Mental
Mental
NR | 29 March 2013 (USA)
Mental Trailers

A charismatic, crazy hothead transforms a family's life when she becomes the nanny of five girls.

Reviews
Stellead

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

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Spidersecu

Don't Believe the Hype

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Plustown

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

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Loui Blair

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

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MovieHoliks

About 20 years ago, I remember going to a local multi-plex and just being blown away by this wacky Aussie comedy-drama, "Muriel's Wedding", which of course introduced the world to the wonderful Toni Collette in the title role. The director of that film, PJ Hogan, would "go Hollywood" and direct the terrible 1997 Julia Roberts romantic comedy, "My Best Friend's Wedding". Blah!Well, with "Mental", Hogan is back in form! This Aussie dramedy concerns a family, like "Muriel" with a politician dad (played by Anthony Lapaglia), a somewhat ditzy mom, and five kids- sounds helluva lot like "Muriel" doesn't it??- so much so I actually thought this could actually be Muriel herself (the mom) 20 years later, who has now basically become her mother. Then, I read up on it to find out that this is actually a semi-autobiographical story of PJ Hogan, the director. Now the dad decides to hire this off-the-street lunatic (Toni Collette), who I also thought might actually be Muriel 20 years later LOL- to watch his kids. She's a knife-yielding psycho that has had some experience on the "inside" (of mental institutes) herself. But like her "Muriel" co- star, Rachel Griffith, played that "Mary Poppins"-type character in "Saving Mr. Banks", she basically becomes a "Mary Poppins" on acid for these kids...LOL And Liev Schrieber plays an especially amusing shark hunter character who develops a friendship with one of the daughters of the family. I was trying to think of what "Muriel's Wedding" character he would compare to-??Overall, like some other users have mentioned so far- if you liked MW- you will like this. Like a lot of Aussie films I notice, they start out as these wacky insane comedies with a bit of dark, off-beat humor, then they eventually evolve into something more- tackling a much more serious issue- this movie of course tackles mental illness- no surprise there- by the title of the film. Toni Collette is very good as always, and you just might walk away from this film with a little more than you expected...

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shebashawn

First off, I love all of the actors in this movie. Everyone did a fabulous job. This movie did a great job with how other's perceive 'mental' people. This film has a fabulous opening and fabulous ending. I'm sad that this movie wasn't in a movie theatre near me because I would have seen it at least twice.I appreciate this movie so much. So much that I would recommend it to anyone. Especially people who have obsessive compulsive disorder. They are some crazy people.The reason I love this movie so much is because the female character's who are considered 'unpopular, and mental' are so likable. I love a good movie with a fabulous ending. Sequel? I hope so

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P J

This review may contain spoilers. First of all, to all the people saying that anybody writing negative comments about the lack of organization, plot, clarity, etc just "don't understand mental illness or living with somebody with mental illness", please stop. You are only making yourselves sound foolish. I have family members that have lost their lives due to mental illness, and it is much more complex and can be much, much darker than this movie portrays. So you yourselves are the ones that don't get it. And as for the film itself, it is like it never got out of the brainstorming phase. I say it had potential because of the talented actors, but this movie had no idea where it was going. Shaz starts off as a pothead, then they just leave that aspect out of rest of the movie. Well, until the very end, but you would thought maybe they could have a scene with the kids,father's campaign, etc. Kind of like in brainstorming, you start with an idea, but then forget about it. Also, one moment the crazy aunt seems like she is going to show remorse and change, but then she doesn't. The father seems as if he might change, but he doesn't. The two scenes at the aquarium could have just been one scene. Maybe it is titled mental because it keeps going on in circles with no true progress and that can be a challenge of dealing with mental illness, but I didn't need to spend almost two hours of my life watching a non-fiction movie with no plot that succeeds on about two of thirty attempts at humor to confirm that. I would have preferred a documentary.And as for the whole Sound of Music parody, OK. I can not make a complete connection with the overall intention of the film, except maybe to get viewers from old Sound of Music fans.

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artrouble21

Not sure at first if I wanted to see an Australian movie due to the wretched nature of their soap operas and I had a bit of trouble getting into the first half hour. It has some odd plot bumps but they work overall and it's worth the wait for the various payoffs that crop up through out the story. Some great acting from all the cast. I had no idea the shark guy was Liev Schreiber and Anthony LaPaglia comes off very convincingly as the out of touch dad but it is the women and the girls that make this film and should be it's core fan base. However this is a "chick flick" that guys can actually enjoy too. I think it will be considered a minor classic some years hence. This really is a very very funny, clever film. You could do worse (Identity Thief) with bigger budget movies but this is one film I think will leave a lasting impression on the viewer and a real feather in the cap for the younger actors as their careers progress.

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