Roadshow Films
9 August 2009
Musical
DVD
B-
This is one of the most batshit movies I've ever seen, even for its genre. The first third is almost believable, even when it veers into Bollywood choreography. Then it turns into a road trip, while still a musical, with a perhaps evil priest (Geoffrey Rush) in pursuit of our young hero, who befriends his maybe-uncle and a pair of hippies, and then we end up with a farcical plot twist where half the cast is related, partly through a Scarlet-Letter-like set of confessions. I do have to say I loved the first rendition of "Nothing I Would Rather Be," with its blend of 1920s rhythm and political satire and if the whole movie was on that level, with some of the earnestness of the early scenes as well, it could've been a B+. The title, by the way, is aborigine for "Brand New Day," which is the more American-friendly phrasing on the DVD case.
Rachel Perkins directed, and arguably did a better job translating a stage hit onto the big screen than William Friedkin did with The Boys in the Band.
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