Crackerjack (2002)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Audio Commentary-Mick Molloy, Richard Molly & Judith Lucy Audio Commentary-Paul Moloney, Brent Crockett & Stephen Luby Featurette-Alternate Flippers (3) Featurette-Behind The Scenes Theatrical Trailer TV Spots-5 Dolby Digital Trailer-Rain Menu Animation & Audio Gallery-Photo Featurette-Swear Jar
Rating
Year Of Production	2002
Running Time	88:37
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (53:39)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Paul Moloney
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Mick Molloy Bill Hunter Frank Wilson Monica Maughan John Clarke Lois Ramsey Samuel Johnson Judith Lucy Cliff Ellen
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$39.95	Music	Gareth Skinner

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes, constant
		Annoying Product Placement	Yes, Victoria Bitter
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Crackerjack is a nice movie. That's not meant to be patronising; it really can best be described as a nice movie. Written by comedian Mick Molloy, it evokes a feeling of melancholy for bygone days. Days when smoking was still socially acceptable, the cars were slow and the people led much more structured and disciplined lives than nowadays.

    The main plot deals with the survival of the ever-so-traditional Cityside Bowling Club in the face of dwindling membership and escalating pressure to succumb to the temptation of installing poker machines to raise revenue. The club has remained a true bowling venue, run by members for members. It is replete with quirky rules and traditions - the wheel of cheese, the strict dress codes, 1972 beer prices and rising to toast the Queen. Into this sheltered enclave comes one Jack Simpson, actually a member since 1996, whose sole interest in the club is its proximity to the central business district and the free inner-city parking which it provides. Simpson works in that most modern of environments - the telephone call centre, which has its own set of rules and acceptable behaviours. Jack is a square peg in both of these environments, structuring his life around his own rules - rules which are designed to minimise his workload and maximise his income and beer drinking time. Much to his horror, Simpson's number finally comes up, and he is drafted - to represent the club as a player. Soon, our Jack is tending bar, attending meetings and featuring as a regular - albeit cynical - member of the team.

    This film is essentially a social commentary on Australia past and present. The use of a lawn bowls club is a stroke of genius, as it presents the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the effect that the passage of 40 years has had on the cultural norms of our country. It is a character-driven piece and therefore the choice of cast members is critical to its success - thankfully there have been some inspired casting decisions, and it is easy to believe that the characters are actually playing themselves, rather than performing a script.

    The amorality of modern day Australia is represented by two characters, the lazy, self-serving Jack Simpson (Mick Molloy) and the devious, acquisitive Bernie Fowler (excellently rendered by John Clarke). There are some redeeming modern characters too - Judith Lucy (in her movie debut) plays the principled, liberated journalist Nance, and Samuel Johnson as Dave essentially recreates his dopey (literally) character from the Secret Life of Us as Simpson's flatmate and partner in grime. The denizens of the Cityside club represent an earlier, gentler Australia and are trapped in a 1950s time warp. A superb ensemble cast of great Australian actors includes the inimitable Bill Hunter as the laconic Stan, Frank Wilson as the dapper Len Johnson, and Monica Maughan and Lois Ramsey as Eileen and Gwen, two stalwart ladies who keep the men fed and watered, and the club on the straight-and-narrow.

    There is a pleasing mixture of funny and poignant scenes in the movie before it coasts along gently to a somewhat predictable final reel. The fancy dress party, the pumpkin scones and the drug-trading scene in the locker room will all bring a chuckle. Like some of the old cars which feature in the movie, this film moves at a sedate pace. The fact that the ending is in little doubt after the opening ten minutes does not diminish the pleasure of the journey to reach it.

Video

    The overall video transfer of this disc is very good, as might be expected for such a new film.

    The film is presented at 1.78:1, very close to its original theatrical ratio (as stated on the case) of 1.85:1 and it has been 16x9 enhanced.

    The transfer is sharp and does not suffer from excessive grain.

     There are very few dark scenes in the movie but shadow detail is generally adequate. Colours are very natural, with some nice primary colours cropping up through the movie. Skin tones are good.

    The transfer has no significant MPEG artefacts. Film-to-video artefacts are minor and crop up infrequently. Aliasing can be seen occasionally, for example on white road markings at 6:23, the bingo machine at 26:31, and the grille of a car at 33:44. None of these instances are distracting, and you have to look pretty hard to even notice them. Minor edge enhancement is occasionally noticeable, for example around the characters in the opening meeting scene.

