This 1982 Australian Comedy was an upbeat musical about Jackie Mullens, a young aspiring singer trying to find success. Her cousin Angus acted as her manager and got her into several precarious situations. All of her family worked at a pub in which they also called their home. Jackie and Angus decide they will do what ever it takes to become a star. She gains the attention of a famous local music show host and producer by walking a tightrope between buildings in a very… lets just call it an attention getting outfit.
Jackie gets invited to be on the TV
show and while she was there she catches the eye of the house guitarist and
they start a relationship. The plot takes a few turns but in the end Jackie and
her boyfriend’s band win a contest and become “Stars”.
The humor
is conveyed in all parts of the movie. There were many quirky side stores
including the grandmother being a retired fortuneteller, and Jackie’s mother
and Angus’s father have a strange secret romance. All of the characters also
wore out of the ordinary costumes. Jackie especially had a very unique style,
with lots of colors, weird designs, and even wears a kangaroo suit at one point(fitting
for an Australian filmJ). From the music and clothing styles it was easy to
tell that this was set in the 80’s and was not very current.
Whether it
was the cultural or time barrier or the film itself, I personally did not find
it to be as funny as I was expecting. A lot of the humor passes the point of
quirky into a little bizarre.
One reason for that may be that I do not have
a lot to compare this film too. Many of the things I found strange may have
been things that were normal for the time and place. I look forward to seeing
the other movies from the 1980’s on our list and comparing them. By the end of
the film I can say that I admired their passion for their music and was
satisfied with the “feel good” ending when they finally succeed.
I am attaching a clip of (what is in my opinion) the
funniest part of the movie. To be honest
I have no idea what the words are saying, and it is long song and really
strange but hang in there too at least the middle. The sharks are my favorite. Enjoy
~ Sarah
