User Reviews

The Wog Boy was a very funny movie, especially if you know any Greek people. It was great to see lots of home grown faces, and glad to see it do so well at the (Aust) box office. I always find light-hearted and funny Australian movies 100 times better than some of the dark and depressing stuff that is produced.

I couldn't stop laughing at the half Serbian/half Croatian - hilarious!!!

Ethnic humour seems to be Nick Giannopoulos' forte, and subsequently 'The Wog Boy' is basically the movie version of his Australian television series, and his stage plays. Where all 3 mediums rely on ethnic humour, and being Greek is the subject of them. Granted, this film came out before the American affair 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding', yet the latter film was more convincing as a romantic comedy and as a movie. 'The Wog Boy' doesn't really work in that respect, and when I viewed this film, it felt like Nick Giannopoulos was simply rehashing the ethnic jokes in his earlier mediums.

Still, 'The Wog Boy' is good for a few laughs, but you won't find any substance to this film, nor will you find it that memorable. Vince Colosimo is a welcome addition, but he was better in 'Chopper'. I don't think Nick G. is movie star material, but considering this film came out in 2000, and he has only done 'The Wannabes' in 2003, this film hasn't really advanced his career. Still, saying that, 'The Wog Boy' is above average, yet quite forgettable.

*** out of *****!

Being in the US, we tend to not get a lot of the foreign "ethnic" films. It's quite a shame. Wog Boy was quite pleasant. There was enough other story to avoid the "romantic comedy" trap, but in essence it seemed to me to be a lite romantic comedy. Don't let that detract. Nick Giannopoulos put together a story that was well constructed and executed. Of course, the characters are more "charicatures", but that's part of the fun.

For what the wog boy is ( a crowdpleasing comedy) it is not bad. In terms of story the film lags, however there are afew hilarious sketches in the film, one being the scene where the young 'wogboy' is watching Skippy in front of the telly and decides to whistle for him with the dolmada leave he is eating.

To get maximum satisfaction out of this film, it would be fair to say having a Greek or Italian background would help a lot to understand some of the jokes.

Overall the wogboy does not compare to the stage shows of Giannopoulos (Wogboys, Wogs out of work), or even the hit series Acropolis Now, but if you're not too picky about the movies you see go see this, and to Nick Giannopoulos, who'll be relaxing for a long time after this, you were right, 'every wog has his day' mate.

I for one was disappointed here. I expected this to be way much funnier. I was expecting to laugh all through it, instead of frowning through most of it, cause of it's big lack of laughs, yet I still enjoyed it, anyways. When our wog boy, Giannopolous, an actor I've never found special, falls for a hot employee of an electoral office, Lucy Bell (Murder Call) who by the way is really good in this, he inadvertently ends up on t.v. as the world's biggest dole bludger. To clear his name, and win the heart of his one true love, he must hit back at the corrupt forces that have put him here. Hinch appears briefly, with those immortal words that have made him a legend, plus while doing a photo shoot in outback garb, he makes a funny reference to a famous Dundee character, the line that sticks out in this entertaining kick back movie, it's start in sepia with our wog boy as a kid, draws similarity to a short film I acted in. There are some nice sex scenes, and they don't involve Geraldine Turner, who states those same legendary words by Hinch in desperation, when sprung in her unlawful activities. Abi Tucker is pretty hot in this too. The naked sweating sex scene, her and Colosimo who plays Giannopolous's cousin, share, IS HOT. He's not the sharpest tool in the box, neither, but it kind of cute too. Just check his assortment of beauties he's done, pasted on his wall. And we have some action too. The Wog Boy is still worth watching, but for me, it ran low on laughs.

... BREAKER MORANT and ROMPER STOMPER . It has also given us watchable films such as BOOTMEN and THE ODD ANGRY SHOT . Unfortunately for everyone involved in this debacle THE WOG BOY won't be joining appearing in either list .

