After Malcolm, that did set the bar pretty high, we drop back a bit with a less successful Aussie comedy, that still manages to be bloody entertaining, where again we are reminded with familiarity to who penned this. This film's good but just not as good as Malcolm was. Sister (Landis) and brother (Kearney) team, take off to the outback, as little brother, you could say, has got himself into a bit of trouble with authorities. Pete is an immature, inventive, and causes a lot of unnecessary trouble, and has anger issues to. He makes obscene phone calls to authorities, causes chain cop car collisions, etc, with his smart arse stunts, as posing as fictional character Evil Donald. He has a newspaper business, he operates from his car, his delivery of them in the form of paper gliders has to be seen. He has trouble with his folks, where really sister, Rikki, a budding singer/guitarist, is the only one who really understands him, where this getaway, is like a last resort, one outburst I'll never forget has Rikki walking off in a huff, after spouting "F off Peter". They make new friends, in the outback, while also getting wealthy as doing a bit of prospecting. Trouble finally catches up with Pete in the form of city cop, (Bill Hunter) who really has it for him, and that's after Pete really makes an arse of himself one night in town, in some drunken and disorderly behavior, racking up quite a fine. His behavior tends to be worrying, where you really don't want to see anything happen to this problematic guy. I really liked Landis's character in this. She reminded a lot of my own sister's character, where Rikki, is a character I think is afraid, of falling in love, while Kearney is so so as Pete. There are a lot of entertaining moments in this film, though I found the movie a little dry or sagging, and as a runner up to Malcolm, you could of down far worse. For lovers of Malcolm, and others, a different and original comedy.

Tracing paper thin plot, WEAK conflict and so much forced quirkiness that it'll make your head ache! The characters are all unbelievable and SUPER cliché. And its about a brother and sister...there are many moments where there would be sexual tension and excitement in their conversations if they weren't brother and sister, even if they weren't love interests. But its a brother and sister...and they're not even interesting. The guy Pete makes weird machines and acts as quirky as he can, but it's all forced, trite and poorly executed. There are several scenes where the filmmakers have Pete do something quirky and crazy but its unrealistic enough to seem stupid and forced in there, for example at one point he's driving a car and his sister is asleep next to him (awesome, HIS SISTER, right guys, she's coming along for the trip yah! A crazy "ZANY" trip with his...sister...) anyway he climbs out onto the roof of the car after tying leather straps to the steering wheel and steers from the roof. I don't know how he was accelerating and braking, but screw it right! Its quirky and zany! So many other ridiculous scenes like that, but it's worse because there is terrible dialogue supporting a terrible "story."

Like most Americans, I think I have a deep respect and even envy for all things Australian. I think it reminds us of us of the days before we became politically correct. Australia is not only an original, but an aboriginal. We long for the rough and ready good old days, and the Aussies remind us of them.This movie is no exception. Pete is a loose screw who has a grudge against the local plod, and a genius for building indescribable gadgets that seem to do the impossible. Rikky, his sister, is the only family member that either understands him or cares about him. When Pete gets himself in a fix, she hustles him off in the family Bently and heads from the big city to the great Outback. Their adventures and misadventures along the way, as well as the breathtaking location scenery rounds out the story. Some of this stuff is really hilarious but not silly. This movie has a heart.Rikky, played by a very appealing Nina Landis, is an aspiring country and western singer who becomes a troubadour to help finance the trip out to the wilderness. They arrive at a desolate mining camp hoping to hide out from the coppers till the heat dies down and hook up with a bunch of losers in a mining venture.The country music was terrific tho I was a little disappointed to find that Rikky's voice was dubbed by a pro named Wendy Mattews. Just when I was falling in love too. Nina Landis made this movie, and I was sorry to find that I was 15 yrs late in discovering her. My chances of finding another Nina Landis movie are slim at best. Take my advice. If you find one - don't miss it.

I have especially enjoyed Rikki and Pete for reasons difficult to analyze. Just as a skilled writer can engross and hold an audience with what may appear to be simple prose, this film, too, with its simple and wacky story line maintains an artful and absorbing balance in its dramatic elements: a panoply of "unique", interesting characters, a comical clash of modern suburbia with desert mining town ethos, the clash of inventive slacker minds in the face of both, and a lively rhythm accented by Rikki's C&W barroom singing. What serious social messages it may contain - if any - are handled lightly. After all, nothing's new under the sun - certainly not male chauvinism or sexual abuse in the workplace or generational gaps. This film concentrates on its wacky characters and mining town setting, not on such hackneyed subjects.A masterpiece it isn't, and I won't deny it succumbs to excess toward the end, but compared to the usual empty-headed commercial stuff hyped in papers and video rental box-backs by critics of dubious loyalty (certainly none to the purchaser or to intellectual integrity) I find it nonetheless a superior piece of entertainment - deserving perhaps a 7 out of 10. Back in the 1980s when I first saw it, I would possibly have rated it higher. Despite the years, I still carry with me visions of the dart-throwing Swede, the mining boss bargaining for "lays" he'll never get, and the wild contraption R & P construct with the help of their friends to automate the mining of their own semi-fraudulent gold claim.