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Not Suitable for Children
Reviewed
by
Damien Straker on
July 4th, 2012
Icon presents
a film directed by
Peter
Templeman
Screenplay
by
Michael Lucas
Starring:
Ryan Kwanten, Sarah Snook and Ryan Corr
Running
Time:
91 mins
Rating:
MA
Released:
July 12th,
2012
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9/10
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Jonah (Ryan Kwanten) lives with his housemates
Gus (Ryan Corr) and Stevie (Sarah Snook) and enjoys hosting parties.
One night
Jonah discovers something is wrong with his body and is taken to
hospital. He is
told that he has testicular cancer. He only has a limited amount of
time before
he will be operated on and won't be able to conceive children. Driven
into a
panic because of the uncertainty of his future, he attempts to call up
as many
of his exes as possible to see if they will conceive a child with him.
Both his
housemates are gradually drawn into this mess as they try and warn
people about
Jonah's mindset. Stevie is roped in the deepest as she reluctantly has
to ask
someone at work if they will be able to help Jonah.
Not
Suitable For Children,
a delightful Australian film, is miles away from the local comedies
produced in
the early noughties. The earliest part of the decade was a major
setback for
Australian cinema, as the numerous comedies produced were idiotic and
unfunny.
Last year Red Dog was released and
people went in droves to watch a film that was clever, funny and
accessible.
This film deserves the same response. It is one of the most
entertaining local
films I have seen in several seasons. There's utter professionalism
about
director Peter Templeman's work here. Photographed around Newtown in
all her
glory, the film is shot with utter clarity and precision. There's such
detail
and verisimilitude in the photography that we recognise this as a world
that is
familiar and continually vibrant. Thematically, that's important
because it
shows how the world is perpetual, refusing to slow for the characters
in the
story. This energised world is most evident in an early party scene,
where
Jonah moves aimlessly between people, connectionless. This also feeds
into the
idea of the uncertainty of adult life as you solely drift between
stages, with
no one waiting for you on either side. This concept of belated
maturity
rests steadily on an original premise and a pitch perfect understanding
of
comedy. The film might be about testicular cancer but the brand of
comedy is low-key,
observational and subtly drawn. The script and performances opt not for
the
cheap laughs or gross-out gags but to provide the audience with enough
time and
space to think for themselves.
Take a scene where Jonah and Stevie talk to a lesbian
couple about conceiving
a baby. One of the women is attractive to Jonah, the other is clearly
not.
Listen to how loaded Jonah's dialogue is when he asks which one will be
carrying the baby. We have a situation
grounded in reality, as all good comedy should be, and what Jonah says
is the punch
line. The straight-faced comedy is further complimented by Stevie's
confused
facial expressions, making it a hysterical scene. The humour is
masterfully
controlled and I enjoyed the film a lot for that reason and laughed
aplenty. Adding
sophistication and humanity to the rest of the film are the
performances.
Kwanten is in fine touch as the dopey and spaced-out Jonah and Ryan
Corr (Coby
from Packed to the Rafters) provides
wonderful moments of pure comic timing. Yet Sarah Snook as Stevie (who
looks
not unlike Emma Stone) gives a star-making performance, bringing
genuine
feeling and plausible motivations to the narrative. She's caught
between her
work life and a friend in need, meaning that there's a frustrating
inseparability between those once neatly divided identities. If there
is some degree
of predictability about the narrative and the relationships, it doesn't
matter
because there's tension and humour that makes it feel involving and
anew again.
I think if this film attracts audiences like it should it will speak to
the
young adult generation as profoundly as modern films like Garden
State (2004) have.
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