Worth: $15.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Matt Dickie, Jack McGirr, Justin Gerardin, Daniel Mulhall, Tamara McLaughlin, Daniel Cordery
Intro:
Lieutenant Jangles will leave you with one hell of a dirty smile on your face.
When you think cop action movies, your mind likely turns to thoughts of transatlantic settings, such as Los Angeles and New York, more than it does Brisbane. However, Lieutenant Jangles, the new comedy from local filmmaking duo; Nic Champeaux & Daniel Cordery, is out to reset your bias.
Set in a cartoonish interpretation of the ’80s – so, like most action movies from that time period, then – the film sees the titular Lieutenant Jangles (Matt Dickie) seeking revenge for the death of his partner, leading to him stumbling into the machinations of the maniacal Baron Von Schmidt (Jack McGirr). As the two men cross swords, there are car chases, bloody violence and peeing contests. No, literally.
Director Champeaux, who also wrote the film, not only manages to capture the aesthetic of ’80s action films, such as Lethal Weapon and Commando, he does so whilst skewering the very idea of what makes a lean, mean action hero. Forget your world-weary John McLane’s, Jangles is a crude, chain-smoking, alcoholic man-child; a walking Aussie stereotype who, unfathomably, appears to be the only thing stopping chaos raging through Brisbane. He’s Wolf Creek’s Mick Taylor, but with a more developed sense of justice. You wouldn’t want to share a towel with Jangles, but his oafish ‘charm’, played with brilliant comic timing by Dickie, ensures that you’re not completely put off by him.
Outside of Jangles himself, the film takes pot shots at the entire action genre, dissecting the very tropes they’re built on. From the extreme machoism and xenophobia, to the genre’s distinct lack of strong female characters, encapsulated in the only female in Jangles’ life who is simply known as “The Woman” (Tamara McLaughlin). Deliberately bringing nothing to the table except being a trophy for the protagonist, her dialogue is knowingly centred around not knowing anything except her inexplicable lust for Jangles.
If your love of apery encompasses the likes of Black Dynamite or Danger 5, then Lieutenant Jangles will most definitely float your boat. The film’s humour comes not from word for word re-enactments of iconic scenes ala Scary Movie, but from the characters themselves; some of whom will look extremely familiar in more ways than one. Take for example, Mark (Daniel Cordery), Jangles’ tattooed, handlebar moustached informant, whose bouts of violence are interrupted by his overbearing father’s need to watch a VHS. Cordery certainly does Eric Bana’s performance in Chopper proud.
Admittedly, all humour is subjective and there are only so many dick jokes in the world which you can laugh at – all of which appear to be in Lieutenant Jangles – meaning the film is clearly not going to be for everyone. However, embrace the anarchy and, from the pre-show trailers packaged with the film, through to the killer synth soundtrack, Lieutenant Jangles will leave you with one hell of a dirty smile on your face.
Lieutenant Jangles will be released through American distribution company Scream Team Releasing on streaming platforms, Blu-ray AND a limited VHS run for hardcore collectors, just in time for Christmas 2019!