Cowboys & Kiwis - AKA Beauty & The Bodice

By Bennett Owen

The film is called ‘Good For Nothing’ and will go down as the first western movie ever filmed in New Zealand, which I guess is good for something.  It’s been doing the rounds of the film festivals to generally positive reviews and will see limited US release this spring.

Credit: GoodforNothingMovieFrom what I’ve seen of it, the scenery alone might be worth the price of admission…

Credit: GoodforNothingMovieThe title takes on a fully new meaning as the film unfolds.  Basically it tells the story of a young British lady kidnapped by a merciless desperado…who in turn is ‘humbled’ in his efforts to make a woman of the lass.  

The Hollywood Reporter describes the film thusly: “Imagine a Kiwi Spaghetti Western filtered through the offbeat sensibilities of early Sam Raimi or the Coen brothers.”

Director Mike Wallis and his fiancée, co- producer and female lead Inge Rademeyer, funded the shoot.

Credit: GoodforNothingMovie"We were going to buy a house but instead we made a movie," Rademeyer said.

This is also Rademeyer’s film acting debut and US critics have given her positive reviews.

Five years in the making, the very fact that this project is seeing the light of day is a tribute to the grit and determination of its makers and their utter defiance of the odds.   The pioneer spirit, alive and well down under.