"I'm takin' this bloody car to Invercargill!"
Pork Pie is a 2017 remake of the New Zealand road film Goodbye Pork Pie. It is directed by Matt Murphy and produced by Tom Hern.
The film follows Jon (Dean O'Gorman) and his quest to get to Invercargill and make up with his ex-fiancee. Along the way he meets Luke (James Rolleston) and Keira (Ashleigh Cummings). All three take a stolen mini with their own agendas, Keira of note wants to "make an impact" by joining a peaceful protest for animal rights. In doing so the three quickly attract the attention of national police , making Jon's quest much harder.
Tropes:
- Ax-Crazy: Bongo. He straight up threatens to murder Jon and Luke if they don't take him and upon realizing they tricked him, he starts firing at them with a rocket launcher.
- Chase Scene: Pretty much a given when the main conflict is the protagonists running from the cops.
- Driven to Suicide: Discussed. Bongo states that after killing Jon and Luke, he would've killed himself.
- Eiffel Tower Effect: The Beehive and Parliament can be clearly seen while the trio is in Wellington.
- Jerkass: All three of the main characters to an extent. Jon left his fiancee at the alter and Luke stole the mini. Downplayed with Keira who's jerkass behavior is more of a result of her well-intentioned extremist nature, placing notes to guilt trip customers from eating meat and saying she will only have sex with Luke if he doesn't get his feelings involved (so that she doesn't end up hurting him).
- Then taken up to eleven with Bongo who threatens to kill Jon and Luke several times and actually attempts to do so but fails. Upon failing he ends up shooting himself in the foot (albeit unintentionally) and blames the injury on the Blondini gang, leading the police to assume Jon and Luke are armed and dangerous.
- Karma Houdini: Played with in Jon's case. While he does eventually get arrested by the police, the film does not show what consequences his exploits have yielded and cuts straight to his wedding. Played straight in Luke and Keira's case who never face trial for their crimes.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Luke turning on the data on Keira's phone allows the police to track them much easier.
- Police Are Useless: Multiple times in the film but special mention goes to them falling for the decoy minis despite the fact that almost none of them are the same color and none of them have the same registration as the car they're chasing.
- The Remake: To Goodbye Pork Pie.
- The Unfettered: Jon. Despite being constantly hunted down by the police, he never gives up on his mission to meet up with Susie. Subverted when he temporarily gives up to make sure Luke is ok after being shot and double subverted when Jon continues at Luke's request.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Downplayed with Bongo. While he had no idea his actions would end up with Luke getting shot by the police, he did manipulate the police into thinking the Blondini Gang was armed and dangerous and did try to kill them himself beforehand.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Keira is on the receiving end of this when the other two find out she has been streaming their escapades. She is also on the giving end upon finding out Luke turned the data on her phone on to download a game.
