Via Satellite

New Zealand 1998, 90 minutes
Dir. Anthony McCarten
Rating: [M]
Genres: Comedy

Feat. Danielle Cormack, Timothy Balme, Rima Te Wiata, Brian Sargent, Karl Urban

Surprise hit on its cinema release, Anthony McCarten's (writer of hit stageplay "Ladies Night") small-scale comedy contrasts the kitsch awfulness of its suburban setting with a soul-searching turn from Danielle Cormack.

In crisis over her twin-sister's imminent Olympic Game's attempt, she provides a thread of pathos that enlivens the dead-on (if overfamiliar) satire of Kiwi mores. Standout comic turns fromTim Balme and Rima Te Wiata also leave one unresentful of the sometimes rickety plotting.

NZ International Film Festival 1998