Excellent, a Must See

Am I Missing Something?

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

I read the novel in high school and it had a bleak realism to it, especially the ending. The film has a happier ending and it makes the whole journey worthwhile.Another difference is that Josie says that a U2 song plays in the background at the end of the book. In the film version, a cover version of U2's "With or Without You" plays in the background during the funeral scene in the middle of the film.Ethnic films in Australia can be dated and clichéd but "Looking for Alibrandi" still made sense and had relevance when it was released. This is predominantly a drama but it still has some laughs and you don't need to be an Italo-Australian to understand some of the humour on show.Pia Miranda is great as the leading character Josie and the film is a great journey in how Josie matures in her final year at high school while facing different challenges thrown at her.

I think this is one of my Favourite Australian movies.i loved this movie it was easy to relate to, well directed and Pia was great as the main character. This movie was quiet sad at times and i cried like a baby. BUt it had sum beautiful moments that just make you smile. I really liked Kick Gurry especially his little speech, and he is so drop dead gorgeous . I also read the book after i saw the movie and i recommend that too. the only thing i wish was different is that there would be a sequel but its too late now.i would recommend this to especially teenage girls, but females and most guys would love this movie. anyway 10 thumbs up

Meet 17 year old Josie Alibrandi (Pia Miranda); she's your typical Australian teenager, in search of identity, love and her driver's licence. Josie is determined to get good grades, move out of her house in 'little Sicily' and become a lawyer so that she won't ever be bothered again by her Nona (Elena Cotta) and Mama's (Greta Scacchi) irrationally tight grip on her. With such a confident attitude, her final school year should be a breeze, but it isn't. The teachers at her catholic, all-girl school disapprove of Josie's inconsistent behaviour and she risks losing her scholarship at the school. Meanwhile she struggles to win over the boy of her dreams whilst another boy, whom she had previously never acknowledged, expresses feelings for her. But these problems are overshadowed when her long lost father (Anthony LaPaglia) turns up on her doorstep… This is a gem of a movie. Kate Woods and Melina Marchetta show that it is possible to make a 'Romantic Comedy' without using that tired old Hollywood formula (Guy and girl meet – happy together – relationship is ruined when girl finds out a shocking truth about guy – guy is miserable – does something to win back girl – couple are once again happy together – credits roll). The best bit about this success story is that an Australian movie demonstrated the mould could be broken. For a 'Romantic Comedy' it is still quite realistic and covers serious issues, such as teenage suicide. In fact, to try to classify this film into a specific genre would be unreasonable as it has an entirely original plot. This film is a portrayal of a year in a person's life. Do you think that you could place a year of your own life into a single genre? Could you call your life a comedy or a drama, a film- noire or romance? I don't think so. This is the case with 'Looking for Alibrandi'. Like life, you can think that you know where it is going and then suddenly something happens and breaks the pattern of your comfortable day-to-day pattern - everything is suddenly turned upside down. This is how the story of Looking For Alibrandi is told. It does not finish with a fairytale ending and a 'happily ever after,' because real life rarely ever does, and the future is always unknown.This is a riveting film. The characters are built up beautifully and you can genuinely relate to them. This is why when the characters are emotional, you actually care about them and therefore share their emotions, unlike many films where the characters seem to be playing charades. The acting is generally good, especially by the slightly older and more experienced actors (Greta Scacchi, Anthony LaPaglia) however, some of the younger, less experienced actors gave weaker, less convincing performances. Jacob Coote (Kick Gurry) is a case in point, sometimes he looked downright embarrassed to be in front of the camera. Looking for Alibrandi was an independent production, which had limited resources and a small budget, so such minor aspects can be forgiven.Overall, this is a great film by any standards and would be appreciated by anyone who has been to high school and had to deal with the pressures and issues that arise during that time of one's life. 8/10 Stars.

All though i found the movie entertaining at time's,I don't think the story was well written,as the outcome was very predictable.I found the character Josie to be very selfish and wanted everything to revolve around herself such as her being against her mother trying to be happy and make a life for her self.Towards the end of the movie i was pleased to see That she learned not to judge people by there appearance alone.I was happy to see that Josie realized that John Bartin was suicidal and wasn't the strong confident person she thought he was and gave Jacob a chance