers and Hammerstein from The Sound of Music and South Pacific interspersed with scenes of kangaroos being ground into dog food and people lying drunk and hungover in pig pens full of excrement.Scene after scene, you'll laugh out loud, then you'll berate yourself for laughing, then you'll laugh again.I think the director wanted to prove once and for all that Australian people are crazier than anyone else on earth. And he succeeded.My primary criticism of the film is that the protagonist, played by Johnathon Schaech, is too young and good-looking. The protagonist in the book is a rapidly aging 38 year old, not in the best shape, who's going through a mid life crisis. But that's cinema for you.Watch it and wonder: How did this film ever get made? I guarantee you'll be entertained. And you'll cringe a lot.

Anyone who has read my reviews know I love the absurd. This film takes you past the absurd, rounds the corner of lunacy, and takes a left on Kangaroo Fantasy Lane. Take a young American picking up an attractive hitchhiking aussie chick. Not a bad fantasy, huh? Now, the girl takes said boy to meet her family in Woop Woop, a town in the middle of a meteor crater, in the middle of the Outback (the nasty dry part), where the citizens make their living grinding roo carcasses into dog food (Woof Woof from Woop Woop). The patriarch of the towm rules with an iron fist, using Rogers and Hammerstein musicals to molify the clearly `disturbed' inhabitants into a mass of downright lunatics. And the law? "Don't diddle yer cousins!" The weird part? "Anybody leaves, their dead!" As if the threat of Big Red the kangaroo was not enough...Not weird yet? Throw in Dog day, where all the pre-adolescents are given guns to chase dogs amid tin huts and other dwellings that are straight out of Mad Max. Mix in a Matriarch with gastronomy problems ("Oops, pahdun meee!"), and nightly town viewings of American musicals on a tattered bed sheet screen. If you are a fan of the strange yet compelling (Dead Alive, Heathers, Buckaroo Bonzai, Six String Samurai...) you will love this flick. I showed this to my friends on Movie Night, and every one of them moved to the other side of the room, and eyed me suspiciously. This is AUSTRALIAN comedy (Croc Dundee was Americanized Aussie comedy) at it's best. But I will warn you, you have to enjoy avant gard humor! Trust me. I am never wrong

Welcome to Woop Woop is a unique comedy, so refreshingly different when the typical film comedy nowadays is so vulgar and predictable. This film is by no means wholesome, as it is sexy as all get out. There are many bizarre characters and plot twists mostly set in a small isolated town in Australia. Its attributes include a frankly remarkable use of Rogers and Hammerstein music as its background score: the songs are remade, very hip yet respectful to their source. If this movie is similar to anything, perhaps it is the musical Li'l Abner since there is a sexy blonde (a very appealing Susie Porter, unknown to American audiences) a handsome, dark-haired man (Jonathon Schaech in a vastly entertaining performance that should have made him a big star. He is extraordinarily good-looking and his comedic delivery is quite good. Think of a male supermodel with a great sense of humor) as well as oddly raggedy dressed townsfolk with weird Dogpatch-like hairstyles. Rod Taylor is both scary and touching as the tyrannical leader and there are small roles placed by Miss Edna's Barry Humphries and a young, muscular bodybuilder , Con Demetriou, who was briefly Princess Di's personal trainer, and an almost unrecognizable Rachel Griffiths. There is also a cameo by Gilligan's Island's Tina Louise. This movie is a little gem and should be seen for a special, funny, weirdly good time.Make sure you finish the credits since there is one last scene with a surprise ending you do not want to miss!

Watch this years ago, and still remember it. Was happy to see it on DVD. Still a very amusing movie.

I first saw welcome to woop woop in the year 2000 when I was thirteen. My dad and I watched it together he loved. We both still love it. I got it for a friend of mine I think they’ll enjoy quite a bit. Great flick.

Satirical and mad fun with Barry Humphries' finest moment near the start.

Brilliant movie actor Rod Taylor at his best very pleased with item and services

this is a very funny very funny movie and we love it thank you regs Ron

A weird ,but original black comedy !! For cult fanatics a treasure ! I love the movie a lot

Great