''Bootmen'' is a 2000 Australian-American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by

Dein Perry Dein Perry is an Australian tap dancer. He is founder of the recurrent tap dance production 'Tap Dogs'. His film credits include work done on the Australian movie Bootmen, as well as choreographic work on Happy Feet 2. Early life and career Per ...

. It was distributed by

Fox Searchlight Pictures Searchlight Pictures, Inc. is an American film production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is part of the Walt Disney Company. Founded in 1994 as Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. for 20th Century Fox (later 20th Century St ...

and funded by the Australian Film Finance Corporation. Production was from 19 June to 18 August 1999 in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

by cinematographer Steve Mason who won two cinematography awards in the 2000 AFI awards and the 2001 FCCA Awards. It stars Adam Garcia,

Sophie Lee Sophie Lee (born 7 August 1968)TV Hits Sophie Lee Collect-a-Card is an Australian film, stage and television actress and author. Career Lee worked as a model early in her career, both in Australia and Japan''Lunch of Blood'' by Antonella Gambo ...

and

Sam Worthington Samuel Henry John Worthington (born 2 August 1976) is an Australian actor. He is best known for playing Jake Sully in ''Avatar'' and its sequel, ''Avatar: The Way of Water''; Marcus Wright in ''Terminator Salvation'', and Perseus in '' Clash o ...

. The film was released in Australia on 5 October 2000 and was the debut film of Dein Perry, who was previously involved with stage shows such as '' Tap Dogs'' and '' Steel City''. It is also known as ''Tap Dogs'' in Japan.

Plot

Sean and Mitchell are young adult brothers, having grown up in the rugged Australian steel city town of Newcastle. The father is a tough coal miner and they have no mother. Mitchell is a small-time criminal, while Sean dreams of being a professional dancer. Their father does not approve of Sean's dancing, so he hides his passion. Sean meets local hairdresser Linda at a dance class and falls in love with her. Things look promising between them, but Sean leaves to make his mark. Mitchell confesses his love for her and she thinks Sean has left, so they end up getting drunk together and having a one-night stand. Meanwhile, Sean gets a role as a dancer in a show. The star's girlfriend flirts with him and the star gives Sean a difficult time, culminating with Sean outdancing him. They get into a shouting match. Sean punches the star and is fired. Sean returns to Newcastle and tries to pick up where he left off with Linda, only to be told that she is pregnant with Mitchell's child. He breaks ties with both Linda and Mitchell, creates his own dance troupe and plans to show the people of Newcastle what they can do. Their father's work needs money to keep the company open and Sean plans a benefit show. Mitchell gets in trouble with local thugs and escapes on his motorbike. They later catch him in a warehouse and he plunges to his death. The police immediately charge the culprit. Sean, depressed over the death of his brother and that he was unforgiving, thinks about quitting until he finds a tool that Mitchell designed, solving a technical problem with the show. Realizing that his brother believes in him, Sean is determined to honor his memory. The show goes on. They charge $10 a head and estimate 5,000 patrons will attend the event, even Sean's proud Dad who now accepts his son as a dancer and tells Sean even his mother would be happy. Sean realises his dream of being a respected dancer, reconciles with Linda and pledges to help take care of his brother's child.

Cast

* Adam Garcia as Sean Okden *

as Linda *

as Mitchell Okden * Richard Carter as Gary Okden * Andrew Kaluski as Colin * Christopher Horsey as Angus * Lee McDonald as Derrick * Matt Lee as Johnno *

William Zappa William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

as Walter *

Susie Porter Susie Porter (born 1970 or 1971) is an Australian television, film and theatre actress. She made her debut in the 1996 film '' Idiot Box'', before rising to prominence in films including '' Paradise Road'' (1997), ''Welcome to Woop Woop'' (1997) ...

as Sara * Anthony Hayes *

Justine Clarke Justine Clarke (born 16 November 1971) is an Australian actress, singer, musician, author and television host. She has been acting since the age of seven and has appeared in some of Australia's best-known TV shows. She is best known as a presen ...

* Grant Walmsley * Andrew Doyle *

Bruce Venables The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...

Tony Butterfield Anthony Butterfield (born 4 February 1966) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A New South Wales State of Origin representative prop-forward, he started his club football career with t ...

Awards and nominations

Awards won

Australian Cinematographers Society The Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS) is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 1958 for the purpose of providing a forum for Australian cinematographers to further develop their skills through mutual co-operation. Location Its Nati ...

(2001): **Award of Distinction (awarded to Feature Productions Cinema – Steve Mason) *

Australian Film Institute The Australian Film Institute (AFI) was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry. It is responsib ...

