That’s Not A Knife: Crocodile Dundee Is An Australian Batman

Hello Gentle Readers,

We have made it to the third day of our 2^nd Annual Twelve Days of Mimsey. And, did you know John Bayer is on tour?

 This guy. 

You can read my review of his book here and check out my interview with him here. And, if you want, check out his entire tour schedule here. The reason I bring this up is, John Bayer was for the longest time the only person who knew my secret. My personal guilty pleasure and a longtime favorite: 

 How can you not love this face? 

I absolutely love all things Crocodile Dundee, and John Bayer was the only person I could call to confess how much I enjoyed Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles.

 We’ll get to that one. 

So, without further ado, here’s why Crocodile Dundee still holds up!

That’s Not A Knife: Crocodile Dundee Is An Australian Batman

Get it here!

The adventures of everyone’s favorite Australian began when TV star Paul Hogan decided to give Australian’s a folk hero. Instead, he gave the world an Australian Batman. 

When I googled "Australian Batman" this is what came up.

I love the internet.

Crocodile Dundee is affable, charismatic, folksy, and will always stand up for the little guy. In the first movie alone he: Scares off kangaroo hunters, twice takes down a scuzzy pimp, nails a purse snatcher from fifty feet using only a can of corn, and in one of my favorite movie scenes takes comparative cutlery to a whole new level. 

That guy laughs at your knife.

He even has Reginald VelJohnson as a sidekick. 

Seen here grabbing a light snack.

 

Seriously, the guy so awesome he’s played a cop in virtually every role he’s ever played, doesn’t need to bother. Mick Dundee’s on the case. 

I like to believe he was inspired to become a cop 

after fighting crime using only a limo.

The second film is actually my favorite. It follows the kind of formula I wish more sequels followed: Organically follow the events of the first film, keep everyone in character, and find a new story to tell using the rules previously established. 

 

 If this were made today, it’d be a gritty reboot. 

The woman would be dead, 

Mick would be re-cast, 

and the ending would be ambiguously dark. 

Instead, we have a film where Crocodile Dundee takes on South American drug lords, using only his wits, his friends, and Australia. The good guys are positive and fun, the bad guys are hilariously evil, and SERIOUSLY CROCODILE DUNDEE IS BATMAN!

He swings around the city, busts through windows like he has stock in a glass repair company, takes down a man using only a bra and a buffalo (no, the buffalo isn’t wearing the bra), DANGLES A MAN FROM A LEDGE…

Shirtless. 

How often do you see Batman fighting crime shirtless?

And disappears into the night like an Aussie ninja. The only difference between Mick and Batman is, Mick has a better hat. 

 And a knife. 

It’s also important to note, Crocodile Dundee never kills anyone. In fact, the only good guy to kill someone in all three movies is Sue, played by Linda Kozlowski. That’s right folks, in these movies, the one person you least want to piss off is THE WOMAN!

Pictured: A woman who has no time for your nonsense.

Actually, The Mimsus and I were watching the first flick the other day, and she observed that Sue never calls Mick out for saying or doing weird stuff. She doesn’t try to change him, just accepts him for who he is. 

Take note ladies. You want a project? Take up stamping.

And then there’s the third film. 

It's the "special" one.

You can get it here.

It came out fifteen years after the first film, and is the lowest grossing of the three. The plot is that Mick and Sue move to Los Angeles, where they discover that someone’s using a movie studio to smuggle Yugoslavian paintings. 

Think of it as a two hour Wendy’s commercial. 

It’s goofy, it’s cartoony and I really enjoy it. Actually, a cartoon is one of the best descriptions, as it feels  less like a Crocodile Dundee movie and more like an episode of Scooby-Doo. In fact, had someone said “Yeah, we’re looking to create a TV series about Crocodile Dundee solving crime in Los Angeles!” I would totally have believed this was a made for TV pilot. In fact, I’d still watch that show. 

What’s not to love? 

So, Gentle Readers, what’s your guilty pleasure? Sound off in the comments! And don’t forget to check out “The Twelve Days of Mimsey”

On the first day of Mimsey, my true love gave to me: MyFavorite Santa Claus!

On the second day of Mimsey, my true love gave to me: A LabyrinthAnd David Bowie!

On the third day of Mimsey, my true love gave to me: Three Crocodile Dundee movies!

By the way, did you know you can get free shipping from Amazon on any order over $35? Start shopping now!

Jay Mims writes books, blogs, and recently wrote about what made Disney Princess' tick. Jay lives with The Mimsus, a semi-adopted cat named Eartha Kitty, a lizard named Bob and a passive-aggressive Dalek named Steve. Jay is far funnier on Facebook then in real life. He is terrible at Twitter.  Jay now has a website.