Comedy is a loose term. If we were American, it would most likely be about a guy and a girl who can’t get it right, go through a rough patch and end up happily ever after. Well…Two Little Boys is nothing,and everything like that…
Comedy is a loose term – particularly when it comes to Kiwi films. If we were American, it would most likely be about a guy and a girl who just can’t get it right, go through a rough patch and end up together happily ever after. Throw in some solid sidekick friends and you have a movie. Well…Two Little Boys is nothing, and yet everything, like that.
Nige (Bret McKenzie) and Deano (Hamish Blake) have been friends as long as they can remember. One night, while eating a pie and doing the laps of Invercargill, Nige hits a Norwegian backpacker with his car and everything starts to rapidly go downhill. Deano can’t imagine a world without his best mate and does everything in his power to keep Nige with him. Problem is, they are both as stupid as each other and one “good” idea goes from bad to worse.
With Bret and Hamish’s names attached to the bill, one could be led to think it is their kind of comedy. This is a Robert and Duncan Sarkies film through and through. Bret, famous for Flight of the Conchords, has never so much as dropped the F-bomb. Hamish, of Hamish and Andy fame, has had a touch of the risqué, but nothing quite this dark. The moral of the story here is don’t expect your typical kind of “comedy”. This one is out of the box.
Two Little Boys is a quirky tale, using the kind of dark humour we Kiwis are famous for. One only needs to look at our track record with Black Sheep, Eagle vs Shark, and everything Peter Jackson has done pre-Lord of the Rings. And director Robert Sarkies, inventor of cult classic Scarfies, is no stranger to the twisted.
This comedy is not your usual kind. You laugh when it’s awkward, you laugh when it is wrong. It shouldn’t seem funny, but it really is. I mean, the central idea is hooked around a death that goes horribly wrong. Cutting a dead body into pieces to protect your best friend is the scriptwriting of a horror film. In a normal world, this would be a drama or a thriller, slapped with an R-rating and positively terrifying. In New Zealand, it’s a comedy.
What this hinges on is the bumbling performances that Bret and Hamish give. Both are in roles that are far out of their comfort zone. The light-hearted nature of their previous work is brought into the rough situation their characters find themselves in and the juxtaposition of the two is where the comedy lies.
Nige is an idiot, no doubt about it. He’s weak, pushed around and is incapable of standing up for himself. As a result, he gets pulled into Deano’s terrible ideas and things get worse and worse. One brilliant scene involves Deano wrestling with Nige until he calms down from his panic attack. It’s classic.
Deano is the driving force behind Nige. He’s not so much an idiot, but has an unnatural devotion to his best mate to the point where he will literally do anything for him. It’s like they’re a married couple where Deano is some kind of nagging, clingy wife and Nige is desperate for a divorce. He evens begins to see someone else, in the form of new friend and flatmate Gav (Maaka Pohatu). Deano’s jealousy is wild and terrifying, but oh-so-hilarious as his protective (read possessive) nature gets the better of him.
Really, as the title suggests, it’s not about the death of the hitchhiker, it’s about two men who have yet to grow up. One is desperate to, but the other won’t let him. What will happen? Will manhood strike or are they incapable of leading an adult life?
The Catlins backdrop is the perfect environment for this black comedy. Isolated, but yet wildly beautiful surrounded by natural wildlife (which make cameo appearances). Including a big Maori guy and a very small dolphin. Whale Rider, eat your heart out.
It’s sometimes a bit too awkward, trying a little too hard to pull out the punches, but the strangeness of laughing at two men trying to dispose of a dead really makes for a fantastic premise.
Laura Weaser
18 September 2012
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