I watched this film last night at a preview screening - we were told initially we'd be watching "Return To Me" but it didn't arrive so they showed "My Mother Frank" instead. The film would have a hard time winning us over - we'd come to see an American romantic comedy but here was another zany Australian film in its place. Apparently about gay parenthood, as the title seemed to imply!
Well thankfully it wasn't, but the first 20 minutes really seemed to drag. I was about to walk out and rent a video when two people sat down beside us, blocking our exit. Damn. As the jokes passed onscreen I wasn't smiling - I had a grim set to my mouth, and had laughed maybe twice since the beginning of the film.
Then something happened. After about 20 minutes, I started laughing. Probably a combination of me giving in to watching the movie, and the script improving somewhat, from that point on the film was quite a joy.
The storyline is about a widow and mother named Frank (played by Sinead Cusack), who's son tells her to get a life. She takes his suggestion to heart, and goes to university to study a Bachelor of Arts majoring it seems in Poetry. Sam Neill plays her poetry lecturer Professor Mortlock, a slightly bitter, very hard man to please. As she struggles to fit into uni life amid the protestations of an embarrassed son (its the same uni he attends), Frank also tries to fit in charity work for the Catholic church forced on her by the nun from hell, looking after her daughter's children while she should be studying, and finally exploding pineapple tins.
Added to this, we witness the amusing antics of her son David (played by Matthew Newton) as he falls in love with his best mates underappreciated girlfriend and attempts to win her over.
Downsides to the film? Perhaps the start was a little slow, and occasionally I could guess what was about to happen (which, surprisingly, doesn't usually occur to me).
I though this was a great Australian film - funny and satisfying.
