Why did that happen and how did it die so fast??
Yeah, it was brief. It was a mini fad comprised of this film, Midnight Oil and that “Land Down Under” song. Australia had a comeback in the ‘90s with Muriel’s Wedding, Strictly Ballroom and those other quirky Bill Hunter films.
shareother good Aus films:
Danny Deckchair
Two hands
The Dish
Castle
I love The Dish! Seriously underpromoted gem of a film.
shareTwo Hands was so good, it had supernatural undertones, quirky humor and situations, criminal drama, Heath Ledger and Rose Byrne when they were young starting out, and just crazy stuff. They billed that movie as "Australias Pulp Fiction" and dare I say...I find it BETTER than pulp fiction!
shareNot mention of the Crocodile Hunter? Crikey!
shareA few things that helped: Mad Max, The Road Warrior, and Gallipoli films with Mel Gibson. Crocodile Dundee of course.
Music from INXS and Men at Work. Other bands like Midnight Oil road their coattails.
ANZUS was in the news because Australia and New Zealand went no-nuke in their ports.
It started with Mel Gibson and his Mad Max, Road Warrior, and Gallipoli movies. Add Men at Work, INXS, Midnight Oil and then Crocodile Dundee all in a few years there was a pretty big Aussie fad. One guy told me it was mandatory for Australian movies to promote the country as "part of the script" and this worked exceptionally well during the early 80's. For instance Mad Max/Road Warrior used clever made up slang words such as guzzoline, which Americans thought were real Aussie slang.
What killed this fad? It's funny there's a Simpson's bit about how the fad ended..I'll add it if I can find it on YouTube. Basically, Mel Gibson and his Mad Max director George Miller came to Hollywood. Men at Work faded quickly. INXS lead singer killed himself, Crocodile Dundee stopped making sequels, Midnight Oil only had 2 hit songs, and all the Aussies could come up with was Yahoo Serious.
Wow
shareI'd say it started with Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975). That was big hit at the time and was an Australian film rather than a British or American film made in Australia. Australian films before that, which were seen in the UK, were small films usually with the same set of actors.
shareBest part of that whole fad was the emergence of Outback Steakhouses, which at the time were ridiculously kitsch and "touristy". Like walking into an Australian theme park. That was a lot of fun. They've since been retrofitted into generic chain restaurants, but I used to eat there all the time just for the atmosphere.
shareI remember people went bananas over that place and the commercials were so aussie it made it seem like Paul Hogan himself would greet you at the door with Steve Irwin as your server xD it was just sooooo Australian mate!
thing is...I dont remember what it was like to eat there? Maybe my family just stuck to The Old Country Buffet and Captain D's, they had good deals on food.
The food was pretty typical. I've always liked their chicken wings. Burgers, steaks, salads, the usual. But you got yourself a big old frosty mug of Fosters. Pretty much the only time I ever drank the stuff. (It wasn't very good lol) But it was Australian!
shareSo basically a Chili's or Applebees but with different beer? xD
I can see I didnt miss out, I appreciate you letting me know! Reeeed (Red) Robin YUM! That silly commerical slogan comes to mind. They are all basically the same. I remember when Cheddars came out to our area and people went bonkers over it as well. I ate there, found the food half the price of Ruby Tuesday but yet their quality of food was much lower. So the atmosphere is all the same, but quality of the food is where they differ place to place.
As much as people in general tend to bash chain restaurants, Outback is a steakhouse vs Applebee's bar food.
Outback steaks and prime rib are acceptable to me for casual dining. The bloomin onion is very good and I like the warm bread.
I bash on them because I usually dont find the food worth the price listed. Steakhouses are good, but they commit this crime even worse than the chain restaurants. There are positives though, many family gatherings or time spent together has been meeting at a restaurant. Food is a good thing to enjoy together with those you care about. You dont have to cook or clean up afterward. Its special. My favorite sit down/server restaurant is probably Longhorns (another steakhouse) and El Kiosco (a mexican restaurant). I've had mostly good experiences at both.
That being written...
Do you love that chicken at popeyes? https://youtu.be/pqWkwolb3as
xD
We got a Longhorn a few years ago. Great decor. Old west stuff everywhere. But classy, not tacky. Really good food and the bar makes stiff drinks. A little pricier than the competition but worth it. Place is always filled with huge fat people, including myself lol. That's how you know it's good eatin. They got the Texas Tonion which is their version of the Bloomin' Onion. All their apps are pretty amazing, sometimes I just stack them up and don't bother with the entree at all.
shareI like their parmesan crusted chicken, and all their steaks taste great!
shareBack in the day there were a few 'Walkabout' pubs in London, always a crazy night out. Backpackers paradise. VB on tap, people from all over the world getting pissed up, what's not to love?
shareThe WWE (then WWF) tried to jump on this craze in 1987 by introducing its own Australian bushman named Outback Jack. They promoted this guy coming to America for over a month with vignettes but not long after he debuted they realized he wasn't very talented and they gave up on the character (the Australian craze had also,pretty much run its course by then). He began losing almost every match before leaving the company in mid-1988.
shareTie me kangaroo down, sport!
(Tie me kangaroo down.)
I don't follow wrestling but my college professor is a big fan. That was his favorite wrestler and he told me that the character really wasn't from Australia but he loved him anyway and was very upset he never was able to defeat Hulk Hogan
shareYeah but the movie Shrimp on the Barbie with Cheech Marin ended that popularity in like two seconds.
share