Crackerjack (2002)

Director:

Paul Moloney

Writers:

Mick Molloy (written by)
Richard Molloy (written by)

Release Date:

7 November 2002 (Australia)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

It's on for young and old

Plot:

When dwindling membership and increasing overheads makes a local bowling club and prime candidate for a takeover...

Plot Keywords:

Lawn Bowls | Scam | Parking Space

Awards:

4 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Mick Molloy	...	Jack Simpson
Bill Hunter	...	Stan Coombs
Frank Wilson	...	Len Johnson
Monica Maughan	...	Eileen
John Clarke	...	Bernie Fowler
Lois Ramsey	...	Gwen
Samuel Johnson	...	Dave Jackson
Judith Lucy	...	Nancy Brown
Cliff Ellen	...	Norm
Bob Hornery	...	Ron
Peter Aanensen	...	Edgar
Esme Melville	...	Mrs. Jenkins
John Flaus	...	Cliff Carew
Lois Collinder	...	Joyce
Paul McCarthy	...	Barry

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Corowa, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

A Million Monkeys

Trivia:

Boggera Bowls Club is actually the Corowa Bowling Club in New South Wales; the largest bowls facility in the southern hemisphere. (There's actually no such suburb of Boggera in Melbourne.)

Goofs:

Factual errors: The 'Flipper', where the bowl curves in both directions, is utterly impossible.

Quotes:

Dave Jackson: Forty-four. Two fat whores.

Movie Connections:

References From Russia with Love (1963)

Soundtrack:

Reckless

A cracker of a film!

When I saw the trailer for Crackerjack, I thought this film was going to be an absolute shocker. How wrong was I? This is such an exquisite piece of Australiana. It's as if a time capsule was dug up from a bygone era and inside was this film. The true stars of Crackerjack are not Mick Malloy or Judith Lucy but a cavalcade of veteran Australian actors, brought back to cinematic life. A bit like Wim Wenders bringing back to life the ageing musicians of the Buena Vista Social Club. Where the comedy of 'The Nugget' failed to deliver, 'Crackerjack' more than succeeds. "Can I fix you a Radox bath champ?" This is just one dialogue related example of how engagingly Australian this film is. And you have to love the modern technology that is 'Bowl-cam'. The sound of the ball cutting through the manicured lawn and the camera following every movement of the ball is truly hypnotic.

'Crackerjack' is not aimed at mocking the ways of the elderly. Lawn bowls is more than sport. It's about friendships, a sense of community and values that now have probably escaped modern day society. It's also about tomato sandwiches, beer at genuine 1976 prices and helping yourself to the wheel of cheese! 'Crackerjack' takes aim at big business, which is squeezing out smaller clubs with the introduction of poker machines and the social and financial impact it's having on the elderly. There are so many things to be gained from seeing this film. Jack highly recommended!