A few days ago on the radio I heard Jeff Lindsay, author and creator of Dexter, say that with the series he had never intended to write the Great American Novel; rather he had intended to write books that were popular. I’m keeping this idea in mind while reviewing Charlie and Boots. The film is what it is. It’s not a moving, realistic and heartfelt exploration of a father-son relationship. It is a clichéd and not very clever Aussie road movie comedy-drama but it has a gentle humour that will probably appeal to your mother.

Faded movie hunk Paul Hogan plays Charlie, a dinkum dairy farmer with two grown sons who shuts himself off from the world following the sudden death of his vivacious wife.
Shane Jacobson is his concerned son Boots, who’s had a few tragedies of his own. Boots corrals Charlie against his will to go on a spur-of-the-moment father-son fishing trip. Charlie had promised him as a child that they would one day cast a line from the northern tip of Australia and Boots is determined to finally make it happen.

The two men have a fragmented relationship and the trip is an effort from Boots to mend the fences. The grumpy Charlie isn’t receptive and responds by being as prickly and difficult as possible. But along the long road from Warrnambool to Cape York, he thaws out and the duo has such adventures as a run-in with a randy female truckie, a runaway ute and a riled-up bunch of female lawn bowlers.

On the way they give a lift to Jess, a guitar-toting teen with big dreams hitchhiking her way to Tamworth.

Hogan is capable as Charlie and brings believability to the gruff, grieving widower. His rugged, deeply lined face conveys emotion well and his competence as a dramatic actor makes the part look as if it was written for him. Conversely, Jacobson may have won Australia’s heart in Kenny but here he is merely mediocre and tries too hard.

The clunky script tends doesn’t help him. In the initial stages Boots refers to Charlie as Dad far too often: think, “Dad, come on Dad. What’s up, Dad? Dad Dad blah Dad.” They’re father and son - we get it.

Jess is also a useless addition. The character, while sweet, is unbelievable, pointless and distracting from the main story arc. It feels like she was chucked in because the writers didn’t know what else to do with the leads.

The film is also very predictable - you can see the resolution a mile off. It also resorts to silly situations to extract the laughs rather than being genuinely clever or original.

But overall there are a few chuckles to be had and the bonding of the two men is kind of nice. And it's an Aussie film so that's always worth supporting. Just don’t expect The Castle’s standard.