I will take complicated over easy, anytime.

I saw "It's Complicated" with my husband a couple of weeks ago- and I'm glad I did- I still get a little smile on my face when I think about it.
I'm not a huge fan of the romantic comedy genre, in that I usually come away thinking, "well that was too post-modern/immoral/ air-headed /implausible for me"- and so I rarely choose to spend my money to see one, except on a rare occasion. But if I get to belly laughing, if I find myself thinking about the actors in their roles later on, and have good memories of the film- then that means I probably really engaged with it, and it must have had some degree of redeeming quality about it.

What can I tell you about "It's complicated"? It was a bit sexy, it was middle-agers having fun, it was 2 brilliant and mature actors being able to do comedy, it was a well -put together ensemble of supporting cast, who were collectively sympathetic and fit comfortably in the whole schema. It was a long movie, but it had a satisfying conclusion. I am now in love with that big grumpy buffoon of an actor Alec Baldwin. God knows he probably would be difficult to live with, we ALL know that- but hey- he's funny- and funny is sexy.(Just watch 30 Rock- he is HILARIOUS).

If you don't know the story line, it's about a divorced couple who find themselves alone together and surprised by their depth of attraction for each other after 10 years of being apart. They indulge in a clandestine affair to see if their relationship is a better alternative to Streep's abstinence and Baldwin's unhappy marriage to a much younger woman. To complicate things further, Meryl Streep's character also has a burgeoning relationship with her Architect, (Steve Martin, who does get the opportunity to be as funny as he likes- brilliant). The situation becomes more and more twisted, and crazy, until the ultimate crisis point, where reality sets in, and facts are faced.

The reality bit is quite bearable, because the director has obviously indulged her own need to see the plot portrayed with enough sympathy, and enough time to be plausible. I like this. What I hate about most about romantic comedies is the time factor, which is of course linked to the script and the editing, (I have no idea what goes on in between- how many scenes are actually filmed). The implausible love stories are not only ridiculous in their premise- but then the magical/fantastic comes into play as well, and you may as well forget it. Fairy stories are great, if that's what you have paid to see.

We all LOVED Hugh Grant in "3 Weddings and a Funeral", but that had one of the most implausible plot lines in history. The settings, the cast, all impeccable; Hugh, clumsy and gorgeous declares his LOVE for his fling after one drunken night of very badly acted sex, and we are all supposed to believe this? My "Best Friend's Wedding"- another bomb in my books.- We ALL gave up trying to rescue Julia's man back from the brink of a fatal mistake an hour before Julia did- so why the hell did it go on so long? Her obsession became nigh pathological, and I questioned my own sanity in sitting through it, (thankfully it was a video).

I could name 50 terribly conceived plots in movies; a few of these may have been redeemed by the quality of the acting or the comedy, but rarely does one tick all the right boxes. "It's Complicated" thankfully ticked all mine. My husband even liked it, and he's an Charles Bronson/Bruce Willis/ Rambo sort of movie goer.
If you're not sure, see it just for the party scene : ).

It's a Bran Nu Dae... or is it?

I saw Bran Nu Dae the other day. I had no idea what to expect, and so was in turn surprised, delighted and occasionally a bit disappointed.
Between the sizzling on-scene presence of the main aboriginal characters, the bawdy, self depreciating humour, and the ridiculous story line I really wasn't sure whether to loath or to like this movie.
I realised that to be sitting in a theatre watching it performed live would have been the optimum way to see Bran Nu Dae. The atmosphere would have been wonderful; one might have been swept along in the romance of the road-trip and the music.In the coolish, dark and half empty Readings theatre on a Monday afternoon, I almost was.

I adore Dan Sultan- a black Elvis to be sure- and Jessica Mauboy is hot, hot, hot. Rocky McKenzie, as the lead boy, made love to the camera- and I hope he keeps his 'old-worldly' good looks, as he is just gorgeous. Ernie Dingo was quite wonderful as the errant Uncle Steven (Tadpole) Johnson. Geoffry Rush was the epitome of the creepy German Priest. Deborah Mailman was saucy and sultry as the drunk and over-sexed Roxanne.
Somehow, though, I felt some of the cast might have been playing to the camera, and others to the live audience. Such is the problem of the stage musical adapted for cinema.

I guess I didn't expect the movie to be the same as say, a Baz Lerhman production, or subtle and charming like other out-back stories we have come to love. Bran Nu Dae never tried to be a Samson and Delilah. You are supposed to laugh. I'm sure of that.
I just wish it had been bigger, fuller, more rounded, and with the finishing touches to make it a 'proper' movie because the level of talent was second to none. A more professionally padded and better edited package would have done them proud.

And yet it will no doubt exist as a cult classic and possibly become very popular in the future as a video. People will say that it's lack of polish improves it. You can't take away from the excellent treatment of the songs and the beauty of the scenery and the players. And the humour- totally culturally relevant and legitimate. I for one, felt slightly alientated in the way it positioned me, a white Australian- was I really allowed to laugh at the homeless alcoholic Aborigines? The drunken slut? The buffoonery of the young indigenous men? Well I did, but not unselfconsciously. There was a somewhat tokenistic treatment of the Aboriginal death in custody issue inserted into the plot, which sat awkwardly for me.
There was feel good ending, in the mad tradition of HMAS Pinafore, where everyone is related to each other, and it's all OK. But only onstage can this kind of insane premise work. Am I making my point clear?

At least the beautiful Mauboy and Sultan voices, the soft brown eyes of the main protagonist, the charm and surprise of the tuneful Ernie Dingo and the magnificent colours of the beautiful WA coastline will linger in my thoughts and bring cheerful memories to mind....