Goodbye Pork Pie

Goodbye Pork Pie is one of our favourites here at NewZealandAtoZ and is a kiwi cult movie from the late 1970s. Another must see on your New Zealand movie list

Synopsis

Two young men set out on a thousand-mile escapade in a tiny, yellow, stolen car.

GOODBYE PORK PIE is the exciting story of two very different young men - and of their incredible (and often very funny) thousand mile journey in a very small, stolen, yellow car.

Gerry is young and restless and unemployed. He lives in an isolated small town in the far north of New Zealand, so when the car gives him the chance to head to a big city, he moves fast and starts looking for excitement.

John is older and slightly more conventional. He also has employment trouble - in his case he just doesn't like looking for work. And his girlfriend has just dumped him. She's gone off to stay with her sister in distant Invercargill, way down the other end of the country. John yearns to pursue her but he doesn't have any money.

Gerry has the car...so together they hit the road.

A misunderstanding over paying for petrol pushes them past the point of no return, with the police on their trail. They head off for adventure and excitement. They keep one jump ahead of the law, but this is due as much to good luck as good planning. Their exploits make them the heroes of the news media, with headlines following them as they hurtle south. The whole country follows their reckless game of hide and seek.

Along the way they pick up Shirl whose frequent protestations of virginity are obviously fantasy. At first unpopular, she turns out to be good company.

Gradually the three become committed to the common cause - of reaching their destination and avoiding the police.

But a brand new yellow car with three irrepressible occupants cannot be easily hidden. They become involved in an extraordinary chase through the streets and buildings of Wellington city. It culminates in a hilarious escape, and the trio start a new life inside a railway freight wagon as they begin the second stage of their journey.

The police, as usual, are left empty handed and by now, more than a little confused. The gang seems unstoppable; they leave one police car sinking in a lake and a second nose-dives over a cliff as the pursuit continues.

Hard up, the travellers are forced to sell pieces of their car as they head further south. They meet an eccentric collector who wants to add pieces of their car to his collection. Successful negotiations are completed. No sooner have they left when he rings the police, claiming that they are armed and heading south.

The film climaxes as they hurtle towards their final appointment with the law.