TAKE AWAY
Australia, 2003, 88 minutes. Colour.
Vince Colosimo, Stephen Curry, Rose Byrne, Nathan Phillips, John Howard, Dave O’ Neill.
Directed by Mark Gracie.
Take Away is a slight Australian comedy. It is a satire on small business and its being confronted by large companies like McDonald’s?.
The film focuses on two school friends who are rivals in a shopping centre, Vince Colosimo as the very neat Italian who runs specialty items and has giveaways for his customers. The contrast is with Stephen Curry who has all kinds of inventions including beef nuggets and dim sim on a stick.
When an enterprising multinational movies into the vacant lot next to the shopping centre, the two friends have to bury their differences and try to get public opinion against the newcomers.
Rose Byrne appears as Vince Colosimo’s cousin, Nathan Phillips as the best friend of Stephen Curry – and they form an unlikely romantic couple. There are some complications when Phillips goes over to the rival company (he is not particularly bright). However, he agrees to help them when they decide to remove the new building holus-bolus. They also go to Sydney to confront the head of Burgies, John Howard.
The screenplay was written by Dave O’ Neill who portrays Mal, the butcher next door.
The film didn’t receive very good reviews when it first came out – but is one of those light quirky Australian comedies that is an enjoyable but undemanding pastime.
1. The title? Expectations? Fast food? Private enterprise? Small businesses? Multinationals?
2. The Melbourne suburban setting, the street, the shops, the takeaway outlets? The vacant lot? The new building? The contrast with the visit to Sydney? The streets, the office blocks, the interiors? The musical score?
3. The opening, the paralleling of Tony and Trev? Tony as neat and orderly? Trev as a slacker? Their running their businesses, the comparisons, the past friendships? Tony and his slinging off at Trev? Trev and his enterprise and inventions? The giveaways? The clientele and their loyalties to each? Tony as a character, determined? Trev as determined but easygoing?
4. Sonja, Tony’s cousin, coming to work, the uniform? Tony and his meticulous instructions? Her attraction towards Dave? Going out? Supporting Tony and Trev in their struggle against Burgies? Her concern when they took the building? Yet her participating at the landfill? The romance with Dave? Plausible? Dave, school friend of Trev, slow, being instructed by Trev, his work? Going over to Burgies? His work there, changing his mind, Trev putting him in the cupboard? His letting Trev and Tony in? The stealing of the building?
5. Burgies, Tarquin and his subservience to the manager? The manager and his supercilious behaviour? His looking down on Tony and Trev? The shock when the building was taken away? Tarquin and his perpetuating the work of the manager at the end, with the young would-be employees?
6. The CEO of Burgies, his office, his making fun of Tony and Trev? Their being dressed up in the cartoon costumes? His coming down to Melbourne, the dedication? The satire of greedy CEOs?
7. The locals, the customers, Mal the butcher, his moving out?
8. The community meeting, at the church, the speeches, the Burgies manager and his unctuous speech? Supporting local charities and efforts? The audience responding, getting grants? The characters coming in in their cartoon costumes? The giveaways? The marketing techniques?
9. The combined efforts of Trev and Tony? The truck driver and his friendship, helping them out? The police? The arrests?
10. Tony and Trev in jail – and the humorous point that the sequence at the hotel and the ticks for breakfast being repeated in the prison?
11. The Aussie film about battlers, the David and Goliath stories? A kind of combination of Wog Boys and The Castle?