I was looking forward to seeing this movie simply because of the politically incorrect title , so politically incorrect that when it was broadcast on BBC 2 late at night the announcer didn't even mention the movie's name so I was expecting something so offensively anachronistic that my jaw was going to drop in disbelief . It did drop in disbelief , I found myself not being able to believe that the financiers thought this was going to be a major international hit

The problem lies with the cast and the script . I do know that Australia with its small population doesn't have a large pool of actors so I'll be forgiving for the most part , but this doesn't stop my criticism of Nick Giannopoulos as Steve . For this type of comedy to work you must be impressed with the comic skills of the lead actor and I'm sorry to say but Nick G just doesn't have the skills . I'd never heard of him and seen nothing else he's been in so perhaps he's much better at other performances . Here however he's just plain irritating , unconvincing and I lost count at the number of times he mugged for the camera . The jokes themselves are very flat and predictable and getting back to the script it seems very under developed , I mean who thought a running gag about a female Minster Of Work who's having it off in the back of a limousine was funny to begin with ? You do get the feeling that someone in the production should have been more honest and said " Look mate , this screenplay's not nearly good enough . Go and make it more subtle and structured "

I've been harsh and harshness has been called for in this review . I gave the movie four out of ten and it would have only got three if it wasn't for the one genuinely funny sequence where Steve is watching a current affairs show only for himself flashing up on screen and labelled a " Dole blodger " . This shows that the screenwriters were aware of comic timing and social comment . Such a pity that they didn't come with a much better written movie

Humour is a very individual thing and the audience at the sneak preview of The Wog Boy seemed to enjoy it more than I did. I found it an anachronistic affair, more representative of the old fashioned racial humour of the Australian cinema of the 1960s and 1970s. The boy meets girl plot never takes off because of a lack of chemistry between Lucy Bell and Nick Giannopoulos while I found laughs thin on the ground. If you want to spend your money on this, wait until it's on video.

After seeing the TV commercials for this film I marched to my local cinema expecting a lot of laughs. In the end it was one of the longest 90mins I have ever spent. The Wog Boy really did fail to provide a story line with enough substance to hold my interest and predictable and sometimes tasteless jokes didn't fill this void.

A scene where the two 'Wog Boys' dominate the dancefloor of their local nightclub was the only one that impressed me at all. The only character that was worth watching was 'Nathan', played by The Castle's Stephen Curry, his struggle with the opposite sex providing most of the few laughs.

A word for this flic is boring. Save yourself the time and just watch the TV commercial as the only laughs are shown on it.

Interesting and funny shot at Australia, more of what we need.

I enjoyed this movie just like any Aussie movie with a tale told through sarcasm. I expected this movie to follow Nick's TV shows such as "Acropolis Now" but found that it was a shot at the Government and at Ethic Australia, better known as Mulitcultural Society.

Anyone who has grown up with people that have parents or grand parents from Europe will get the jokes and understand how funny this movie is. The Yugoslav murder of the English language is so true and very funny. The mix of Italians and Greeks gags about mixing up English saying is also hilarious.

I loved this movie as you can tell and still 6 years on as funny as ever. This movie was not made to be taken seriously it's about entertainment and taking you away from everyday life. I highly rate this movie if you enjoy a laugh.

I really wanted to like this film however after an amusing opening few minutes I hardly cracked a smile. I agree there was no chemistry at all between the two leads and the other characters were cliche ridden. The script totally wasted the talents of Bud Tingwell and Kim Gyngell.

It must be said however that there was plenty of laughter around me and even a smattering of applause at the end. Perhaps I just couldn't relate to it enough. I'm just glad I went on cheap tickets.

Steve is a Greek man living in Australia since his family emigrated there many years prior. Since being teased as a `Wog Boy' in school, he has decided to live a Wog boy and be proud of his heritage. A run in with the Minister for Education sees him portrayed on tv as a dole sponger, however, when he goes on the show to defend himself he comes off the better and becomes famous. The Minister employs Steve to help develop new policies on unemployment, but is that all she is after?

