I needed to break from my project this week to address something important…
Last Friday a teaser trailer was released for another decades-later sequel called DUNDEE: The yada yada Returns – starring Danny McBride. Well apparently much of the internet nodded their heads in agreement that it was fake.
Some large publications went into wait-and-see mode and blew this off as some publicity stunt that would eventually come to a head at the Super Bowl.
Exhibit A
Then on Monday the studio released a more filled-out trailer that revealed the surprise casting of Chris Hemsworth, and many still refused to be fooled and think this is just some kind of Super Bowl promotion!
Why…?
I’m not sure, but maybe the elites think that terrible comedy reboots/sequels of treasured 80s properties are beneath Thor…? [Burp-sigh].
Exhibit B
Nonsense. This is perfect.
Danny McBride as the arrogant, post-childhood city-boy Virginian, navigating the wilderness of the outback on some quest to find his legendary father … CROCODILE DUNDEE!?
This is great!
And who else could guide him but everyone’s favorite kinda-funny Nord, fully equipped with a great accent?! Doesn’t this shit write itself? What is the confusion here? At least Screenrant modified their own article as of this writing. Many are doubling down.
I think that we easily have a comedy here that could be as entertaining as Land of The Lost (2009). Hey, if we’re lucky we’ll catch something as deliberate and funny as Tropic Thunder.
This Dundee sequel/requel is clearly a good idea.
McBride throws a very simple twist on the formula. It’s still the fish-out-of-water trope, but here the comedic duties have shifted smoothly to the displaced Brian Dundee (“Brian”… heh).
In both of the original Crocodile Dundee films, the comedy is largely based on how Paul Hogan’s Dundee interacts with Sue Charlton, played by future wife/ex-wife Linda Kozlowski. She comes off as a more capable, less annoying Kate Capshaw as “Willie” from Temple Of Doom.
She is very charming, but also very stubborn. The humor is natural.
Crocodile Dundee 2 is good, but you could say that it doesn’t work quite as well as the original. It’s like the Wayne’s World sequel: a nice continuation that is absolutely worth your time if you want to take it.
… I actually think those bidets are a good idea.
So to the perpetually self-assured comedic characters that Danny McBride embodies so well, this is perfect. It will be goofier, but that’s okay. Let’s flip this thing on it’s head but keep the spirit. Everyone on screen hates him but we all love him (unless you don’t).
His characters remind me of those divisive archetypes by the likes of Ferrel, Sandler, Kauffman, Belushi, Murray, Carrey, Vaughn… basically the endearing and chaotic man-child. Hemsworth is there to guide our heroic caricature to his long-lost father, and perhaps Thor Odinson kinda/sorta plays the same role Hogan played in the 80s: the charming ranger with a humorous glint in his eye and a great accent.
So that too is perfect casting.
We know Paul Hogan has been trying to get something off the ground for years, and it was probably Danny McBride’s enthusiasm that made this thing happen. McBride was also a child of the 80s so I know he was watching those Crocodile Dundee movies when he was a kid. Just like me. Just like most of us. And I hope we get one more shot of that old Aussie bastard before he leaves us. This guy was an 80s icon.
So I say that this is not Fake News – this is News. And if it isn’t? Well goddamn it should be! Give me Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns, and I promise not to compare to Blade Runner 2049.
Here Be Goblins!
-idh
