After a mildly humorous rendition of Grease’s ‘The One That I Want’ this agitating juvenile comedy slides on a downwards trajectory into the wastelands of bad comedy and poor screenwriting.

Of all the Aussie comedians littered throughout our media, Nick Giannopoulos, star of The Wog Boy, is undoubtedly one of the most grating personas. Having relentlessly squandered his Greek heritage (Wog boy! Wog boy!) there doesn’t seem to be any avenues left for Giannopoulosto explore, and he doesn’t seem at all interested in pursuing different prerogatives.

The premise of The Wannabes is about a group of criminals who masquerade as a Wiggles style kids music group in order to rob from a rich elite.

The pitch has market ready Hollywood-ish ring to it, but Giannopoulos (who also directed and co-wrote the film) never decides who The Wannabes is intended for. Is it a movie for grown ups? Is it a movie for kids? The film’s tonal indecision subsequently renders it inappropriate for any specific demographic. The DVD release includes a child friendly no-profanities version, which is what the film should have been in the first place if it ever intended to gather any dosh at the box office.

Not surprisingly, it didn’t.

Review by Luke Buckmaster