The premise is that New York City reporter Sue Charlton (Linda Kozlowski) goes Down Under to interview the colorful crocodile poacher who lives out in the outback. He shows her the lay of the land and does a few impressive things, including saving her life, and turns out to be as colorful as anyone could hope. She then decides to bring him back to NYC and unleash him on the unsuspecting population. The New York sequence is where all of the good bits in the film come and Hogan's easy charm and sense of comic timing makes almost all of the bits work. It is hard not to like Mick Dundee and it is not surprising that a romance pops up between him and the reporter.

The only problem is that the on-screen chemistry between the two leads is the weakest part of the film. Yes, I know that Hogan divorced his wife and that in 1990 he married Kozlowski, but whatever was happening off-camera did not translate onto the screen, which is not unusual: just think about "Bennifer." It can be done, if you are Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, but all of the warmth and charm in the Hogan and Kozlowski pairing is on his side of the equation. The result is that the final scene of the film is rather unsatisfying, even with the incessant drumming music reminding us this is dramatic. We are supposed to be caught up in Mick and Sue, but it is the two guys on the subway platform who steal the scene from the principles.

Still, "Crocodile Dundee" is an entertaining film about a big kid in a bid city (with a big knife) whose reputation would be slightly more enhanced if it had not spawned a couple of sequels, which deluted the charm of the original. Going back to the outback or putting Mick Dundee in Los Angeles instead of New York is enjoyable, but it is just more of the same and there is never quite as good the second time around.

CROCIDYLLIC!!!!!
Review date: 2004-05-20 Rating: 10 out of 10

I bought this soundtrack on cassette way back in the 80's and played it to death in the car. Unfortunately it got lost during a house move a few years ago and I've pined for it ever since. Imagine my joy at tracking it down at Amazon.
Unlike most rediscovered old favourites, this one seems as fresh and satisfying as when I first owned it all those years ago. OK so some of the syn-drum sounds are a bit dated now but frankly, who cares? This album is pure class from start to finish. The penultimate track (from the scene at the end of the film where Linda Koslowski is chasing barefoot through the streets of New York to catch up with Mick Dundee in the underground station - you remember!) Is a wonderful crescendo piece that could have even the toughest bushman in tears.
Overall a beautiful, emotional, funny album, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

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