Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001)

Directed by Simon Wincer. Starring Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski, Alec Wilson, Serge Cockburn, Jere Burns, Jonathan Banks, Gerry Skilton, Kaitlin Hopkins, Steve Rackman, Paul Rodriguez, David Ngoombujarra. [PG]

Not many were clamoring for a third Crocodile Dundee movie, but “don’t ask and ye shall still receive.” Sun-baked Hogan hardly looks to have aged a day—a good advertisement for the effectiveness of the jerking process—and still behaves like the wisest rube in town. As the title gives away, he and his longtime partner (Kozlowski) and their young tyke (Cockburn) head for the City of Angels (Hollywood, specifically) where Hogan ambles into the usual fish-out-of-water commentary and misunderstandings, eventually stumbles into a lame criminal plot involving a third-rate film studio and stolen art. Amiable but aimless, familiar but flavorless, it simply coasts on formula nostalgia; never tries hard enough to succeed, never flounders drastically enough to irritate. With the supporting cast frequently coming and going (even his barely-deserving-of-second-billing mate), the croc wrangler is the whole show, and although he can’t breathe enough life into the enterprise to make it worth watching, consider it a small miracle that he keeps it at least tolerable most of the time. The late John Meillon is sorely missed, especially in the opening scenes set in the Outback. The star’s rewrite of Matthew Berry and Eric Abrams’ initial script went uncredited.

41/100