Running time: 106 minutes
Starring: Brenda Blethyn, Khan Chittenden, Jill Booth, Russell Dykstra
Rating 5 out of 10
Originally known by the unwieldy title of Introducing the Dwights, the clubs of the title of this antipodean offering are the working men's clubs of Sydney, where one-time star comedienne Jean Dwight (Brenda Blethyn) plies her own distinctive brand of 70s humour. This middle-aged housewife tells jokes by night and looks after her semi-dysfunctional family by day: with no husband to help she is in charge of a randy 17-year-old and his handicapped but spry younger brother. Part family drama and part coming of age story, director Cherie Nowlan's feature never really seems to make up its mind as to which line it wants to follow. It's engaging enough without being particularly memorable and one that seems more fitting for the small screen than the multiplex.
Perhaps this is due to the soap operatic nature of the script, as we follow the trials and tribulations of the eldest son, the awkward Tim (Khan Chittenden) and his putative romance with the engaging Jill (Emma Booth). Jill's firebrand character and Tim's clumsy fumbling nature make for some pleasant moments, while Jean's domineering mother is a suitable roadblock to their happiness.
Blethyn's Jean is an anachronism: she's convincing as the ageing joker, but her act is stuck in the 70s, and it's quite hard to believe that she would actually be on the verge of renewed stardom. But Blethyn in full flow gives the film plenty of energy, while the two young actors portraying the lovers are both potential stars of the future.
Nevertheless, Clubland remains something of a curiosity, and it's difficult to see how it will have any wide appeal.
Paul Hurley
