Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

In Australia, Jeannie Dwight (Brenda Blethyn) is a cafeteria worker by day and a struggling comedian by night. Her quiet son Tim Maitland (Khan Chittenden) tries to keep everything together. They have his mildy mentally handicap brother Mark. Then he meets Jill (Emma Booth) on one of his moving jobs.Jill and Tim has a charming awkward romance despite the unreal insecurities of the supermodel. If anything, I want more Blethyn. She's the big name and holds the potential to blow up this movie. The family dysfunction isn't that well prepared and the pretty couple manufactures some fake conflicts. Blethyn isn't really a standup comedian. Nevertheless, this has its moments and the characters have their charms.

Well, Blethyn delivers an reliably entertaining performance, if a little derivative of both her "Secrets and Lies" and "Little Voice" characters. Khan Chittenden's boy is endearing with his very real, but barely articulate tenderness for both family and new girlfriend - very Australian male. I thought Emma Booth's character quite unsympathetically written, and some gratuitously drooling shots of her arse in panties added to the general feel of soap-teen-bitch for her. For me, she exhibited very little natural charm with which to overcome these disadvantages.But for me the most enjoyable aspect of this film was watching Rebecca Gibney, the real "lady" of Australian television, playing a sozzled best-friend tramp... She did it REALLY well, deglamourising herself in the way the Liz Taylor and Bette Davis did mid-way through their careers, and I wish someone would give her a juicy film role...Overall, this was more a character study than a narrative film, but the characterisations and interactions were not always plausible. See it for Gibney's slumming and Blethyn's rendition of Nutbush City Limits at the end...

This is an unashamedly free promotion I am writing here JUST because I loved this film so much... it is one of the best one's I've seen this year, so in case you wanted a good referral for excellent entertainment that catches you where you 'live' , here it is.It's Australian film "INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS it is a feminist charmer (yes this is what makes it so great too ! ) , about a woman who raises 2 sons by herself with 2 jobs ...duh... but does so with such deep dedication good humor, honest caring and ingenuity...it's also about one of these sons finding his first true love...sounds corny ? yep. but the acting is so sincere & genuine that my cynical heart filled with empathy and laughter as well, recognizing the Reality of this show (not like stupid TV phony set ups).Reviewers (obviously male) refer to the film as a son's coming of age, male version of his sexual awakening INSTEAD OF focusing on the true hero which is the overworked dedicated Mother that never gives up on anybody! That is the strength and value (moral value) of this art piece.the script is well written, funny, totally believable, and rides along on pure whimsy and is smooth, with lilting talk that is haunting and enchanting, and each actor is one I would give $100 to spend a week with myself, that's how much I liked each separate one...each actor was 'real' and a decent human being....how hard is that to find, even in films ? they are a family we might envy, like the one we never had a chance of even knowing as a neighbor...much less our own...we might even want to trade into this one...for a while anyhow.If you see it ...well ..I guarantee it is so much more than it seems to be... if possible, take a chance. Go see it for yourself.I am choosing on my own to tell everyone I see in next few days about it, because when something is Good, I want to be part of having it seen, known, & experienced ... and I really want this film to succeed. Independent films have a hard time, but deserve a better than paid-for-commercial chance. This is one. I bet I chose a winner ! You will regret it later when it 'disappears' in our over-commercialized USA if you do not see it soon.

"Clubland" is a wonderful laugh-out-loud "dramedic" tearfest sporting an amazing tour de force performance by Brenda Blethyn who received a standing ovation at Sundance '07 for her remarkable portrayal of the aging mother desperately clinging to her handsome virginal son as he strives to build a romantic relationship of his own away from her controlling maternal influence. To reveal much more would be a disservice to this charming little film, but suffice to say that Blethyn turns in a performance that is transformative. She hits every note and takes the audience through every emotion in the human experience as we watch her arc from a cute upbeat "fun-mother" at the beginning to a mean, controlling, jealous, self-pitying witch - yet all the while, we love her dearly. This film continues the emerging tradition of strong Australian performances with solid acting from the entire cast. The "coming of age" element is likewise sweet and adeptly handled by the two gorgeous young stars. Brendan Clearkin gives a passionate and artfully understated performance as the alienated and powerless father who still chases his dreams of musical stardom. Finally, Richard Wilson issues yet another barn-busting standout supporting role, this time as the retarded brother who alone in the family has the intelligence to recognize the white elephant in the family room. Wilson is the comedic relief, the bittersweet soul, the character foil and the dramatic precipitant of the entire story; and he carries it off masterfully. Wilson is certainly destined to be a major star, and I cannot wait for him to appear in a leading role. Every character has a dream, and watching them strive towards it as reality comes crashing against them makes for one hundred ten minutes of warm and deeply moving entertainment.