Guaranteeing laughs from beginning to end, That’s Not My Dog! blends stand-up, concert-film and documentary footage, along with a loving tribute to the love of laughter, to make for a unique and entertaining Aussie comedy.

“An Irish man walks into a bar…” is an opening line that is used frequently in That’s Not My Dog!, an Aussie comedy where the dialogue is a smattering of jokes (86 in total) and the soundtrack is a selection of rockers (The Black Sorrows and Adam Brand among them) playing live in concert. Its revellers are a who’s who of Australian comedy royalty: Shane Jacobson, Jimeoin, Steve Vizard, Fiona O’Laughlin, freakin’ Paul Hogan. It’s set up is simple: Shane Jacobson provides the beer, grub and music, everyone brings their best jokes.

One by one jokes are delivered with the kind of confidence expected from the assemblage of talent involved. Director Dean Murphy (Charlie & Boots) had 6 cameras covering all the action, like a sports broadcast ready to catch a pivotal play. Clusters form. Paul Hogan shares barbs with Jimeoin and Paul Fenech. Rob Carlton with Fiona O’Laughlin and Tim Ferguson. Now and then, we cut away to Marty Fields and Stephen Hall trading jokes like boxers exchanging knock-out blows.

It’s not all smooth sailing. A tad too many times product placement oversteps its welcome. One wonders why Jacobson and Murphy didn’t make a joke out of such occasions, ala Mike Myers in Wayne’s World. Anything, really, to overcome those brief moments of discomfort via over the top marketing.

But then the jokes start again, and they are good. Of the 86, at least 80 provoke genuine laughs, with some of the rib-tickling, gut-busting variety. For an Aussie comedy to pull off such a feat? Something of a miracle, really.