Une maison de rêve

Roland E Zwick felt compelled to write a rather scathing review of The Castle and how it failed to meet one major requirement for a comedy... it was not funny. Well, that is fine and I can accept the fact that maybe his idea of what constitutes humour is seemingly at odds with the vast majority of voters on IMDB, however I do think that he should get a few facts straight before he makes comments about so called influences he has attributed to this film. Roland stated:

""The Castle," a highly praised Australian farce, is a decidedly minor, lackluster and virtually laughless installment in the recently very popular genre known as the offbeat working class comedy. This vain attempt to mine the territory exploited so successfully a few years back in "The Full Monty," mistakes quirkiness for humor, so much so that it is not overstating it to say that there is nary a laugh in the film's entire (and blessedly brief) 84 minute running time."

Unfortunately, if Roland had bothered to do his homework just a little better, he would have noticed that "The Castle" released in Australia 10th April 1997 and the US 7th May 1997 does actually predate "The Full Monty" which was released in the UK on 27th October, in Australia on the 16th October 1997 and the US on the 13th August 1997. As this seemed to be something that affected his judgement (his use of the term "vain attempt" was a rather strong condemnation), I felt it was an error that needed to be put right.

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.

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."

This is an very Australian film built for a particular sense of humour. Having lived in both Sydney and Melbourne, I feel I can say that this will appeal more to the Melbourne than the Sydney sense of humour.

Forget "The Crocodile Hunter", Nicole Kidman or Russel Crowe. This is a lot closer to your typical Australian.

Reading the other comments, two things surprised me.

1) That anybody outside Australia, the UK, NZ or Ireland actually got this movie. To those Americans who praised it, thank you for taking the time to appreciate something outside your normal experiences.

and

2) The ferocity with with those who didn't get it damned the movie.

The Castle is very very clever. Yes, there are references to "wogs" and "lebs", but if given how that's exactly how a large percentage of these ethnic groups refer to themselves, they are terms without power and thus are rarely used in a racist sense. Melbourne is a wog city. It has the largest Greek population outside of Greece and is the third largest Greek city in the world. It also feature a huge population of first, second or third generation Italians. Some of my ex-coworkers sounded like they were straight out the Godfather. Then there are the lebs and the polacks and and a great mix of European Cultures.

Wogs. The lot of them. :)

To reduce the movie to laughing at the lack of intelligence in the family or to picking on racial minorities (not that the wogs are a minority in Melbourne), is to miss the point entirely. If you don't live in Aus, I can fully understand why this would be the case.

But simply because a movie is a outside your understanding or experience or doesn't fit your personal expectations of what is "funny" it no reason to condemn it. Once you get more sophisticated than "Beverly Hills Cop", you are not going to carry 100% of the audience, and the audience shouldn't expect that it would. (Notable exceptions exist.. Dead Poets' Society immediately comes to mind)

Personally, I like movies is one that makes a social comment, or those that a rift in society and stir informed debate. The Castle is a reflection on the "Australian Dream", if such a thing exists, which is that everybody should get "A fair go". This is streets apart from the American dream of riches beyond imagination at the expense of everything else, and highlights the great difference between the two cultures.

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.