Well it had to happen some day, and now in the form of A Few Best Men Australia finally has a locally-made comedy that works. Mark my words though if you don’t like films such as American Pie or Road Trip then you’re never gonna love this.
British backpacker, David Locking (Xavier Samuel – Anonymous, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) meets Aussie girl, Mia Ramme (Laura Brent – Anima, The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader) while on a tropical island. Totally in love he proposes to her which means he and his best men, Tom (Kris Marshall – Oka!, D.O.A.), Graham (Kevin Bishop – Ma part du gateau, Royal Wedding) and Luke (Tim Draxl – Ivory, Undocumented). This is a nightmare within itself as they soon find themselves meeting Mia’s overbearing politician Dad (Jonathan Biggins – TV’S At Home With Julia & The Jesters), her fun-loving mother (Olivia Newton-John – 1 A Minute, Score: A Hockey Musical), her ‘lesbian’ sister (Rebel Wilson – Bridesmaids, TV’S Workaholics) and the family’s pride a joy – a sheep (well a ram to be more precise). Added to all that is the fact that the boys soon find themselves running foul of local, violent drug dealer, Ray (Steve Le Marquand – TV’S Small Time Gangster & Underbelly).
On the surface this looks like yet another unfunny Australian comedy but it is when you realise that it is directed by Stephan Elliott who has brought us films such as Easy Virtue and Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert and written by Dean Craig, who is best known as the writer of Death Of A Funeral, that you can start to understand why this film works so well. Yes, the story is unbelievable and at times the humor is incredibly crass but who really cares as long as the film is making you laugh… and believe me this is the kind of film that will make you laugh.
There are some strange casting choices in the film but now even I must admit that Olivia Newton-John can be damn funny when she wants to be. The other big surprise is Xavier Samuel who shows that he is more than capable of pulling off comedy if he needs to. And if you’re planning on seeing A Few Best Men then keep a look out for Rebel Wilson because she has some brilliantly funny moments.
A real surprise but A Few Best Men is proof that Australia can make a funny comedy film. If you like it a little crass, then you’re gonna love this.
Year: 2011
Director: Stephan Elliott
Stars: Xavier Samuel, Laura Brent, Kris Marshall, Kevin Bishop, Tim Draxl, Jonathan Biggins, Olivia Newton-John, Rebel Wilson, Steve Le Marquand
Classification: TBC
Runtime: 97 mins
Rating: 
Out on DVD/Blu-Ray 25th May 2012