I was drawn to the film by the unusual title – it is not often you see a film that has a racist term in the title, and I assumed I could get all worked up about it in a Daily Mail type of way. Sadly for my middle-class rage, this film has so much self mocking energy that it is impossible to be offended by it. The downside of all this energy is that it doesn't manage to cover the fact that the film itself isn't actually very funny. The plot is, well, pointless, which leaves it only with ethnic stereotypes from which to draw it's humour.

These stereotypes are actually pretty funny at times, but I suggest this film will generally appeal to those who identified with My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Outside of these the film has little to do and fills it's time with shouting and hand waving to keep the energy high. I enjoyed watching it as I was coming off a bad day of food poisoning and needed something silly and energetic to raise my spirits but I must admit that I did notice that I wasn't actually laughing very much at all.

The cast are pretty good I guess, despite all being cartoon characters in one way or another. Giannopoulos is enjoyable as Steve and seems natural in the role, a side effect of writing it I suppose, but most of the rest fall into one ethnic stereotype or another.

Overall this has energy and is silly if that is what you want. If you have a background similar to these characters then you may get more from it. But it is hard not to notice just how few actual laughs there are in the 90 minutes.

This is the first movie I have watched in ages where I actually ended up fast forwarding through the tedious bits which there are plenty of. Very ordinary movie. I'm glad I missed it at the movies & got a 2 for 1 video deal which included this movie instead.

I don't know where to start. Some of the most pathetic performances and story line I've ever seen. Back in the days of VHS stores it was the only one that I returned asking if I could have a refund. And I've seen some stupid movies

Sorry but this film was terrible.

It is terrible

Very bad humour

This is a film which has been long overdue! I have seen the live performances of "Wog-A-Rama" and "WogBoys" twice each, and laughed the whole time! "The WogBoy" is a film I would definitely recommend especially if you are a "wog". Of course "Skippies" would find it humourous as well, but only wogs can totally relate to the stories and the lines and laugh themselves silly! Great performances by Nick Giannopoulos, Vince Colosimo, Abi Tucker & Geraldine Turner. Highly Recommended.

This totally UNfunny movie is so over the top and pathetic and unrealistic that throughout the whole 90 minutes of utter torture I probably looked at my watch about 70000 times! Lucy Bell is so much higher than this crap and for her to sink this low is quite depressing. I have to admit that the whole audience I was in was laughing hysterically but the majority were Greek or Italian so I guess that this humour will probably make them laugh but not me. All this movie does is make you sick watching all these slackers make excuses for their stupid actions for 90 minutes. God, and I can never get that 90 minutes back!

I didn't know what I was expecting out of this movie at all. Only seeing the trailer on TV a billion times was what took me to see it. The movie was an absolute riot of Australian and Italian humor. I understood the movie all the way and even the Italian jokes. I really enjoyed this movie and the 'Boy meets Girl' plot was typical but very funny to watch. I congratulate the cast and crew on a worthwhile Aussie comedy hit. The best since 'The Castle'. 10/10!!

Made-for-DVD tripe with a (barely) one-trick-pony as its 'star'. Low budget can only forgive so many flaws. Giannopoulos has little to no on-screen charisma, and the 'jokes' don't even rate dad-joke level. The poor people who worked on this have wasted their time and talent on something that will never appear on the resume of anyone trying for credibility. Ever wonder why Giannopoulos isn't talked about in the same way as Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Hugo Weaving or Guy Pearce? If you watch this mess, you'll wonder no more.

This movie takes a light-hearted look at the reality of a multi-cultural society such as Australia. Being of Italian descent, many scenes are familiar to that of my own life. Overall, the movie is very enjoyable, for all audiences and is a definite recommendation.

I thought this movie was a crack up, it was good that it was more than a love story but rather a comedy about a race of friends and their views of life in an Australian society. I thought they all did a great job, and it's good to see that Abi Tucker and Lucy Bell got into something great after "heartbreak high" and "murder call" ! Nick Giannopolous does an excellent job as his character Steve, and a great job and creating this movie

You don't have to be a wog to find this film funny,it is sidesplittingly funny as it has characters that everyone can relate to - whatever your nationality, and a soundtrack that fits perfect with the action. Don't miss this, it'll leave you smiling!

