Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door

I have never written a review before, but I feel compelled to do so after reading an insipidly negative review that was obviously written by a person with absolutely no idea.

This two-part movie has an intangible quality (like most good Australian films), that makes it distinctive and appealing to watch; the acting was excellent, the cinematography was excellent, and the costume design was excellent. Peter Allen was a beautiful person whose life was beautifully depicted here with honesty and integrity. It made me laugh and cry.. and then cry some more... I highly recommend you watch this.

Peter Allen grow up in a time in Australia that was extremely difficult to be gay , while his talent was aways there from a young age it was always going to be hard for him. Most bio pictures tend to gloss over the extremely difficult parts of a persons life . This film tell Peter story as like a Greek tragedy turned into a success story. The acting is honest and well played, Joel Jackson portrayed Peter Allen was mesmerising, Rebecca Gidget as Peters mum was both touching and beautiful, Sigrid Thornton Brough Judy Garland back to life . The only drawback to this two part min series was Greg Poppleton who's wooden performance brought the standard down , his stilted wooden performance as an amateur judge was something this production didn't need.

I thoroughly enjoyed this portrayal of Peter Allen's life. Having lived through the 70's, I distinctly remember many of those hit songs. He really was a classic songwriter like so many of his contemporaries at the time. I worked in the fashion industry then and I am sure he played a role in the bright summer sunny fashions of the seventies, as everybody tried to copy that Rio look.

His early years of growing up in Armidale were beautifully portrayed by this great production team. It was captured so well. Also, the young Peter Allen was priceless. He was so talented just like you could imagine the young Peter was. The older Peter was of course brilliant too and unbelievably talented as well.

Who would have ever thought Sigrid Thornton would ever play a middle aged Judy Garland? She looked and played the part so well. I was glad this part of the story was carefully played out as it was a part of his life I was always curious about. It really showed the pressure that Judy had lived under all her life, as she pushed herself constantly to perform which eventually caused her undoing. It's funny but there were three performers in that family who were all going through their own private traumas which was very well portrayed. It was such a unique situation. It gave us a glimpse into the what the life of Liza Minelli and her siblings must have been like as children of the great Judy Garland.

I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. It never got boring as was Peter's life. He was a person who lived his dream and left a great legacy of songs behind him. Well done Channel 7.

No cringing here. This is vintage Australian movie making at its best. Script, casting, directions, delicate camera work - just a perfect production.This had all the ingredients for being soppy and clichéd, but tight scripting and direction keeps it together all the way to its simple ending. It recognizes Peter Allen career as being one filled with the gritty boringness of trying to make it,until his ship sailed in with the all-sails blazing Judy Garland, played in perfect balance by Sigrid Thornton, a role that could have so easily slipped into parody. The clever flatness of colour at times poignantly captures an era of post war Australia when all was not easy on the home-front, but new sounds and media were innocently arising. This series reveals how the Australian film industry has been so dreadfully neglected, as it showcases the ability of our homegrown talent to make world class entertainment.

As a 15 year old who is a MASSIVE Peter Allen fan, I absolutely loved this! Whoever gave it a 1 star review is clearly clueless. I loved every aspect of the mini series, the acting, the story and it even led to the surprising discovery that I might be related to Peter's first girlfriend! I laughed at some scenes and cried at many but one thing is for sure. I would happily rewatch it a million times! I would rate it 100/10 if I could and I will most certainly spread the word so other people can experience such an excellent series and also learn about the greatness of the one and only Peter Allen.