''The Honourable Wally Norman'' is a 2003

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

film directed by

Ted Emery Ted Emery is an Australian film and television director and producer. Ted Emery served in the Royal Australian Navy during the Vietnam War. After returning to Australia, he joined the ABC in Melbourne, Australia, and in time became a director and ...

. It stars Kevin Harrington,

Shaun Micallef Shaun Patrick Micallef (; born 18 July 1962) is an Australian comedian, actor, writer and television presenter. He is currently the host of the satirical news comedy series ''Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell'' on the ABC. He also hosted the game sh ...

, and

Greig Pickhaver Greig Pickhaver Order of Australia, AM (born 1948) is an actor, comedian and writer, who forms one half of the Australian satirical sports comedy duo ''Roy and HG'' as the excitable sports announcer H.G Nelson. The Roy and HG#Awards and nominati ...

. It was filmed primarily in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and was nominated for two AFI awards.

Plot

The story begins with a corrupt

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

( Micallef) shutting down a country town's main source of employment in the local meatworks. This leaves Wally Norman ( Harrington) out of a job, until drunk politician Willy Norman accidentally writes the wrong name on the parliamentary nomination form. Wally is at first apprehensive about running, until he realises it is the only way to save the meatworks. Throughout the film Wally is coached by Willy Norman and assistant Myles Greenstreet (Nathaniel Davison) in how to best appeal to the voters, as well as overcome his

fear of public speaking Glossophobia or speech anxiety is the fear of public speaking. The word ''glossophobia'' derives from the Greek γλῶσσα ''glossa'' (tongue) and φόβος ''phobos'' (fear or dread.) The causes of glossophobia are uncertain but explanations i ...

. Meanwhile, Myles is attracted to Wally's daughter, and a

wombat Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia. They are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . All three of the extant species are members of the family Vombatidae. They are adap ...

's career skyrockets. Much of the film's humour comes from wordplay, such as naming the town Givens Head, and the foreman of the meatworks being named

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

. Shaun Micallef said he had to insist that his own moniker was modified from F. Ken Oath to F. Ken Oats to soften one of the film's less subtle attempts at punning.

Cast

* Kevin Harrington as ''Wally Norman'' *

Alan Cassell Alan Louis Cassell (16 February 1932 – 30 August 2017) was an English Australian actor, on stage, film and television. Personal life Alan Cassell was born in Manchester, England but grew up in Birmingham. Cassell was of a young age when his m ...

as ''Willy Norman'' *

as ''Ken Oats'' * Rosalind Hammond as ''Dolly Norman'' * Nathaniel Davison as ''Myles Greenstreet'' *

as ''The Chairman'' * Octavia Barron-Martin as ''Laurie Norman'' *

Tom Budge Thomas Budge (born 15 March 1982) is an Australian actor. Budge was born in Melbourne, Victoria. Early in his acting career, Budge appeared in a number of Australian television shows, including ''Neighbours'', ''Round the Twist'', and ''Shock Jo ...

as ''Normie Norman'' *

Bryan Dawe Bryan John Dawe (born 21 March 1948) is an Australian writer, comedian, political satirist, songwriter, photographer and social activist. He is known predominantly for his long-running collaboration with fellow satirist, John Clarke, which las ...

as ''Richard Nicholls'' * Melissa Madden-Gray as ''Rebecca-Jane Thompson'' * Paul Kelman as ''Gary'' *

Reg Evans Reginald Evans (27 March 1928 – 7 February 2009) was a British-born actor active in Australian radio, theatre, television and cinema from the 1960s, after having started his career in his native England. Biography Evans started drama while ...

as ''Barry'' *

Paul Makin Paul Makin (born 18 December 1947, Marrickville, New South Wales) is a South Australia based television and radio journalist. He started as a cadet journalist at Radio 5KA Adelaide in 1973 joined Radio 2UE Sydney in 1976 before moving to televi ...

as ''Alan Unwin'' Bookmaker

Filming

''The Honorable Wally Norman'' was filmed in various areas of

. It used the towns of

Lobethal Lobethal is a town in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area, and is nestled on the banks of a creek between the hills and up the sides of the valley. It was once the centr ...

, Mount Barker and Nairne for the town in the movie. The town of Lobethal provided the hotel, Mount Barker provided the meatworks and the St Francis de Sales College, and Nairne hosted the main street for the billy-cart race shown near the beginning of the movie.

Mike Rann Michael David Rann, , (born 5 January 1953) is an Australian former politician who was the 44th premier of South Australia from 2002 to 2011. He was later Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2014, and Australian am ...

, at that time

Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is ...

, had a cameo appearance at 1:12:10 in the film. He played the man who was thrown out of his seat by The chairman.

Critical reception

The ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

'' described the film as: "dreary, like being offered a dried-out chop, fake mash and over-cooked broccoli, when you were invited over for a juicy lamb roast." SBS said "''The Honourable Wally Norman'' seriously lacks bite; it's a determinably retro affair, amiable and mildly amusing, but pretty bland." ''Urban Cinefile'' dismissed the film as "a shallow and contrived affair with the occasional shadow of humour passing over it."

Box office

''The Honourable Wally Norman'' grossed $181,395 at the box office in Australia.''Film Victoria - Australian Films at the Australian Box Office''
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References

External links

*
moviehole.net reviewThe Honourable Wally Norman at the National Film and Sound Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Honourable Wally Norman, The 2003 films Australian comedy films 2003 comedy films Films about elections Films about politicians Films about democracy 2000s English-language films