Movie Reviews for Love Serenade

Love Serenade

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Movie Reviews of Love Serenade

Movie Review: Wonderfully weird, wacky, and funny to boot
Summary: 5 Stars

I first became aware of some of the great movies coming out of Australia and New Zealand in the 80s, and this movie is one of my favorites. It's a very quirky, off-beat, and darkly funny film that probably won't appeal to many moviegoers, but it shows what a good script writer, director, and just a handful of talented actors and actresses can do with what at first blush seems very mundane and not especially promising material. The movie hinges on its intimate portrayal of the several characters and their relationships, set against the backdrop of the small, dead-end, Australian outback town of Sunray, west of Brisbane on Australia's Sunshine Coast. There are only four main characters in the entire film: the two sisters, Vicky-Ann and Dimity, the DJ, Ken Sherry, and the Chinese restaurant owner and nudist, Albert. The whole movie revolves around these four odd characters and their equally odd relationships.

The plot unfolds with the langourous pacing of a pitcher's duel, but the only real pitcher (more like pitchman) in the movie is the sleazoid, manipulative DJ, Ken Sherry, who pitches his cynical and self-serving philosophy of free sex and free love to the two inexperienced and naive neighbor sisters who are competing for his affections. At first charmed by Ken's smooth-talking demeanor, the three are soon involved in a bizarre love triangle, and the girls quickly find out that Ken is nothing more than a smooth-talking and manipulative cad.

Besides Ken and the two sisters, Vicky-Ann and Dimity, and their relationships, which would be enough quirkiness for any movie except this wonderfully weird black comedy, there's Albert, the nudist/philosopher and Chinese cook, who doesn't like Ken's unchanging roster of Barry White songs because they're always, as Albert says, "about procreation" (and tells him so). This is despite Albert's admitting to being a practicing nudist. Albert becomes obsessed with why Ken doesn't order his fresh prawns and only orders the beef with black bean sauce. Unlike the two smitten sisters, Albert isn't impressed with Ken one bit. Soon the story is enmeshed in a web of suspicions, as Ken is suspicious of Albert's prawns, Albert is suspicious of Ken's smooth ways with the women, and the two sisters are suspicious of each other's designs on Ken.

In fact, the subject of fish and seafood almost becomes another subplot, as the characters talk about fishing, the giant marlin on Ken Sherry's wall, go for a leisurely canoe trip on the local river, and debate the freshness of Albert's prawns. As if that weren't enough, Dimity thinks Ken himself is part fish--he apparently has webbed toes and she thinks he has gills on his neck which exude a fatty substance just like a carp! (This despite the fact that Ken doesn't like fish :-)). The two sisters have a blow-up when Dimity reveals her suspicions that Ken is really a fish. The movie opens with a fishing scene on the river and ends with another scene on the same river (which I won't discuss since it would ruin the plot, but it has to do with that infamous line from the first Godfather movie about Lucca Bratsi).

As if all of the above weren't enough, add in a striptease scene by Dimity, some frank nudity and sex, and what will happen with the two enormous and mysterious storage silos that keep appearing throughout the movie, and you have one of the strangest, quirkiest, and funniest movies ever to come out of the great and exotic land of Oz. This movie has the potential to become a cult classic although I doubt it'll ever get the attention and fame that it truly deserves.

Movie Review: Offbeat, dark romantic comedy
Summary: 5 Stars

This Austrialian film is very unusual, but excellent! First of all, it only has 4 main characters! Two lonely sisters live together in the small, almost deserted, back-water town of Sunray located by the Murray River. The final character is the owner of the town's Chinese restaurant where one of the sisters work. I guess you could count the River and the town as characters as well as the music of Berry White!

There is not much back story in the dialogue, but thanks to widescreen you can tell that the sisters never left home after taking care of a ill parent(s) who are now gone and never mentioned. Also, Vicki Ann (Rebecca Firth) who is the older sister) says to Dimity(Miranda Otto) that, "I have done nothing all my life but take care of you."

Vicki Ann, who is the brash, pink and perky sister, has never been lucky in love and Dimity has never experienced love. Also, simmering under the dialogue, you get the impression that Dimity, who is shy and insecure, is the towns odd ball.

Both are looking for love, although the prospects in Sunray seem bleak, at best. That is, until Ken Sherry (George Shetsov), a thrice divorced Brisbane DJ personality, moves into the house next door.

You think you know what is going to happen and to some extent you do, but the twist and turns are unique. You'll never see the ending coming, and I won't spoil it for you.

Highly recommend!

Movie Review: I LOVE THIS MOVIE
Summary: 5 Stars

I can't get enough of this movie and must have watched it at least ten times. Got tired of renting and finally decided to buy. It's a bit dated now, having an 80's theme, but the plot is excellent and the characters true to life and rich. As I live in Australia, it's a real slice of "Down Under." Especially the small, stagnant towns in the "bush." There are some real "characters" in Australia and this movie captures a few of them. Was suprised to hear that the stuntman died while making this movie.

Movie Review: Funniest Movie I Know
Summary: 5 Stars

This is the funniest movie I have ever seen. The characters are well written and the plot does not easily give itself away. Watch it again for the foreshadowing.