Any Questions for Ben?

I did watch it on a plane which i Believe is the perfect way to view it, and while it is a shameless advertisement for Melbourne, I thought Rachel Taylor really shined in this rom-com. Also the post credit sequence is one of my favourite bits. I'm sure if I were to go back for a watch now ther'll be some pretty problematic parts, but hey.

"Any questions for Ben" is one of those quintessentially Australian offerings - a realistic film about real life people living in a real life world, and asking every day real life questions about their own lives.

The main character, Ben (a fantastic portrayal of a twenty-something playboy searching for the meaning of life, by actor Josh Lawson) seems to have it all - great job, wads of cash, gorgeous girlfriends, fast cars, partying mates, etc. etc.

When he is invited back to his old school to talk about his career to the next generation of job seekers his life seems complete - but it is this event that sets him off on a quest to find more meaning in what he begins to see as his superficial existence.

There is a wonderful supporting cast including a best mate who loves to party but lacks any trace of emotional intelligence (Andy, played by Christian Clark), a second bestie (Nick, played by Daniel Henshall) who envies Ben's lifestyle but is not much of a party animal himself (".....seems a bit weird to be the designated driver on your bucks night...") and Ben's ultimate love interest, Alex, a beauty both inside and out with a brain to match, played by the lovely Rachel Taylor, of whom I am sure we will be seeing a lot more (Nicole Kidman comes to mind).

The beautiful city of Melbourne makes a stunning backdrop to this thoughtful movie which will make you laugh a bit (especially the scene that rolls during the credits) and possibly cry a little - but overall you should feel that it was a very worthwhile experience.

I watched this film in comfortable surrounds. It seemed (from other reviews) to be a likable look at the shiftless, affluent 20-somethings in my, and in every city. What happened is, I wanted to like AQfB much more than in fact I did.

It is a slight, and whimsical story about a 20-something executive, named in the title, whose life is free and without commitment. The film is at pains to point out that the event which starts him questioning his life. This event is pointed to, telegraphed and then repeated to the point of saturation.

Overall, AQfB was a combination of a badly edited film school project, a surfeit of one-liners looking for a home, and a good first draft for a much shorter film -- which, I believe should have been made.

I tend to agree with most of the positive things that have been said about this film but wish to add that the true genius of this production is the casting by Jane Kennedy.

Not one poor or corny performance in the whole film. It is wonderful to know and see just how many really good actors there are in this country.

The excellent performances from the main leads and all of supporting roles make this a joy from start to finish.

Ben's parents, Sam, Andy, The airport staff etc etc - fantastic! Well done all but please take a special bow Jane!

The main thing you need to remember with this movie is that it's not supposed to win an Oscar for best film, so if you go into the film expecting it to be the greatest thing to ever hit a movie screen then your simply going to be disappointed. Instead, go in for a laugh. It's a feel good instant classic with some very genuine characters. You'll recognise a lot of them from your daily life which really helps you relate to the film.

Basically the film has a very 'funny because its true' vibe therefore creating a very close relationship with its audience, making it very hard not to relax and actually enjoy the movie rather than analysing every thing thats wrong with it.

A huge positive for me was the great/true light it showed Melbourne in. It's always been a struggle of mine to explain to internationals why they should visit Melbourne, I wouldn't recommend any of the so called 'tourist attractions'. So having the film visit the races, grand prix, moonlight cinema, air balloons and some top night spots really brought the movie on a whole to a 9 star finish for me.

So if you want a fun night out and have a good sense of humour then this is the movie for you. Can't wait to see it again.