Susan Granger: “CROCODILE DUNDEE IN LOS ANGELES” (Paramount Pictures)
The third in the comedy series about an affable Australian outback hero, this adventure finds Mick “Crocodile” Dundee (Paul Hogan) leaving tourist-laden Walkabout Creek (population: 20) to accompany his American-born girl-friend Sue Charlton (Linda Kozlowski), and their 10 year-old son (Serge Cockburn) to Los Angeles, where she’s been temporarily assigned to run her father’s newspaper after the original bureau chief died under mysterious circumstances. Inevitably – and predictably – Mick gets caught up in Sue’s investigation of a suspicious film production company that’s obviously a cover-up for an illicit overseas venture. “I’ll be a mole. I’ll get a job at the studio,” Mick offers and, utilizing his low-key sensibility, he milks every laugh possible out of the simple, grounded Down Under culture clash with hip, trendy TinselTown. The story by Matthew Berry & Eric Abrams and Paul Hogan, directed by Simon Wincer, follows a familiar fish-out-of-water formula as Mick delves into the strange mysteries of movie-making, plus bizarre encounters with George Hamilton (recommending coffee enemas) and Mike Tyson (demonstrating yoga). Paul Hogan still radiates a laid-back, self-deprecating charm but, aside from smiling benevolently or frowning disapprovingly, Linda Kozlowski resembles a stick of wood. (In real life, she’s Hogan’s wife, which explains her presence.) On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles” is a silly, good-natured, yet feeble 4. I was a big fan of the original “Crocodile Dundee” (1986), which grossed $360 million, world-wide. Its sequel grossed $250 million, so Mick’s popularity is not to be questioned. Too bad that this installment isn’t better.
