The Tavern

R16: violence, offensive language and sexual material

Director: Brad Jackson

Starring: Matt Hicks, Narina Riddle, Josh McKenzie, Tom Easden

1hr 41min

If you'd rather forget about the time you lived in the Waikato, sinking pints after work to distract yourself from the fact you’re surrounded by paddocks instead of anywhere near the sea, don’t watch this film.

The Tavern is a nostalgia trip for anyone who has ever spent too much time in run down pubs, and I mean that in the best way possible.

The film follows five blokes as they try to save their pub from an evil Ponsonby developer.

The pub is their home away from home, a place where they can be their authentic selves outside of their responsibilities at home, and somewhere they can forget they’re nearly 30 and getting not very far in life. I can see why they wanted to save it.

It's authentic Waikato humour with a real homegrown vibe, which makes sense because it was filmed on site at the Masonic Hotel in Cambridge.

Going into it I thought the developer was being portrayed as evil just because he was an Aucklander, and it was with slight sympathy for my JAFA mates that I was relieved the character had actually sinister plans.

This film has everything you wouldn’t want your kids to see, from binge drinking to strippers, and illicit means of raising funds to betting it all on a sure-to-lose horse.

Without giving too much away, I enjoyed the storyline – possibly because I could see my friends actually doing this – and the ending got a vocal reaction from almost everyone in the audience.

The core cast are exactly what you’d expect a group of Cambridge bogans to be, played by a mixture of professionals and friends.

Cameos were made by some more notable New Zealanders including former All Black Zac Guilford, footballer Ricki Herbert, NZ Idol Benjamin Lummis and legendary race caller George Simon.

I know I was physically sitting in the second row of a Whakamax cinema on Wednesday night, but the moment the late Mick Innes came on screen as a rough but wise bar rat, emotionally I was back in Te Kūiti flirting with a man triple my age just for the fun of it – the type of thing you only do after a pint or three.

On the topic of beer, The Tavernsignature Piss was an awesome touch that just topped off the experience.

Being able to stand up and down most of a can during a montage set to Bliss by Th’ Dudes really makes you feel like you’re there with the characters.

When I lived in the King Country, Cambridge felt flash. This movie was a great reminder that you can always go to your local crappy watering hole if you need to rub shoulders with some bogans. 8/10