(AFI) (2000): **Best Achievement in Cinematography: Steve Mason **Best Achievement in Costume Design: Tess Schofield **Best Achievement in Production Design: Murray Picknett **Best Achievement in Sound: David Lee, Laurence Maddy, Andrew Plain, Ian McLoughlin **Best Original Music Score: Cezary Skubiszewski *

Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards The Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) is an association of cinema critics and reviewers. It includes journalists in "media, television, major national and state papers, radio, national and state, online and freelance writers, Australian ...

(FCCA) (2001): **Best Cinematography: Steve Mason **Best Editing: Jane Moran **Best Music Score: Cezary Skubiszewski (tied with Edmund Choi for

The Dish ''The Dish'' is a 2000 Australian historical comedy-drama film that tells the story of the Parkes Observatory's role in relaying live television of humanity's first steps on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. It was the top-grossing ...

(2000)).

Award nominations

(AFI) (2000): **Best Achievement in Editing: Jane Moran **Best Film: Hilary Linstead **Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Sam Worthington

DVD release

The film was released on home video on 27 February 2001 by

Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...

Soundtrack

The ''Bootmen Soundtrack'' was released by

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

in 2000 and composed by

Cezary Skubiszewski Cezary Skubiszewski is a Polish-born Australian film and television composer. Among others, he has composed film scores for '' Red Dog'', '' Two Hands'', '' The Sapphires'', and TV series '' Picnic at Hanging Rock''. Career Skubiszewski first m ...

and other various artists. # Rumble –

You Am I You Am I are an Australian alternative rock band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted ...

# Opening Sequence –

# Strange Human Beings –

Regurgitator Regurgitator are an Australian rock band from Brisbane, Queensland, formed in late 1993 by Quan Yeomans on lead vocals, guitar and keyboards; Ben Ely on bass guitar, keyboards and vocals; and Martin Lee on drums. Their debut studio album, ''Tu ...

# Tease Me – Paul Kelly # My Family –

Banana Oil Isoamyl acetate, also known as isopentyl acetate, is an organic compound that is the ester formed from isoamyl alcohol and acetic acid, with the molecular formula C7H14O2.It is a colorless liquid that is only slightly soluble in water, but very s ...

# Sign Post –

Grinspoon Grinspoon are an Australian Rock music, rock band from Lismore, New South Wales, formed in 1995 and fronted by Phil Jamieson on vocals and guitar with Pat Davern on guitar, Joe Hansen on bass guitar and Kristian Hopes on drums. Also in 1995, G ...

# Love Theme –

# Radio Loves This –

Deborah Conway Deborah Ann Conway (born 8 August 1959) is an Australian rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, and had a career as a model and actress. She was a founding member of the 1980s rock band Do-Ré-Mi with their top 5 hit "Man Overboard". Conw ...

# Hit Song – Custard # Giveway – Supaskuba # Better Off Dead –

# Don't It Get You Down –

Deadstar Deadstar (styled as deadstar) were an Australian pop rock band formed in August 1995 by Peter Jones (Crowded House) on drums and percussion; Caroline Kennedy on lead vocals and guitar; and Barry Palmer (Hunters & Collectors) on guitar and bas ...

# Nothing on My Mind – Paul Kelly # Nipple –

Icecream Hands Icecream Hands (also seen as Ice Cream Hands) are a power pop band formed in Melbourne, Victoria in 1992 as Chuck Skatt and His Icecream Hands with Charles "Chuck Skatt" Jenkins as lead singer-songwriter and rhythm guitarist, Arturo "Arch" La ...

# Deeper Water –

# Finale Part 2 –

# Shiver – Oblivia # "

Even When I'm Sleeping "Even When I'm Sleeping" is a song by Australian band Leonardo's Bride that was the second single from their first studio album, ''Angel Blood''. Released on 13 April 1997, "Even When I'm Sleeping" peaked at No. 4 on the Australian Recordin ...

" –

Leonardo's Bride Leonardo's Bride were an Australian pop band that formed in 1992. It consisted of Abby Dobson on lead vocal and acoustic guitar; Dean Manning on electric guitar, piano, wurlitzer and hammond; Jon Howell on drums; and Patrick Wong (aka Patr ...

# Junk –

# Tap Forge –

Reception

Box office

''Bootmen'' grossed $2,720,302 at the box office in Australia.

Critical reception

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 35% based on 17 reviews, and an

average rating In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...

of 4.90/10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 45 out of 100, based on 14 critics.

References

External links

* * *https://www.ozmovies.com.au/movie/bootmen Bootman] at Oz Movies {{AACTAAward BestMusicScore 2000-2019 2000 films Australian comedy-drama films 2000 comedy-drama films Films set in New South Wales Fox Searchlight Pictures films 2000 directorial debut films 2000s English-language films