    The transfer does have one major video flaw, which I have never witnessed before and am therefore at a loss for how to define it. Between 46:56 and 47:10, on the balcony shot featuring Malloy and Johnson, there is a recurring issue where the actors' shirt-sleeves become "semi-transparent". It is almost as if there are two images sandwiched together, but out of alignment with each other. (Ed. These are possibly MPEG encoder errors.)

     The transfer is virtually free from film artefacts, with only some very fleeting specks to be seen.

    There is a single English for the Hearing Impaired subtitle track present. Overall the subtitles are well put together, following the dialogue very closely, reproducing sound effects and even song lyrics as they play.

    This is an RSDL disc, with the layer change occurring at 53:39. This is noticeable as it occurs just as Bernie Fowler begins a sentence, and the pause cuts off the first half of the word "Simpson".

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The overall audio quality of this disc is good, with no audible defects. It is generally clear enough to hear the "whoosh" of the bowls on the lawn.

    There are two available audio tracks, both in English. One is a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack recorded at 448 kbps, the other is Dolby Digital 2.0 recorded at 224 kbps, with the surround flag enabled. I listened to the former in full, and sampled the latter which, given the overall nature of this soundtrack, was perfectly acceptable.

    Dialogue was almost always clear. On a few occasions I found it difficult to make out all of Bill Hunter's dialogue, but I think this was due to the delivery rather than the recording fidelity. Audio sync was never a problem.

    The original music is credited to Gareth Skinner and does an adequate job with an occasional Herb Alpert type vibe. There are also some more recent pop music songs present, and these fit into the film well.

    The surround channels were barely noticeable, occasionally becoming vocal for the musical score, and some minor background effects. Being a largely dialogue-driven movie the heavily frontal soundstage doesn't detract from the film.

    The subwoofer was almost unused, with the exception of a rare few musical bass notes and of course during the flipper sequence.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    There are several extras on this disc.

Menu

    The initial menu is a short video clip of a bowls game accompanied by some suitable elevator music. It offers the choice of set-up (including the selection of commentary tracks), extra features or the selection of one of twenty-four chapter stops.

Commentary Tracks

    There are two commentary tracks available, recorded in Dolby Digital 2.0 at 224 kbps. The first features Mick Molloy (writer/producer), Richard Molloy (brother/co-writer/associate producer) and Judith Lucy (actor) in a slightly rambling, semi-drunken bit of fun. This is a very relaxed, anecdote-filled commentary and is worth a listen. The second track is provided by Paul Moloney (director), Brent Crockett (director of photography) and Stephen Luby (co-producer). This track is slightly more insightful from a technical perspective, but somewhat soporific to listen to.

Deleted Scenes

    Five short scenes, including a very funny low-speed car chase, are presented with the option of a commentary by Mick and Richard Molloy. These scenes are presented letterboxed and are not 16x9 enhanced.

Alternate Flippers

    Three alternate soundtracks are shown for the climactic "flipper" scene in the movie. It is surprising how much difference these options make to the finished shot.

Behind the Scenes

    Presented full frame with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at 224 kbps, this short (7:08) feature takes us behind the camera at the filming of the competition scenes in Cowra.

Theatrical Trailer

    Running for 2:20 and presented in a letterboxed format.

TV Ads

    Five television advertisements, three running for 0:30 and two at 0:15 presented full frame with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at 224 kbps.

Stills Gallery

    A collection of thirty-six photographs from the movie.

Swear Jar

    A compilation of the obscenities from the movie played in rapid succession, presented in a ratio of 1.78:1.

    This DVD does not appear to be available in Region 1 yet.

    Crackerjack is the cinematic equivalent of a doona. Pull on your slippers, get a mug of cocoa and cuddle up next to a loved one. This is (almost) eighty-nine minutes of gentle fun and will leave you with a smile and a warm feeling. Mick Molloy has pulled together a charming, funny movie which will leave all but the most jaded of us with an appreciation of an Australia which, whilst hidden from view, may still exist just around the corner at your local bowls club.

    The video quality is generally good.

    The audio quality is good whilst not being particularly dramatic.

    The extras are numerous but are fairly lightweight.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall