Village Voice
With its broad, toothless humor and ham-fisted fits of melodrama, this sitcom-grade embarrassment aims to dethrone "Muriel's Wedding" as the quirky Aussie feel-gooder of all time, except it hurts too much to watch...
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Clubland (Introducing the Dwights)
Jeannie Dwight (Blethyn) is a cook, loving mother, divorcee, and on the road to a comeback on the club comedy circuit. Her ex-husband John is staging a comeback of his own, hoping to get his life back to the glory days when he was number one on the country music charts. All three weeks of them. In 1975.
With parents like these and a disabled brother, it is hardly surprising that life’s not always smooth sailing for 21-year-old Tim who is shy, lives at home, and is a disaster with women. When the beautiful and feisty Jill walks into Tim’s life things seem to be looking up. But there is another woman in Tim’s life, one who will stand between him and the perfect romance… his mother.
Less2007Rating: M, Sex Scenes & Offensive Language105 minsAustralia
Comedy
- Director:
- Cherie Nowlan (feature debut)
- Writer:
- Keith Thompson
- Cast:
- Brenda BlethynKhan ChittendenEmma BoothRebecca GibneyRichard WilsonRussell Dykstra
Clubland (Introducing the Dwights) | Reviews
Variety
Warm and entertaining enough, with Brenda Blethyn doing a variation on her "Little Voice" vulgarian amid appealing support performances...
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Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Director Cherie Nowlan creates vivid personalities for the entire family and exposes the raw nerves of the biting humor...
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San Francisco Chronicle
Among the many strengths of the sweetly touching Introducing the Dwights, a small gem from Australia unearthed at the Sundance Film Festival, is that Jean never becomes Godzilla...
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New Zealand Herald
An odd, funny little film filled with a strange mix of everyday reality and melodrama...
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BBC
Brenda Blethyn plays a comedienne juggling family and an attempted comeback in Australian comedy Clubland. Part comedy-of-embarrassment, part coming-of-age drama, it shifts focus from English Jean (Blethyn) to Aussie-raised teenaged son Tim and his nervous relationship with the sexually confident Jill. Mother and son clash to amusing and poignant effect, although the dialogue's not as smart or funny as it thinks it is. In the hands of Mike Leigh, this could be a masterpiece, as it is, it's forgettable fun...
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