My Home Is My Castle

The plot is very standard, predictable fare, and frankly, from what I'd heard through word of mouth, I was afraid that this would be a MIRAMAX formula feel good picture like "The Full Monty", or "Little Voice". Well, I'm very glad to be able to say that it isn't. This is the real thing, and it is the character of the family, all their quirks, and the small touches that makes this a great comedy. I have no doubt this will be a film that I'll revisit again and again. How many films do you see that, the next day a number of lines, and bits still playback in your head? If you like films like "This Is Spinal Tap", and the other Christopher Guest films, and like characters from "Fargo", I'd recommend "The Castle". It's a charming little gem.

This is one of those movies, like "This Is Spinal Tap", that appears to aim low but taps into a certain subculture so precisely that it is elevated into something wonderful.

As a pom living in Sydney, I always insist that all overseas visitors watch this film in order to "get" Australia and Australians. The Kerrigan family are easy to mock, but qualities of togetherness, moral courage, unpretentiousness and un-PC earthiness embody a great strand of the national character and warm them to us.

Most of all, though, The Castle is just plain funny. You'll find yourself using the catchphrases over and over again, and you'll smile every time you do it. It's just one of those films. A classic.

I loved this movie! My family loved it. My friends loved it. My co-workers loved it. Even though none of us have ever been to Australia we somehow all managed to understand about 99% of the humor in this very funny and lovable film. As perplexing as this may seem to some of the Americans who didn't like it, or give it half a chance, one only needs a rudimentary knowledge of Australian culture or a modicum of intelligence about life outside the US to enjoy The Castle.

Yes, the Kerrigans are tacky. Yes, they are not the brightest people on God's earth. And no one is going to accuse Darryl Kerrigan of having an eye for real estate. But they are decent folk who look out for one another and their friends, and for this reason we come to root for them. Refreshingly, the movie gets big laughs from its quirky characters and not from crude sight gags like some movies I could mention.

Who cares if it didn't play well in the States? "This is Spinal Tap" didn't do well at the box office either, and it's one of the funniest films ever made. "The Castle", for me, goes down as one of the funniest films of the 1990's.

"How much do jousting sticks go for, Dad? Not more than 250."

The Kerrigan family live in a top property at the end of an airport runway. Dad has endless projects round the house and often stands in proud amazement at the size of his aerial, the hole that his son dug or some of the ideas his middle son has had. Mum is a great cook that can do a sponge cake as easy as seasoned chicken. Wayne is in prison, Steve is an apprentice mechanic and an ideas man, while Dale is just plain happy with his simple family life. However, when a compulsory purchase order comes through the post, the family find that they are being forced to sell up to make room for an extension of the airport.

Shot in less than two weeks because that is all they could afford to do, this comedy is a delightfully gentle comedy that draws laughs from the Kerrigan family but balances it perfectly so that we still like them. This is not as easy as it sounds because, in UK parlance, the Kerrigan's are "chavs" and are very simple people, they admire things that many of us would dislike (living below planes and beside pylons) and they are not the brightest in the world. In essence they are the "typical" Australian working class family and Darryl is the classic Aussie battler. The plot is simple and, although it is fairly obvious where it is going and isn't ever that dramatic, the story is gently engaging and pleasing. The laughs are gentle but consistent and show a real good touch in the writing – taking "normal" eccentricities and exaggerating just enough to be funny but not to the point where it is absurd. It is hard to describe but basically give it five minutes – you'll either get it or you won't and, if you don't, then don't bother with it because it is the same from the start onwards.

The direction is a bit rough and ready but that does suit the material – as does the cast. Caton is enjoyable and fits the bill spot on. Tenney has a smaller role but does it well; likewise Simcoe, Hope and a pre-Hollywood Bana. Narration is good from Curry and the majority of the cast play their material well considering the real time pressure they must have been under. One bit of trivia that illustrates the constraints in making this film is that the family name "Kerrigan" was selected because the tow trucks used for the film already had that name painted on them, so it saved costs to change the script rather than change the paint job.

Overall this was a delightfully amusing film with not a single harsh or cruel line in the whole thing. It may make fun of the Kerrigan family but it does it in an affectionate manner that is consistently funny without being a real belly-laugh fest. A perfectly entertaining family film that doesn't appear to have been damaged or compromised by the rushed shoot or the tiny budget.

This movie was quite a surprise, and a pleasant one at that. To be honest, I would probably never have rented nor watched this movie if broadcast, based on the amateurish look of the video cover and the ads. My reaction to it, before seeing it was that it was another movie slapped together to piggyback onto the success of another movie with the same actor/director/theme etc.etc. while the fire was hot. But, a friend borrowed it from the library, and the video was sitting there, so I decided to watch it. Was I happily surprised! The one liners make this movie, if you pay attention and catch them all, this movie has many a belly laugh. It was true to life too, I KNOW these people, whether they come from Australia or Arkansas, they're out there, and this is their reality.

Remove the accents, put a few non working appliances in the front yard, a car up on cinder blocks, and you have the American version. A very nice surprise for me, if you like humor that doesn't insult your intellect, you'll like this movie. Many a memorable line in it too.

I would disagree with others who have commented on the profanity in this movie. In this case there is very little profanity for profanity's sake, it's usually very well timed and ads to the storyline, like when he passes the barrister the note in court.