Walk the Talk

Time line of the film: * Laugh * Laugh * Laugh * Smirk * Smirk * Yawn * Look at watch * walk out * remember funny parts at the beginning * smirk

Unfortunately, this movie has a good concept that it grinds to the ground.

Joe Grasso knows all the hype and nonsense of business, but is flogging the wrong product, a neverwas club singer with a lot of baggage. Sacha Horler as Bonita proves she is an ace actor. Some probs with the script however as Joe's verbosity needs to be contained. Perhaps this movie should be cut with compassion and intelligence. Ten minutes shorter could be good news. Still it's a good movie!

Shirley Barrett has a way of hooking into personality quirks and waving them about shamelessly on a silver screen to brilliant effect. Walk the talk is no exception. Consistently amusing and occasionally, absolutely hilarious. The "dinomyte, sorry, "dynamite" scene has to be one of the most beautifully setup, laugh out loud hilarious sequences I have seen in many years. Walk the talk is ultimately an insightful and oddly sensitive look at the ground dwellers of the entertainment industry, people desperate and aching for that big break but are doomed to mediocrity.

Maybe because Salvatore Coco's character, the affectionately annoying Joey Grasso was so strong and omnipresent throughout the story that it made the experience less rich than Shirley Barrett's first feature 'Love Serenade', but Walk the Talk is well worth seeing and has the director's signature plot diversions and observations that make it art.

And hey, for those of you that have seen it, Joey Grasso has not given up yet- www.nikkibennett.com :)

7 out of 10

Joey Grasso is a hero in his own mind, and nothing will stop him getting her way. Some people might say it's so stupid- it's funny, but it's an enjoyable watch, just for the sake of the story. A "Dodgy" character quite a lot of Australians would identify with,, whether a close relative or even themselves, tries to make someone's dreams come true. While not expecting an epic- even though there are a few big names in the colorful cast,(which was a bonus);i found it had a good chemistry between the characters, and a down to Earth realism. I found myself living his despair at times as this film hit the nail on the head for so many people's familiar life experiences. Salvatore's persistence keep it going the distance. Well done!!

The protagonist in a movie as arrogant and selfish as this - among several other characteristics of a jerk to the core - is not a desirable, nor is it a common approach writers are keen to take. However like most quirky-like films, we are set up for something more. The suspicion of something significant happening is subtly fed throughout the film and bonus points are awarded for its not-so-typical protagonist, and when the storyline comes to a full circle. Although the fact that the movie finally ended could have been bonus points itself!

Unless it's for personal entertainment, would not recommend any writers approaching a story in film this way again though. We can only be irritated so much by a character that some people may be pushed to the brink of acting in the most insulting way possible: watching something else.