Saw this again for the first time for almost a decade, on the Sundance Channel during their Pride Festival. The character-to-camera (audience) device seems a lot stagier now than it did when I first saw it, but overall it doesn't mar any of the film's inherent bittersweet attraction.
I've always been a sucker for good father/son relationship movies, and this ranks up there with the best, and not because of the twist: Harry's (Jack Thompson) almost too-willing acceptance of his son's gayness. What makes it ultimately work is the true love, respect and affection that they have for one another, a bond that is sorely tested in the film's third.
Thompson is funny and engaging in a kind of role that he's not usually known for, (for that, see the excellent BREAKER MORANT.) And as for Russell...I saw this for the first time only weeks after seeing ROMPER STOMPER, and not only was it a startling contrast, but a sure-fire sign that this boyo was a talent to watch even in the early stages (now proven a thousand times over.)
And here's another refreshing difference: nobody's in OTT drag, (you can rent TO WONG FOO for that), nobody gets AIDS, OD's, commits suicide or otherwise meets the Grim Reaper most tragically, as gay characters are wont to do in most big-budget Hollyweird "gay-friendly" dramas.
David Stevens writing remains true to the joys of "Australiana" (a new word that I love, thanks to an earlier reviewer here), which means that some less-experienced viewers may find Harry's extremely tolerable demeanor and the turn from comedy to tragedy off-putting. (For other references to similar scenarios, see MURIEL'S WEDDING, SWEETIE and of course, MOULIN ROUGE.)
But for me, it's a rare-look back at the kind of risk-taking that Russell may never again explore in his career. More than worth the cost of a rental or your time, if you can catch it.
