David Argue Movies

In this unusual romantic drama from Australia, Harry (John Lynch) and Kate (Jacqueline McKenzie) are both patients at a psychiatric care facility. While in therapy, the two meet and fall in love, in spite of their troubled pasts. Despite the potential complications they might foresee with the relationship, Harry's main sources of support, his brother Morris (Colin Friels) and Morris's wife Louise (Deborra-Lee Furness), are more concerned with Harry's stability and happiness than anything else, and they soon give him their blessing to marry Kate. However, it soon becomes obvious that love does not conquer all. Kate becomes pregnant, and her doctors try to persuade her to have an abortion. They believe that her mental illness could be passed along to her child, that she would not make a fit mother, and that her medication for schizophrenia could have a harmful effect on the fetus. Kate is convinced that the angel Astral speaks to her, and that the child she carries is his earthly incarnation; she refuses to have an abortion, but compromises by not taking her medication while pregnant. Harry stops taking his as well, but the couple's happiness is short-lived when their increasing instability leads to tragic consequences. Angel Baby won seven Australian Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

David Parker directed this campy send-up of Italian muscle-man movies that owes more than it should to Woody Allen's 1966 Japanese spy spoof What's Up, Tiger Lily? In a framing story, two film company executives (Bruce Spence, David Argue) resign from the company to start their own revival theater. They decide to re-open the theater with the same Italian sword-and-sandal epic that closed the theater down years ago. But in revenge for the two employees having quit on him, their ex-boss sends the theater a copy of Hercules -- but in Italian and without subtitles. In order to go ahead with the film screening, the two film entrepreneurs have to improvise a running English soundtrack for the film as it unspools in the projection booth. In their fractured version of Hercules, Hercules is now a nightclub performer who is snubbed by the nightclub owner's daughter Labia, because she is in love with Testiculi. And as the film unspools, the boys in the booth have to keep up the dubbing, no matter if it makes sense on the screen or not. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

In 1945, a tribunal was held to investigate atrocities committed by the Japanese upon Australian soldiers during World War II. At an internment camp, 1100 Australian soldiers were tortured and killed by the Japanese, with only 300 survivors. This horrible event was not known until a terrible discovery of decapitated corpses was made at a grisly site on Ambon Island in Indonesia after the war. Stephen Wallace directed this courtroom drama based on the incident and follows the intrepid investigator who uncovers the truth behind the missing Australian soldiers. Bryan Brown plays Captain Cooper, the prosecutor of the case, in which 91 Japanese officers and soldiers are accused of murdering the Australian prisoners-of-war. The chief defendants are camp commander Takahashi (George Takei) and Captain Ikeuchi (Tetsu Watanabe). Takahashi denies knowing anything about the atrocities, as does Ikeuchi. Nevertheless, Cooper presses on to undercover the truth. But standing in his way is the American delegation, led by Major Beckett (Terry O'Quinn). They don't want a case to go forward that would reflect badly on the Japanese high command, since General MacArthur wants to reinstate many of the Japanese officers in a new postwar Japanese order. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

In this comedy, Carlos Munoz (Cheech Marin) travels from America to Australia to find work, and gets a job at a Mexican restaurant. While there, he meets up with poor little rich girl Alex Hobart (Emma Samms) who hires him to pose as her fiance to scare her father into approving of her marriage with her unappealing boyfriend, Bruce Woodley (Vernon Wells). ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

In this irreverent, off-the-wall Australian comedy, Amanda Dole is a beautiful woman who emerges from the forest in search of her parents after being raised by dingoes. She stumbles into a haunted film studio occupied by a demented doctor (Esben Storm) and his disabled, daffy wife (Arna-Maria Winchester). David Argue plays the inept hero who tries to keep himself and the Dingo Girl one step ahead of vampires, Nazis, a crooked cop, and other urban nightmares. This campy comedy became a cult classic. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

The ugly American bullying his way through a foreign country was a subject for comedy in several films of the 1980s, most notably Bill Forsyth's Local Hero and this film from exiled Yugoslavian director Dusan Makavejev. Eric Roberts plays Becker, an aggressive marketing executive for the Coca-Cola Company; he has been assigned to figure out why sales in hot and dry Australia aren't higher. Becker comes up against a low-key but formidable adversary, T. George McDowell (Bill Kerr), whose homegrown soda has cornered the market in his little corner of the country. Complicating matters is Terri, a local woman (Greta Scacchi) Becker hires as his secretary; she's McDowell's daughter and a single mom who's romantically attracted to the brash American. Becker wants to make a deal on his (and his employer's) terms, but he finds himself falling prey to the charms of life Down Under and the ministrations of Terri. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi

In this sequel to the Australian smash hit comedy Alvin Purple (1973) and Alvin Rides Again (1974), the story centers on Alvin's 18-year old son, who just like his dad, attracts women like flies to honey, but is terrified of them. He is only comfortable with one woman, a young usherette at the local cinema. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In a weak, plotless, mindless attempt to showcase the talents of a few of Melbourne's emerging comedians, Snow, the Movie features two friends (David Argue and Lance Curtis) winning a car in a radio contest and then heading out to a ski resort for what is supposed to be a fun weekend. Between the tired jokes and stand-up routines, the miserable talent contest at the resort, and as a final drubbing, a wet T-shirt contest, this film was almost immediately spooled into videocassettes -- and shelved. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

PJ (Angelo D'Angelo), and Goose (James Lugton) are bored Australian BMX riders whose bikes have been totaled. Setting off on an intended fishing trip with their friend Judy (Nicole Kidman, in her first big-screen appearance), they stumble instead upon a cache of stolen police walkie-talkies, which they decide to sell for new BMX gear. Unfortunately, the radios had orginally been swiped by a murderous gang of bank robbers, with whom they soon become entangled. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This patchy, uneven combination of fantasy and musical comedy is hilarious in parts and embarrassing in others, though the premise has great potential in itself -- a screwball Captain Invincible is out to save the world from his nemesis, Mr. Midnight, the white supremacist. Captain Invincible (Alan Arkin) is wallowing in his cups in the Australian outback when he receives an unusual call from the American President asking for his help. Unusual because the Captain had no choice but to go into exile after Joseph McCarthy's Un-American Activities Committee became suspicious of his red cape, and he has never been sober enough to recover from the shock. This history is given in a mock newsreel at the beginning of the film. But now Mr. Midnight is threatening to dismember New York City by convincing all the ethnic groups to live along the seashore. Once they are situated on beachfront property, he will blast out a crack in the earth behind them, cut their connection to the mainland, and send them drifting off into the Atlantic. It seems the dastardly Midnight has stolen the ultra-secret hypno-ray and can slice off New Jersey whenever he wants. Weakened by depression and alcohol, Captain Invincible is nursed back to full throttle by Patty Patria (Kate Fitzpatrick) and is soon ready to zoom over Sydney to the far side of the globe -- after practicing in harness in front of rear-projected scenes. Meanwhile, Mr. Midnight and his sidekick are all set to defend their turf, and their ability to slice it up -- though the (American) patriotic sentimentality that prevails in the end, after several other songs have come and gone, is summarized in a rendition of "God Bless America" that conflicts with the opening scenes and may leave foreign audiences cold. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi