Purely Joyful Movie!

A Brilliant Conflict

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

First of all a little history. Comedic actresses Gina Riley and Jane Turner started out on the sketch comedy team The D-Generation. The comedy was sketchy but they were gaining some kind of identity. Then the show Fast Forward was made. That one was funny but once it gets to the political humour then it all becomes boring. Later these 2 actresses got their money together to film a comedy about lower-middle-class life and It doesn't really work in my opinion.The characters range from 2 different types. They're over-the-top losers, or they're bland. Kath and her husband Kel are pretty much losers that seem to be in love and they do loser-ish things. Kim on the other hand plays a character that quite a few sitcoms think seem to work but I have yet to see that happen - the vain girl who sees herself as a supermodel or something when in reality they're anything but. Brett is just bland and (I guess) seems to be Kim's voice of reason. Sharon is basically an overweight bland girl who plays sport and gets a new injury every episode while the previous one seems to disappear.Basically my one beef with the show is that these characters aren't funny. I guess the idea was to show society in a way that can be laughed at. If that was the idea then I guess the people who will like the show are the ones who know people like this.But the humour then is a little bit off. Kim is told that she's not attractive very few times and could have leaded to a few laughs if it was done more. Most of the time all she does is argue and then sulk about how she hasn't gotten everything she wanted. Kath and Kel I guess are supposed to be laughed at for how pathetic they are and how they wear daggy clothes and other such things. This could be funny for you but - it isn't for me.So in all honesty I can see why this was at a time Australia's most popular show. What people were seeing was a social satire on either themselves or the people they have interacted with. At the end of the day this show solely relies on your taste in humour. So I can see why people like it and other people don't. In my case however, I don't like it.

Kath & Kim appeared on UK TVscreensa few years ago now, and I was drawn in from the start. It's a great comedy in every way - Rounded characters, cracking scripts and some classic comedy surprises. The show surrounds Kath and her daughter Kim who, after a bust-up with her fiancé, moves back in with her mother who herself is on the brink on moving in her new man, Kel - wonder butcher and creator of some legendary sausage combos. Most of the time though all does not go well for the pair, who's personalities constantly grate on each other. No of which is helped by "friend" Sharon, a net-ball playing foil who is always burdened with some injury. At first I thought it would be the type of sit-com that would play hopelessly on the Aussie stereotypes, but it really doesn't. All the characters have a great depth to them (if thats not too grotesque a phrase to use!) At the time is was a beautifully fresh comedy for the BBC who had be hit by a slump of pretty poor-to-no-existent home grown comedy. For this I have to rate Kath & Kim high ... A first class comedy and well deserving of it's three series (lets hope we get all of them over here in the UK soon!)

To British eyes, Kath & Kim is unique. It's like a cross between Ab Fab (back when it was funny, before it became self-indulgent) and The Royle Family. Spiky, sharp edged, satirical and screamingly funny, Kath & Kim is completely addictive, I have almost completely worn out my DVDs, and am hopeful that series three will arrive before too long. It will take the UK by storm, just as it has Australia.Running gags, catchphrases (look at moiye!), daft stories, mad costumes and a genuinely high-energy, gag-per-moment atmosphere. Best bits? Kath's hen night. Kath's wedding. Sharon's boyfriend. Kath's poodle. Kel's wedding sausage. The Irish dancing sequence. Brett and his boss ("cardonay!"). The baby shower. Kath and Kim meeting "themselves" while shopping. Sandy Freckle. The 70s and 80s flashbacks in the last episode of series two. In fact, it's all so good, so funny and so surprising, I just can't praise it enough. "I'm not a housewife, I'm a hornbag!".

Aussie tv comedy can be a bit hit-or-miss, and I tend to find the shows either totally brilliant or totally cringe-worthy with little in the middle. "Kath and Kim" definitely falls into the former category.The comedy revolves purely around the beautifully written and acted characters (rather than funny situations). The acting is so good that although the characters have their flaws this viewer finds affection for each character, and this makes the show far more enjoyable. It also makes it realistic - I know people that are very similar to the characters in this show.Glenn Robbins is one of the funniest comdians that Australia has produced and it is a joy to see him again in role in a comedy tv series.