The Wannabes [M]

Talentless entertainer Danny is hired by Marcus and his motley crew to turn them into the hottest kids’ group since the Wiggles. But while Danny is busy training them up, they’re secretly planning to use the kids’ group as a cover to pull off a big jewellery heist. However, after all their plotting and hard work, the heist doesn’t go according to plan. But instead of getting caught, the unthinkable happens: they become the hottest kid’s band in the country, they become The Wannabes. 

For the past couple of days, I’ve had scenes from this movie continually running through my mind, so I finally caved and rented it out from work. I’d almost forgotten how funny it is. It’s filled with menacing characters, a fresh and original story, and hilarious songs. 

Danny is a talentless wannabe entertainer who spends his time wearing leg-warmers and teaching seniors bad dance routines. But this all changes when he gets hired by a guy named Marcus to transform a motley crew of thugs and misfits into the biggest children’s groups since the Wiggles. Reluctantly, Danny agrees, but he doesn’t know that Marcus and the boys are using their kid’s band as a cover in order to pull off a major jewellery heist. However, after all their plotting and hard work, the heist doesn’t go according to plan, but instead of being caught and dragged off to prison, the unthinkable happens: they become The Wannabes, the hottest kid’s band in the country and they discover that crime doesn’t pay, but kid’s groups do. 

From writer, director and Wog Boy Nick Giannopoulos, comes this refreshingly original and wonderfully funny comedy about self-discovery, risk-taking, and talentless wannabes. I simply have to mention the songs that the band comes out with. I haven’t heard such cheesy and hysterical songs since Boytown. The band sings about everything from apples and carrots to dancing around in dirty underwear. Simply brilliant. 

What makes the songs even funnier is the group of characters that sing them. You have Danny, the patronising and over-eager lead singer. Then there’s Marky Marcus, the grumpy macho man dressed in hot pink. And then there’s Hammer, a foul-mouthed lad with nothing but sex on his mind. And of course we have Wally the Wombat who suffers greatly at the hands of boys when the video demands it. 

Filled with action, romance, sex, and bad dance routines, The Wannabes is a wonderful Aussie comedy that will have you in tears from start to finish.