Film

The Adventures of Barry McKenzie

A cheerfully vulgar Australian comedy about a beer-loving larrikin loose in 1970s London with his formidable Aunt Edna. Shamelessly crude, wildly energetic, and deeply affectionate about Australian identity—a time capsule of uncouth fun that mines comedy from the collision of Australian and British cultures. Essential viewing for devotees of Barry Humphries' theatrical world.

TMDb rating2.7

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy broad, sweary, gleefully rude comedy about a naive outsider blundering through a foreign culture, and don't mind the jokes landing unevenly.

Skip it if you want sharp, tidy jokes, since much of the humour is crude, episodic and leans on national stereotypes that have aged badly.

What it asks of you: Expect a loose run of set pieces rather than a tight plot, nearly two hours of it, and patience for gags that overshoot before they land.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Crocodile Dundee1986

Same DNA: an Australian fish-out-of-water comedy that plays culture clash for laughs while genuinely warming to its protagonist. Hugely charming and far more polished, but it owes this film a debt.

But Genuinely genteel by comparison. If you want the raw, unfiltered mess of the original, this is a smoothed-down version.

Crocodile Dundee poster

Withnail & I1987

British cinema's greatest drunk comedy, also built on two mismatched characters stumbling through a hostile world. Both films are love letters to failure and friendship disguised as pure farce.

But Bleak and melancholy underneath the laughs. McKenzie is chaos; Withnail is tragedy wearing a comedy mask.

Withnail & I poster

The Ladykillers1955

Ealing comedy with the same theatrical energy and anarchic supporting cast. A masterclass in ensemble comedy timing that influenced everything that came after, including this.

But Much more genteel and plot-driven. You're watching the form at its most polished; McKenzie is the form having a drunken brawl.

The Ladykillers poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Adventures of Barry McKenzie

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

A Man of No Importance1994

Both centre on theatre as a form of liberation from social constraint; both are about people using performance to claim space and identity; both are deeply humanistic beneath their surface theatricality.

Albert Finney plays an unmarried Dublin bus conductor who stages theatre productions in his garage. A film about the redemptive power of theatrical excess and queerness in a repressive society. Genuinely moving where McKenzie is anarchic, but built on the same faith in performance as salvation.

But Quiet, introspective, and melancholic. It's a meditation on theatrical life rather than a theatrical explosion. You'll need patience for subtlety.

A Man of No Importance poster
More like this (5)

Fawlty Towers1975

Peak British sitcom absurdism with the same ensemble chaos and running gags. Basil Fawlty has the same frantic energy as Bazza, just channelled through incompetence instead of Australian bluntness.

But Brilliantly constructed and carefully controlled. McKenzie is deliberately sloppy; Fawlty Towers is clockwork comedy.

Fawlty Towers poster

Life of Brian1979

Monty Python taking on British institutions with theatrical excess and zero regard for propriety. Same-era transgression, same willingness to offend everyone equally, same love of performance.

But Philosophically ambitious beneath the chaos. McKenzie is happy to be purely stupid; Brian wants to make a point.

Life of Brian poster

Steptoe and Son1962

British sitcom about two working-class men in a shabby world, mining comedy from dialogue rather than spectacle. The counterpoint to McKenzie: where Bazza is extroversion, Steptoe is claustrophobia and resentment.

But Slow-burn, dialogue-heavy, and genuinely sad. A completely different comedy temperature.

Steptoe and Son poster

The Good Life1975

Situational comedy about people trying to live differently in suburban London, built on class anxiety and British propriety. A more sympathetic look at the same world Bazza is tearing through.

But Warm and gentle. If you want cruelty and chaos, this is exactly the wrong show.

The Good Life poster

Passport to Pimlico1949

Ealing comedy about a London neighborhood becoming a foreign country. Same playful interrogation of British identity and rules, same anarchic energy, same faith in working-class community and good humour.

But Much more earnest and sentimental. McKenzie laughs at sentiment; this film believes in it.

Passport to Pimlico poster

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Crocodile Dundee, Barry McKenzie Holds His Own