THE NUGGET at HOLLYWOOD TEEN MOVIES

The Nugget is like the rural equivalent of an urban legend. Narrated by an old codger called Wally (Max Cullen), who tells us that of all the strange stories that emerge from the Australian bush, this is one of the many that we never get to hear. It’s also a pretty tall story - and that’s why it’s such a good one.

Making it even more enjoyable are the three easy-going mates at the centre of it. Played to comic perfection by Eric Bana, Stephen Curry and Dave O’Neil, these three who work for the council on the roads in and around Mudgee, were destined to be in each other’s company. Lotto (Bana) can’t win a trick; even when he scores a big Lotto prize he loses the ticket. At the height of any crisis, Lotto’s solution is a simple one: “Let’s go and have a beer”. Wookie (Curry) - so named because he thinks he spotted one of the furry Star Wars characters in his backyard - believes every conspiracy theory going, and Sue (O’Neil) doesn’t do much of anything if he can help it and got his name when he sued a pie company after finding a finger in one of their gourmet delights.

Between beers, these three go prospecting on a piece of land they share, and when they find what is probably the biggest gold nugget in history, it looks like Lotto’s bad luck has run its course. It’s also good news for the boys’ long-suffering wives - Cheryl (Belinda Emmett), Moon Choo (Karen Pang) and Darlene (Sallyanne Ryan) - who have been left at home most weekends while the blokes go off with high hopes of coming back rich. While Cheryl and Moon Choo don’t get too carried away about how they’ll spend their millions (Cheryl decides to go wild and have a facial and manicure), Wookie’s wife, Darlene is bitten by the nasty bug and decides that the nugget belongs to him because his is the only name on the lease. Lurking around, there’s also a shifty con man called Ratner (Peter Moon), who knows what the boys have unearthed - and plans to relieve them of it. The situation becomes messier, gold fever grows ugly, friendships are strained and there’s foul play afoot. Lotto decides it’s time for another beer.

Like all good yarns, this one has a fanciful side and when it arrives at its big resolution, credibility is stretched delightfully to the limit. Ideally cast and told with a droll sense of humour by writer/director Bill Bennett, “The Nugget” is a comedy that strikes it rich.

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