Rikky and Pete (1988)

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

After Malcolm, that did set the bar pretty high, we drop back a bit with a less successful Aussie comedy, that still manages to be bloody entertaining, where again we are reminded with familiarity to who penned this. This film's good but just not as good as Malcolm was. Sister (Landis) and brother (Kearney) team, take off to the outback, as little brother, you could say, has got himself into a bit of trouble with authorities. Pete is an immature, inventive, and causes a lot of unnecessary trouble, and has anger issues to. He makes obscene phone calls to authorities, causes chain cop car collisions, etc, with his smart arse stunts, as posing as fictional character Evil Donald. He has a newspaper business, he operates from his car, his delivery of them in the form of paper gliders has to be seen. He has trouble with his folks, where really sister, Rikki, a budding singer/guitarist, is the only one who really understands him, where this getaway, is like a last resort, one outburst I'll never forget has Rikki walking off in a huff, after spouting "F off Peter". They make new friends, in the outback, while also getting wealthy as doing a bit of prospecting. Trouble finally catches up with Pete in the form of city cop, (Bill Hunter) who really has it for him, and that's after Pete really makes an arse of himself one night in town, in some drunken and disorderly behavior, racking up quite a fine. His behavior tends to be worrying, where you really don't want to see anything happen to this problematic guy. I really liked Landis's character in this. She reminded a lot of my own sister's character, where Rikki, is a character I think is afraid, of falling in love, while Kearney is so so as Pete. There are a lot of entertaining moments in this film, though I found the movie a little dry or sagging, and as a runner up to Malcolm, you could of down far worse. For lovers of Malcolm, and others, a different and original comedy.

Two wealthy Australian siblings — one an attractive geologist, artist, and country-western songwriter, and the other an unmotivated mechanical whiz kid in trouble with the law — borrow their crippled mother's Bentley and leave their uptown Melbourne mansion to 'go outback', enjoying several adventures along the way, none of which amounts to much. The same writer/director team tries to repeat the luck they had with their 1986 feature 'Malcolm', but the results this time around are too relaxed and unfocused, to say the least. The travelers stop to perform some music (with support from ex-members of the Down Under pop group Split Enz), try their luck at gold mining, and build several clever mechanical toys, but like the outback itself the script ranges all over the map without arriving anywhere. The film isn't exactly pointless, but it's not exactly brimming with purpose either. There's a token crisis involving a vengeful backwoods sheriff, but with no real conflict there's no need for resolution, and the film disappears from memory almost as soon as the end credits finish rolling.

Like most Americans, I think I have a deep respect and even envy for all things Australian. I think it reminds us of us of the days before we became politically correct. Australia is not only an original, but an aboriginal. We long for the rough and ready good old days, and the Aussies remind us of them.This movie is no exception. Pete is a loose screw who has a grudge against the local plod, and a genius for building indescribable gadgets that seem to do the impossible. Rikky, his sister, is the only family member that either understands him or cares about him. When Pete gets himself in a fix, she hustles him off in the family Bently and heads from the big city to the great Outback. Their adventures and misadventures along the way, as well as the breathtaking location scenery rounds out the story. Some of this stuff is really hilarious but not silly. This movie has a heart.Rikky, played by a very appealing Nina Landis, is an aspiring country and western singer who becomes a troubadour to help finance the trip out to the wilderness. They arrive at a desolate mining camp hoping to hide out from the coppers till the heat dies down and hook up with a bunch of losers in a mining venture.The country music was terrific tho I was a little disappointed to find that Rikky's voice was dubbed by a pro named Wendy Mattews. Just when I was falling in love too. Nina Landis made this movie, and I was sorry to find that I was 15 yrs late in discovering her. My chances of finding another Nina Landis movie are slim at best. Take my advice. If you find one - don't miss it.

I saw this movie years ago, and I can still remember most of it. The newspaper delivery vehicle was great! For some reason, this movie has stuck in my memory as a movie I really enjoyed (versus the thousands of movies I've seen and either can't remember, or worse, want to and can't forget!) I hope I can catch it some time and get it on tape, as it apparently is not available at retail. In the years before the IMDb and Amazon, I can remember checking every video store I saw to see if they had a copy. Except for the non-dubbed version of "Mad Max" (which I got!), no other movie has inspired me to look for it so diligently. The Internet in this case is good and bad - good that it tells me the film is not available, and bad that it tells me the film is not available!