There is a very cool blog-a-thon happening this month! Nuwan, from the blog No Nonsense with Nuwan Sen, is hosting The October Birthdayz Blogathon, in honor of his sister, who turned 38 this month. We were asked to cover an actor, who has an October birthday. There are several great 80s actors who have had birthdays this month. So, I decided to cover Crocodile Dundee, starring Paul Hogan, who was born on October 8, 1939.

Starring

Paul Hogan
Linda Kozlowski
Mark Blum
John Meillon
Reginald VelJohnson

Rated PG-13
Runtime 1hr 37min
Released September 26, 1986

Synopsis: An American reporter goes to the Australian outback to meet an eccentric crocodile poacher and invites him to New York City. (imdb)

Last time I had seen this? Probably not since the ’80s.

Summary
New York reporter, Sue Charlton (Linda Kozlowski), doing a story in Australia. She hears about the legendary Michael J. “Crocodile” Dundee (Paul Hogan), who lost half his leg to a crocodile, and managed to crawl hundreds of miles to safety. Apparently she got her information from fake news, as she meets him, with all limbs in place.

However, when their adventures begin in the Outback, Dundee impresses Sue. He tames a giant water buffalo, kills a snake with his bare hands. They then came across some jerks who were shooting at kangaroos. After Sue pleaded with Dundee to make them stop, he was able to chase them off in hilarious fashion. The next day, Sue was offended that Dundee referred to her as a “sheila”, implying that she could never survive in the Outback alone. So she went off, to prove him wrong. Unbeknownst to her, Dundee followed her to make sure she was OK. She was faring very well, until she came across a giant crocodile. Dundee jumped into action and saved her life. He was still impressed that she was able to handle herself, and she found herself becoming attracted to him, after he saved her life and changed his attitude about her.

When it was time for Sue to head back to New York, she wanted Dundee to come back with her. she used the excuse that she could continue her feature story. So, the second half of the movie moves from the Outback to the Concrete Jungle, that is New York. At first, Dundee was perplexed about the city. It was funny seeing him confused in the fancy hotel room. Honestly, if I was in a 5 star hotel room, I would probably be just as confused as him! Even though Dundee was not aware of the customs and behavior of the locals, he adapted very well. In addition, he had to deal with Sue’s asshole boyfriend, Richard (Mark Blum). In a typical romantic trope, whenever we want to see a couple get together, and they are already with somebody else, that significant other is always an asshole. And it may or not be a coincidence that Sue’s boyfriend’s nickname could be “Dick”.

Well at a party, “Dick” makes a show, proposing to Sue in front of everybody, and she appeared to accept. So, Dundee is understandably disheartened, and decides to go decides to go on a ‘walkabout’ around the US. Does Sue track him down at the airport subway station? Check out the movie to see what happens, mate.

Worth the Return?
I remember liking this when I had first seen it. I think there had been more action than I expected. I was not disappointed this time either. Linda Kozlowski was great as Sue. It was great (and shocking) to see Reginald “Carl Winslow” VelJohnson as a limo driver instead of a cop for a change. Of course, that didn’t stop him from saving the day in one scene.

And Paul Hogan was awesome and charming as “Mick” Dundee. I don’t remember seeing him in any other role, but he was outstanding here, and possibly underrated. Of course, his “That’s not a knife…THAT’s a knife” quote is one of the most iconic lines of the decade (along with Jack Nicholson’s “Heeere’s Johnny”, and Clint Eastwood’s “Go ahaead, make my day”). But, this movie is so much more than that. Paul Hogan had some great action scenes. And his humor was spot-on.

The talented Paul Hogan, not only starred in the movie, but he was also one of the writers. In the ’80s, The U.S. had a major obsession with Australia. From getting “Physical” Olivia Newton-John and Men At Work coming from the land “Down Under” in the early ’80s, to the annoying Energizer commercials starring Jacko, doing the “Locomotion” with Kylie Minogue, seeing Yahoo Serious as “Young Einstein”, to a Facts of Life special, to Fosters beer. With all this obsession, it’s really saying something when the stand-out is Paul Hogan’s Crocodile Dundee.

So yes, this was totally worth the Return! What more could you ask for? There was action, romance, and comedy.

Rating:
4 REAL knives!

Does the movie stand the test of time?

Yes it does. The story is classic, and could take place in any time period. New York was a little grittier in the movie than it is now. But, it would definitely still work.

With that being said…Please Hollywood, DON’T TOUCH THIS MOVIE!!! The story is great, but this specific movie does not work without Paul Hogan, who just turned 79. Hollywood, I’m sure you are just dying to remake this with Chris Hemsworth. JUST DON’T!!! This has been a public service announcement from Return to the ’80s.

 

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Again, please go ahead and check out Nuwan’s blog No Nonsense with Nuwan Sen, and take a look at the blog-a-thon, and see who else had a birthday in October.

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4

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