Don's Party

Anybody who lived through this era will understand that this film is a quintessential snapshot of Australia's cultural reality of this time. Let alone the greatest gathering of Australian acting talent.

Just watched a "classic" that i had admittedly never heard of but was lucky enough to come across on TCM. I was really glad that I did. The film is about..well..Don's Party naturally, which is centered around a new election and the ousting of a perceivably disliked politician In 1960's Australia. At first the patrons are all well dressed and well behaved but as the booze flows and the music starts to play things begin to take a turn into a sexually charged, haymaker throwing, insult swapping disintegration reminiscent of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff". The acting is fantastic, the characters a beautiful concoction of different social types that you my find in this world. The film is more of a window into what it may have been like in Australia in those times during the sexual revolution, some characters embracing it fully while others still grasping on to the more conservative values of the past. All in all this movie does have something to say and I found it a very fun couple of hours. Enjoy.

A delightfully morose and humorous deconstruction of married life in the wake of the sexual revolution, set in Melbourne on election day 1969. The political aspect to the story is just as insignificant to the film as the election eventually turns out to be for most of these characters. What really concerns and consumes them is how disappointing their marriages, careers and lives as adults have turned out to be. Generally speaking, the guys want to sleep around more, and the gals want to be loved more. And every single one of these couples are locked in a struggle for control over their own and their partner's sexuality. There's an inevitable conflict between the basic human feeling of jealousy and the new morality established by the sexual revolution, claims playwright turned screenwriter David Williamson. A realization that might ring truer for most viewers than they'd care to admit. Which is why it's nice to see these bunch of characters admit it for us, although they don't seem to become any wiser or experienced in the process. Director Bruce Beresford (later of Tender Mercies and Driving Miss Daisy) infuses his film with just the right amount of spite and mockery, but there's also a warmth deep down below which ensures the viewing never becomes unpleasant or hopeless. Don's Party is a valid study of universal, timeless themes which has aged surprisingly well.

Don is holding a party to celebrate the ousting of the hated long standing liberal government in late 60's Australia. What starts as a serious political debate degenerates into your typical drunken fumbling and fighting as the booze flows and high-browed ideas are replaced with attempts to wife swap and skinny dip in the neighbours pool. Some of the funniest moments are when Cooley starts reminiscing about some of his sexual conquests - "When I was 18 i knocked up a 50 year old barmaid in my dad's pub and all she said all night was thank you....THANK YOU!!!" Mack: He once took pity on a woman with a wooden leg. Cooley: She wasn't a bad $£%&....Once you got past the knee cap squeak! All in all a great example of a David Williamson play. Directed by Bruce Beresford (Breaker Morant, Driving Miss Daisy)

Watching this during the current lockdown of social distancing helped a little. Brilliant performances by all and full of funny lines and scenes, though bookended by the downer of real life. People go to parties to let their hair down and escape the restrictions of work and order. Yes, they make fools of themselves too. How those things are missed now...This is an Australian classic, one of the top ten Australian films in my view. Watch it.