Take Away Review

Tony and Trev, played by Vince Colosimo and Stephen Curry, are rival purveyors of fast food in a Melbourne suburb. Tony is fastidious and proud of his fish and chips; Trev is lackadaisical and forever experimenting with things like calamari burgers and dim sim on a stick. Sonja, Rose Byrne, comes to work for Tony and Dave, Nathan Phillips, for Trev. And then the rivals are confronted with an even bigger rival; a branch of the multi-national hamburger company, Burgies, is set to open next door. Take Away is the second Australian comedy this year about fast food (the other was Paul Fenech's much funnier Fat Pizza,) and it's fascinating that both films make a point of attacking a multi-national fast-food chain which seems to have been inspired by McDonalds. While that's an interesting phenomenon, it doesn't help this film. Vince Colosimo and Stephen Curry are amiable personalities and they try hard to bring this very thin material to life, while Rose Byrne has an utterly thankless role. The problem here is a screenplay, by Dave O'Neil and Mark O'Toole, which is completely lacking in wit, and the routine, TV-style, direction by Marc Gracie.