Clubland

I've seen quite a few indie films in my times. This one, "Introducing the Dwights" is a remarkable piece of work. Here you have a woman who's divorced, raising two sons: One is painfully shy around girls, the other who has special needs. The shy one named Tim, drives a moving van in Austrailia meets two lovely ladies: Kelly and Jill. Jill(Emma Booth) takes notice of Tim(Khan Chittenden) who clumsily approaches her. The sexual advances are making him awkward, and he later realizes he needs to put his past experience behind him. His mother works for a canteen during the day, but at night, she's a big hit at a local comedy club. She happens to be in a slump, because she's stuck in the day, and in serious need of reinventing herself. Both of her son have a certain someone. Tim's brother knows about Jill, and he's happy for him. Jill and Tim intimacy grows deeper and deeper by the minute. Looks like he's got him a soul-mate he can feel good about. A very good movie, great cast, and a great assortment of soundtracks to make it worthwhile. Don't care what the title is, I just love it!

4 out of 5 stars!

"Clubland" is a wonderful laugh-out-loud "dramedic" tearfest sporting an amazing tour de force performance by Brenda Blethyn who received a standing ovation at Sundance '07 for her remarkable portrayal of the aging mother desperately clinging to her handsome virginal son as he strives to build a romantic relationship of his own away from her controlling maternal influence. To reveal much more would be a disservice to this charming little film, but suffice to say that Blethyn turns in a performance that is transformative. She hits every note and takes the audience through every emotion in the human experience as we watch her arc from a cute upbeat "fun-mother" at the beginning to a mean, controlling, jealous, self-pitying witch - yet all the while, we love her dearly. This film continues the emerging tradition of strong Australian performances with solid acting from the entire cast. The "coming of age" element is likewise sweet and adeptly handled by the two gorgeous young stars. Brendan Clearkin gives a passionate and artfully understated performance as the alienated and powerless father who still chases his dreams of musical stardom. Finally, Richard Wilson issues yet another barn-busting standout supporting role, this time as the retarded brother who alone in the family has the intelligence to recognize the white elephant in the family room. Wilson is the comedic relief, the bittersweet soul, the character foil and the dramatic precipitant of the entire story; and he carries it off masterfully. Wilson is certainly destined to be a major star, and I cannot wait for him to appear in a leading role. Every character has a dream, and watching them strive towards it as reality comes crashing against them makes for one hundred ten minutes of warm and deeply moving entertainment.

In Australia, Jeannie Dwight (Brenda Blethyn) is a cafeteria worker by day and a struggling comedian by night. Her quiet son Tim Maitland (Khan Chittenden) tries to keep everything together. They have his mildy mentally handicap brother Mark. Then he meets Jill (Emma Booth) on one of his moving jobs.

Jill and Tim has a charming awkward romance despite the unreal insecurities of the supermodel. If anything, I want more Blethyn. She's the big name and holds the potential to blow up this movie. The family dysfunction isn't that well prepared and the pretty couple manufactures some fake conflicts. Blethyn isn't really a standup comedian. Nevertheless, this has its moments and the characters have their charms.

I have to say that I have not been entertained as much by an Australian movie since the early 1990's when Muriel's Wedding and Priscilla, Queen of the desert hit our screens. A very human drama of a working class family in Sydney's western suburbs that strikes the right note between comedy and drama which is often difficult to pull off. Brenda Blethlyn, playing the domineering Mother does so very well with the result that perhaps her character tends to grate a little by the end of the film but that was only after approximately two hours spending with her and not a life time that the characters around her have had to endure. She is perfectly cast in this role but for me the real stars were Emma Booth who plays the love interest of her son and Khan Chittenden her boyfriend and young man experiencing his sexual awakening. Also worthy of mention is Frankie J Holden as the father and ex-partner of the Blethlyn character. An entirely believable human drama that will have you totally engrossed in the characters until the final reel. How good it is to see that the Australian film industry can still put out such quality cinema with a universal appeal. Go see it you won't be disappointed!

This is a very annoying film. It could have been excellent but instead it is just adequate. There's a lot to like about it, the major plus being Brenda Blethyn's performance. Always a joy to watch as the woman on the edge of a nervous breakdown, she steals the show once again with her quivering bottom lip and comic timing, but we have seen a very similar performance from her in Secrets & Lies, albeit with less variation. Be careful Brenda! You're at risk of getting typecast. The biggest problems with the film relate to the script (underdeveloped, meandering, loose ends) and the two young leads whose performances are uneven, and that's being especially kind to Khan Chittenden who is no leading man. The other problem is this is formulaic in the Sundance way - family drama, quirky characters, conflict, joy, sadness and humor - not traits that are in themselves bad at all, but in this cinematic combination they come together and make it seem contrived, overly constructed and quite predictable. Is it still a decent film? Yes, if you can get past the first half hour which is very unpromising, but it's a wasted opportunity too.