Backyard Ashes

A friendly game of cricket in the backyard; a broad comedy drawn from cultural preferences and mannerisms: both are Australian staples, one monopolising outdoor leisure pursuits in summer months, the other the primary mode of the nation’s comic film output. That the two combine in one feature is not surprising, nor is the laidback approach that marks Backyard Ashes. The air of the languid and larrikin-like swirls around its attempts to evoke laughter and a feel-good outcome.

The debut feature from writer/director Mark Grentell revels in the typicality of its sporting basis and cinematic genre: dialogue filled with tongue-in-cheek appropriations of cricketing vernacular, frames focused on the bickering and bantering of opposing sides, and a narrative predicated upon finding simple amusement in an everyday occurrence becoming a larger-than-life spectacle. The details fall loosely around the set-up, as co-written with producer Peter Cox. Mateship provides the fuel, as men band together in the spirit of competition; the meaning of community forms an evident undercurrent, as the locals battle an outsider. 

Rhythm and routine ripples through the setting of Wagga Wagga. Beers, barbeques and a bash of backyard cricket provide the ideal way to pass the time. Dougie (Andrew S. Gilbert, The Loved Ones) likes little more than taking to the pitch on his own patch of turf. His neighbour, Norm, (Stephen Holt, Underbelly), workmates, Spock (Damian Callinan, Matching Jack), Taka (Shingo Usami, The Wolverine) and Bin (Waseem Khan, TV’s Housos), and barman, Merv (John Wood, Paper Giants: Magazine Wars) his playing companions. Alas, the arrival of uppity Englishman, Edward Lords, (Felix Williamson, The Great Gatsby) at their factory workplace sees their shindigs face a steep decline.

Swiftly and suddenly, Norm is downsized out of a job and out of town. Edward moves into his house, and Dougie seethes with anger at the situation. The professional and personal animosity that springs over the fence appears unable to be settled, especially after Edward’s prized cat is brought into the conflict. Only their shared sporting love can offer a solution. The duelling duo take to the field to bat and bowl for supremacy in their own version of the Ashes.

Backyard Ashes abounds with the rough-and-tumble of its grassroots genesis, the film a labour of love funded in the first instance by the Wagga Wagga populace. Poise and polish are absent, as is subtlety; in their place a clumsy charm tries to shine, in intention if not in execution. Grentell and Cox’s big ideas, blatant gags and borrowing of clichés combine to nostalgic and sentimental effect. The pair demonstrate ambition – in the contemplation of the importance of place and tradition – and so the film draws easy comparison to the similarly themed The Castle. That aim may not be achieved, however, but the spirit is obvious, as much as the feature’s unyielding affection for the sport at its centre.

Wearing its heart and hopes on its sleeve may help patch over the repetition and derivation that monopolises the movie; however, the passion of the production can’t conceal the standard and less-so elements. As the story, style, performance and presentation play to type, and the flagrant jokes and constant cricket references fail to gel, the feature ambles – not towards a grand finale – but to a welcome conclusion. Backyard Ashes strives for success but shows effort instead of achievement, a result befitting its origins in the underdog sporting tale.

Rating: 2 stars out of 5