Spit ★★½

IN 2003 a small independent Australian crime comedy was released called Gettin’ Square.

In addition to introducing many people to Sam Worthington, it is best known for a great supporting performance by David Wenham as inept small-time drug dealer Johnny Spitieri.

I still recall the hilarious sequence during which Spitieri argues with a magistrate about the reimbursement of his bus fare to court.

At the end of Gettin’ Square, Spitieri manages to avoid prison by leaving Australia.

Two decades later and director Jonathan Teplitzky, writer Chris Nyst and Wenham decided it would be a good idea to revisit the character for a sequel of sorts.

In 2025’s Spit, the hapless Spitieri tries to re-enter the country but winds up in a detention centre after refusing to reveal his identity to the authorities.

After helping fellow detainees from other countries with some questionable Aussie style English lessons Spitieri ends up on the run again from both the authorities and some of his former criminal associates.

Unfortunately, the overall result of this revisit is not as successful.

There are two main reasons for this and both are due to the writing.

Firstly, the Spitieri character isn’t fleshed out enough to build an entire film around. They try to bring a back story to the foreground in the final act, but it’s too late, hackneyed and forced.

Secondly, it’s partly a throwback to a particular type of Australian comedy with lots of laconic characters, but also an attempt to update the story for a new audience concerned about the treatment of people being held in detention centres.

The two approaches really don’t merge well.

Wenham is of course very good, playing a character he knows backwards, but the film does suffer from not having a straight man that he can work off. The Worthington character from the original film is sorely missed.

Bob Franklyn has a nice cameo role but, for their characters, David Field and Gary Sweet just say ‘fuck’ a lot.

Watched at the cinema.