On Monday night I hosted a Q&A session with Nick Giannopoulos after a screening of The Kings Of Mykonos: Wog Boy 2 for the Gold Coast Film Festival. Suffice to say I didn’t pee myself in front of a theatre of people, which is a relief, and I was really impressed with Giannopoulos. After introducing the film he was supposed to go out to dinner with the publicity team while the film was screening and come back for the Q&A. However, I snuck out for a bathroom break mid-way through and there he was, hiding in the aisle and watching the audience’s reaction to the film (which I thought was quite cute). And unlike some other douchebaggy Australia celebrities (cough Brendan Cowell cough), he was sincerely happy to engage his fans and talk to them about every topic under the sun. No matter how stupid! And boy, were there some stupid questions.
In semi-related news he couldn’t believe I wasn’t Greek, or even Italian, with name like Maria and insisted on knowing my parentage. I have to give a big shout out to my BFF Courto and her dad Mr Brady, and the lovely Sultana and her delightfully crafty sister Kat who came along for moral. For the sake of interweb love, I suggest your embrace the inner craft goddess and head along to Jane’s blog the Nation's Health, which would make even Martha Stewart feel inferior. Anyway, I’m getting side-tracked from the film which, to my surprise, was actually pretty enjoyable. After The Wog Boy took $13.4 million at the box office, the film's star, producer and writer Giannopoulos is back 10-years later with the bigger, brighter and ballsy sequel.
The film opens in Melbourne, where wog boys Steve (Giannopoulos) and Frank (Vince Colosimo) are down on their luck and without their treasured wog-mobile; the Chrysler Valiant. Things take a turn for the better when Steve gets a phone call telling him about a beach he has inherited on the resort island of Mykonos from an uncle he has never met. Before you can say `farkin’, they are strutting the streets of Mykonos where they have to contend with locals such as Mihali (Alex Dimitriades) and Pierluigi (Hercules hunk Kevin Sorbo above) to claim the beach.
The Kings Of Mykonos: Wog Boy 2 is like your beloved Devo t-shirt; it is a little daggy and has a few holes in it, but that doesn't take away from its charm. It lacks the wit and social commentary of the first film, which took a tongue-in-cheek look at racism in Australia. Yet you can't help admire how Giannopoulos has tried to substitute that with exploring what it means to be `Aussie' and how we are perceived overseas. His explanation of Gallipoli is one of the more obvious attempts at this, but there are many more subtle hints throughout the film.
Plenty of jokes fall flat and had me rolling me eyes, but they were often the parts that had the audience clapping…so perhaps I’m out of touch. Either way, the dance scenes and banter between the characters make up for it, in particular the chemistry between Steve and Frank provided much of the films humour. A refreshingly commercial and light-hearted Australian film, The Kings Of Mykonos: Wog Boy 2 is the popcorn entertainment it sets out to be. Whether you will remember the salty tang once the end credits have rolled is another thing. The Kings Of Mykonos: Wog Boy 2 opens in cinemas tomorrow.