We Can Be Heroes » Reviews » ExtraMSN

By Phil Bostwick

A new Australian comedy series coming to TV One soon will amuse and bemuse all at once. In the tradition of Kath and Kim and movies like The Castle, We Can Be Heroes: Finding the Australian of the Year is Australian comedy at its best and weirdest. To add to the bizarre brilliance, all the main characters are played by the same guy, comedian Chris Lilley.

In the show Chris Lilley plays five fictional characters of varying gender, age and race all of whom are vying for the title of 'Australian of the Year'. Each character has done something special and has been nominated to represent their state for the prestigious award.

"It came mostly from me just wanting to play a whole bunch of different characters," Lilley told an Australian radio station. "I just wanted the challenge of being able to play male and female characters, Asian, young, old...

"I wanted to do five different people who were 'hero' types - you know, the sporting hero, the inventor, the medical miracle - and eventually have them meet and interact... the format of 'Australian of the Year' awards was just a device to be able to do that, to have them all heading towards something."

Chris Lilley began his career as a stand-up comedian in Sydney before taking his writing and performing skills to the Seven Network. There he developed two beloved characters which featured on skit comedy shows, Big Bite and Hamish and Andy. Lilley then relocated to ABC and devised a distinctly different approach to comedy with producer Laura Waters. With a documentary and current affairs background Waters was the perfect candidate to help Lilley develop a mockumentary-style comedy.

The two spent months interviewing a wide range of inspirational Australians. Then when it came to shooting director Matt Saville treated it like a documentary, instructing the cameramen to capture the action as if it were real life. The loosely scripted scenes were often unrehearsed and improvised, while the actors cast alongside Lilley had to come across completely real. To finish the illusion We Can Be Heroes also features narration that sounds totally genuine.

The result is a genius comedy that is both funny and cringe-inducing, while at the same time speaks of universal truths. Among Lilley's characters is Pat Mullins a 47-year-old cancer survivor from Perth with one leg shorter than the other who recently became a professional roller. She once rolled 19 kilometres on her side from Perth to Fremantle.

There's also Ricky Wong, a Chinese-born Physics student who has won international acclaim for his work in solar energy. He also loves to sing and dance on stage and is a fanatical member of a performance group.

Then there's 16-year-old star student Ja'mie King. As well as being a finalist in a Dolly cover girl competition, she's a sports captain, Dux of her school and sponsors 85 starving children. "I don't know all their names," says Ja'mie, "I call this one smiley coz its got the whitest teeth, this one brown eye coz it's got brown eyes and this one Usher..." In addition, Ja'mie does the 40 hour famine every week to raise money for her kids and keep herself looking hot.

The six-part series We Can Be Heroes: Finding the Australian of the Year starts on Monday May 15, TV One at 10pm.

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