The Appleton Ladies' Potato Race

Melane Tait's play deserved better than this. I'm a long-.time local and should have loved this film. Even with the added pleasure of spotting local places and faces, I struggled to make it all the way through. I loved Tait's play, which was witty and warm without being predictable or saccharin. You could say the exact opposite about this film, which wastes a stellar cast on a cliche-ridden script with predictable results. It's all the more disappointing that Kylie Needham was a script .consultant - her writing usually sparkles more than this too. Mostly, the film just tries too hard. I hope Tait's play lives long and prospers and lives down this leaden adaptation.

Melanie Tait's stage play of the same name was witty, engaging and entertaining. The 5 female characters told the meaningful story with humour and the right amount of pathos.

By contrast, the movie features too many outdoor settings, a cast of about 100 characters, and more storyline. This extra dialogue proves to be less interesting and also overwhelms the humour of the stage play. Sometimes simpler is better.

The movie has an acceptable IMDB rating, so others who have not seen the stage play may have found the storyline interesting enough. However, for me, while the stage play was witty, engaging and entertaining, the movie is preachy, with too much dialogue and therefore less engaging.

See the stage play instead, especially if it features the brilliant Sharon Millerchip in the lead role.