Stone Bros. Review and Competition (from Issue 8)

We’re not black and white, we’re all different shades of green…that’s just one of the messages I took away from the very funny Stone Bros. Australia’s first Aboriginal comedy embraces stereotype, myth and tradition and pretty much sits on them – but in a very light-hearted, good-natured way – before directing you down paths you didn’t know exist.

Eddie, the straight guy of the piece is caught between two worlds. He looks pretty white, so not even the dog that hates black kids would chomp on him as a boy, but he wants to go back home to Kalgoorlie in the mining region of WA and prove he’s a real black fella. He has a special stone, imbued with mystical properties that he has to take with him, but it’s been lost and now Eddie has to find it before it’s gone forever. Always along for the ride (and for a major dose of hilarity) is Charlie, who gets all the girls because he’s as dark as yummy chocolate (my phrasing).

Stranded on the road is the worldly and wise Vincent, who they pick up because Charlie knows “a good looking woman when he sees one”, before coming across another cousin, Reg – now referred to as Regina – who dreams of stardom. I don’t want to give too much away, but the film has some generous moments of laugh-out-loud funniness, great one-liners and weird but wonderful quirks in the plot.

The film is crisp and clean – very Hollywood – and so much better than I was expecting. The play on culture and politics is extremely clever and the cinematography highlights and celebrates the Australian landscape (think Priscilla, Queen of the Desert).

Shall I watch it again? Yes. And I’ll still laugh at all the jokes. They won’t get old for a while. In fact, I can see at least one of those one-liners making a drunken appearance or twenty. I wonder if we can do a poll to see if you can all guess which one?

The movie will be released on September 24, and I highly recommend that you all watch it – not for the ‘post-sorry’ feel good factor, not just because the cast comprises of mainly indigenous people, but because it is genuinely and deadly funny.

By Therese Raft

Win a double pass to the exclusive special preview screening of Stone Bros.
Simply email grapeshotmq@gmail.com with your name and “Stone Bros. Competition” in the subject line to go in the draw for one of 30 double passes to the special preview of Stone Bros. The preview is on 21 September – stars from the movie will be in attendance, and lucky door prizes are up for grabs. Winners will be contacted via email.