Stiff

An amusing and entertaining TV-movie, "Stiff" showcases David Wenham as Murray Whelan, political fixer and amateur investigator.

It made me laugh with its combination of in-jokes, political cameos, and physical humour: in this respect, the translation from the page to the screen allowed the telemovie to become the superior story - however, the detail of the book was obviously missing in the adaption.

Finally, Wenham came across as a cross between his characters Jim Doyle ("The Bank") and Johnny Spitieri ("Gettin' Square"): Knowledgeable but also slightly sloppy and tired. The supporting cast did a great job, as did John Clarke on the story adaption.

All up, Three and a Half out of Five.

Australian telemovies have a reputation to uphold. They are supposed to be poorly written vehicles for our much trotted out band of thesps to portray clichéd characterization coupled with inane dialogue. I must say, I AM disappointed. What I witnessed tonight was an interesting storyline with believable characters and a very talented David Wenham giving my cynical mind a reprieve from the standard fare. Shame on you! I liked the program.

Wenhams' laconic Murray Whelan is certainly a treat to witness. He's like a scruffy Blue Heeler getting kicked from pillar to post but still keeps coming. You have to admire that sort of tenacity. I delighted in the gentle humour of the story and Murrays' optimism despite his train-wreck lifestyle.

Anyway, I was happy to see a production that did not contain the usual suspects and would welcome many more Whelan adventures. Top shelf.

Throughout Australian Film there are many examples where the nobler characters tend not to say too much. They tend to be quite laconic, resorting to the occasional outburst which might take the form of a diatribe aimed at life's foibles. Murray Whelan, played cleverly by David Wenham, is depicted as one of those characters. His self deprecatory humour is typical of the genre and a breath of fresh air. For me this film exuded Melbourne. Although maybe just a little harsh on the State parliamentarian. Delightfully idiosyncratic. Some of the scenes around the factory were hilarious. Less convincing may have been the villain , Herb Gardner, played by Alan Hopgood, and Lionel Merricks, played by Sam Neill.

I just saw the network premiere of this film, and I must say that I wasn't completely sure what to make of it. I was often left wondering where the direction of the movie was going, and the climax wasn't overly climactic. I did find it, however, to be easy to enjoy and relaxing to sit through.

David Wenham plays a lovable, struggling father, if not a bit of a nimrod, but all of those qualities are endearing to his character. It's an ironic look at an Aussie battler getting in over his head with a kind of low-key Turkish mafia mob. The irony is, his life is as stiff as the body he's sent to investigate, and everything kind of snowballs into chaos from there. In the process of turning his life upside down, things somehow result in being the right way up, or at least acceptable.

A lot of the humour in this movie is very dry, and that's maybe why it appealed to me. I really enjoyed Wenham's character, and especially the way he deals with his problems. Or doesn't. I think more attention should have been paid to the villains and fleshing out that plot line for more impact at the conclusion of the film. Still, I really liked it, but I don't expect every will.

Wenham is excruciating: the man can't act, he can only inflect his voice affectedly. Steve Bracks gave a better performance; at least he didn't say anything, which was an improvement on Wenham.

The script is excruciating: talk, talk, talk, and all the 'jokes' unfunny.

The mystery is about up to the standard of a sub-par episode of Scooby Doo; why didn't someone call the cops?, who would have solved the crime in less time than this telemovie takes.

Typical of Australian television that we have to have a fake show of multiculturalism from an entirely Anglo project, in which even the Turkish love-interest girl is played by an Anglo actress. (Couldn't have had Wenham falling for a *real* Turkish girl, of course!)

This crock belonged on the ABC (government television). Nuff said.