This movie is by far the funniest Australian movie ever made!!

First of all I want to say that that this is not Italian humor its Greek. I love seeing Steve as a little kid in his Tsolyia uniform eating lunch at school with the aussie kids calling him a wog it really cracks me up. Another great part is when Steve rips a burnout in his Valient with the music pumping. I think in order to really appreciate this movie you'd need to have either come from a wog family or grown up with wog friends

Your the man Nick G

When I first watched it on VHS, I was not particularly impressed. The storyline was not fantastic and I didn't really understand the jokes.

After watching it a number of times and then hearing people I know mention one-liners from the movie, then "The Wog Boy" became more enjoyable to watch.

The humour in the movie and the dialogue do apply more to 1960s-70s Australia than the Australia of the 1990s and 2000s but audiences who can relate to Giannopoulos' character and the other ones in the film will find this movie hilarious.

If you compare "The Wog Boy" to a sports team, it is like a team of champions than a champion team because the storyline isn't great. "The Wog Boy" relies more on its jokes and dialogue than on the storyline but that is the strength of the movie.

"The Wog Boy" is more or less for a targeted audience. I doubt that many Anglo-Australians will find the humour or the characters appealing and non-Australians might struggle to understand the humour. The politically correct will be thrown off by some of the crude jokes or the nature of the characters too. For ethnic Australians, especially those of southern European origin, they will understand the humour and enjoy it more than other demographics.

`The Wog Boy' and `Head On' are both about aspects of the migrant experience of the Melbourne Greek-Australian community, but there the similarities end. While `Head On' was a frantic day in the life of a hyperactive drugged out sexual athlete, `Wog Boy' (where are the wog girls?) is the gentlest of comedies with characters and story lines familiar from a host of earlier Australian comedies – `The Castle' meets `Crocodile Dundee'.

The plot scarcely matters. Mild mannered wog boy Nick (Nick Giannopoulos), unemployed but the proud owner of a restored ‘69 Valiant, is exposed as a dole bludger on a TV show hosted by Darren Hinch (himself) and as a result becomes involved with unscrupulous female politician Raeleen (Geraldine Turner) and her attractive assistant Celia (Lucy Bell, looking gorgeous). Raeleen has plans to exploit Nick's image in a media campaign designed to get the unemployed back to work at lower wages. Nick, on the other hand just wants to carry on helping out at the Church bingo contest and helping Greek social beneficiary seekers make their cases to the unsympathetic bureaucracy. The bureaucrats are rightly unsympathetic since Nick's star client Theo is as a transparent a welfare fraudster as there is. Celia hates Nick at first sight (though it's lust at first sight for her sister and Nick's best mate Frank), a sure sign that they will get together eventually.

The movie's strong points are its dialogue and the supporting characters, who unlike the calm Nick, are satisfyingly comic in a manic kind of way. Frank the babe magnet (Vince Colosimo) with the bedroom wall covered with Polaroids of his conquests, Raeleen the lecherous minister who goes though chauffeurs like Kleenex, Theo the tireless fraudster, the Vietnamese pizza delivery boys who aspire to be latin lovers, Cousin Dominic the gambling pharmacist with the Speed lab in his basement, Yugoslav Tony the would-be Carlton drug baron, Shazza and Bazza the car-loving cops, and Darren the public servant nerd with a crush on Celia all provide us with a chuckle or two each. As to the dialogue, one line stood out. Tony, doing a spot of debt collection, says: `Listen. I'm half Serbian and half Croatian. When I wake up in the morning I want to kill myself. Give me my money!' Actually, Nick has a chat – up line that provides a running gag throughout the film but it would spoil it to repeat it here.

Old stereotypes are exhibited in a way that demonstrates that they have lost whatever power they had to determine outcomes for people. This tends to a tepid result – the migrant battle for acceptance is virtually over, so we can all feel an inner warm glow at what an accepting and tolerant society we are. If only that could be said for our relationship with the aboriginal people.