Chocolate Strawberry Vanilla

I was lucky enough to see a (sold out) screening of this at last year's Monster Fest. I went in not really expecting much. The trailer on the Monster Fest site had intrigued me but I still wasn't 100% sold. I couldn't quite put my finger on what genre the film was and whether I would like it.

That all changed as soon as it started playing. From the start, I empathised with the main character, Warren (played by Glenn Maynard), whose life revolved around his ice-cream business and Katey George (played by Kyrie Capri), an actress from a Neighbours-esque soap drama.

The film blurred the lines between reality and fiction as Warren daydreamed of what his life would be like with Katey George.

There were dark elements that were startlingly juxtaposed with comedic ones. One second I was relaxed and jovial and the next I was clutching the arm rest. Usually I'm pretty good at predicting story lines but not this one!

I would recommend this to anyone who is sick of mainstream films and the same plots over and over. This is one twisted and funny little film that kept the surprises coming. I hope to see more from the writers and the director of this film soon.

If this is comedy, it is of a very dark sort: it does cover territory that Bad Boy Bubby did with more verve but, to it's credit, it has a unique take that is less surreal and is more a vignette than a tale. This movie is a huge easter egg hunt for fans of Australian (and NZ) cinema. For example; it is very much a twisted homage to the "man alone" genre, so the decor of the main character's house references the 70s/80s, when that genre ruled antipodean cinema. Don't let this put you off if this is terra incognita, the characters are very universal and the strokes very broad.

Definitely worth seeing, ignore the negative reviews, you can see that they are from writers who expect a healthy measure of saccharine in the recipe. If you don't have a sweet tooth, this movie is a rewarding dish; the flavours are simple and bitter. This is its greatest achievement; proving that a film doesn't have to be a melange of complex themes and complex characters to be a tasty dish.

It starts off a bit iffy but once it gets into the plot it is a very intriguing film.

Gray Maynard is great in this film. The jerk off scenes are equally hilarious, disgusting and sad.

This is a great story about obsession.

The directing is very original and well done and so is the script you really start to care for Warren.

It catches you off guard by being absurd.

I have never seen a film before that uses a TV show in a movie as a learning toll for the plot . The video diary's are greatly done and you really start to see Warren in a different light. These videos were inspired by an actual stalkers video diary's.

A great thrill ride of a film, telling the mental disintegration of an ice cream salesman who has developed an unhealthy obsession for the central female character of a Home and Away style TV soap story. Depicts very effectively the sordid and lonely lifestyle of the main character but with touches of warmth and perverse humour throughout.

Not easily classified into any genre but a mix of dark comedy, psychological thriller, human drama, revenge horror and even spaghetti style western. It is not always clear where the lines, if any between reality and delusion are drawn in the increasingly fractured world of Warren (played with absolute conviction by Glenn Maynard) but it all builds to a cathartic and brutal finale.

One not to be missed in a world of formulaic, middle of the road and average cinema.

I watched this movie for the first time yesterday with my mum. Although it was entertaining enough and technically not a bad movie, it was extremely depressing. Both my mum and I were genuinely upset by the end of the film. One good thing though, because we bought it on DVD, we watched the commentary with some of the cast and crew. Although we know it was only a movie with actors, it was nice to see them out of character, discussing their roles and just being lighthearted. This was good for a movie like this because its main character was very lonely, and someone the viewer would most likely feel very sorry for, so it was great to see the actors talking and having a bit of a laugh in the commentary.

Long story short - I would NOT recommend this movie due to its depressing nature (my mum and I watch a LOT of movies, and this is the first time we felt this upset by the end of a movie), but of course, this is just our opinion.