Sorry, this movie sucks

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

This was pretty good. A little Disney-esque in that nothing too terrible happens and its all wrapped up very nicely. Family friendly. Still an interesting and infectious story if nothing too memorable and fairly predictable. Inspired by actual events it follows four aboriginal Australian girls from a from a small prejudiced town who form a singing group in the 1960s who travel to Vietnam to preform for American troops after being trained by a good humoured talent scout. The girls were great, the vocal singing performances well done -not sure if real voices. Chris O'Dowd was entertaining/funny but I've seen this exact role from him before. (Bridesmaids)I appreciated that this touched on some crappy reality like how Aboriginal children were removed from their families by the Australian government especially the "white looking" ones from approximately 1909 to 1969. Same thing happened in Canada. As a point of interest Aboriginal persons were not classified as human beings but "flora & fauna" until 1967.

A good-time, 60's musical drama set in the unlikely locations of rural Australia and the U.S. Army bases of Vietnam as we follow the on-the-road adventures of four young Aboriginal cousins who form a close-harmony girl-group but who get frozen out at local talent shows due to white prejudice. Then, with the help of boozy, seat-of-his-pants, soul-music loving Irish musical arranger, Chris O'Dowd, they escape their small-town surroundings and get a gig touring said army bases having been made-over by him into a Supremes-type, crowd-pleasing outfit who of course go over big with the young, mostly black G.I.'s who make up their audience. Various romantic entanglements follow, not unnaturally as the girls hit their hormonal stride as well as other highs and lows as they end their dramatic tour-of-duty and return back home for the predictable but still welcome happy ending for pretty much everyone.Drawing on the shared racism by black Americans fighting for their country while back home the civil rights movement is in full swing with the less well-known racism experienced by the Aborigine community at the hands of the majority white "gubba" population, the film attempts and largely succeeds in improbably mixing this in with the more showbizzy musical backdrop as the girls knock out highly creditable versions of the great soul numbers of the day from the Motown, Stax and Atlantic labels.Somehow then this unlikely mix of "M.A.S.H." crossed with "The Commitments" works, largely down to the commitment (sorry) of its cast. The four girls gell well together, each with their own defined characteristics, handily explained to us late-on by O'Dowd's Dave Lovelace character while O'Dowd delivers another entertaining turn as the hard-bitten manager who softens to his protégés once they hit the road.The story is naturally episodic as the girls fall into one adventure after another and not all of them come to the light, to quote Sam and Dave, but its heart and soul are in the right place and if you're a dyed-in-the-wool soul boy like you'll love the dynamic soundtrack of sweet late 60's and 70's soul music too.

From Australia comes "The Sapphires," a charming true-life tale of four young Aborigine women who form a singing group in the late 1960s, then travel to war-torn Vietnam to entertain the troops. Gail, Julie, Kay and Cynthia are the girls (three are sisters and one, Kay, is their cousin) and Dave is the cut-rate impresario who becomes the girls' manager when he is the first to recognize the group's commercial potential. First, though, he's got to get them to stop performing that blasted country-and-western "shite" that, for some reason, they seem to be so fond of, and to start belting out the blues.Though it doesn't shy away from depicting the very real issues of racism and segregation that were so much a part of those times - Aborigines, after all, were not even officially declared humans in Australia till 1967 - "The Sapphires" is the furthest thing from a social commentary screed. It is, instead, a mostly light-hearted, joyous celebration of youth, talent, ambition and the power of music to blast through all social and cultural barriers (they don't call it the "universal language" for nothing).The screenplay by Keith Thompson and Tony Briggs nicely differentiates each of the girls, allowing them to have their own quirks and personality traits, and doesn't just treat them as a homogeneous group. Gail, the oldest of the singers, in particular, is quick to get her back up when she feels her position as lead singer is being threatened or her talent challenged, but she is also willing to be a team player when personal sacrifice is what's needed for the good of the group. But as Dave states at one point, the abrasive and often obnoxious Gail is simply the "mother bear" protecting her sister cubs.But all is not sweetness-and-light, as the girls cope with long-simmering tensions over race, personal identity and internecine relationships, as well as the dangers and tragedies that are an inevitable part of life in a war time setting.There are splendid performances by Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell as the girls and Chris O'Dowd as their manager, and the singing is a wonder to behold.Skillfully and unobtrusively directed by Wayne Blair, "The Sapphires" is a "feel-good" movie in the best sense of that term.

The Sapphires is one of those films inspired by a true story. It is not the real true story, but rather is merely inspired by the experiences of the writer's mother. The film tells the tale of four aboriginal girls in 1960's Australia who become a soul group known as the Sapphires, touring Vietnam and singing for the troops. As a good time, The Sapphires excels. It's a feel good movie that has lots of laughs and appropriate bouts of sentimentality. While The Sapphires often comes up short when it tries to express the cruelties of war, partly because the film's budget doesn't allow for anything beyond TV-grade effects and cinematography, The Sapphires still manages to resonate because you actually grow to like and care for these characters, and that's because of the actors. The actors really elevate this material and make it what it is. The four relative unknowns chosen for the girls are all talented, but it is Chris O'Dowd as their wily manager that really brings the film to life whenever he's on screen, with O'Dowd's trademark wit and charm coming through. Ultimately, if you want to just enjoy yourself for an hour-and-a-half, you could do a lot worse than The Sapphires.I give The Sapphires an 8 out of 10!